Because

Some scriptures have the ability to bring to your heart and mind coherent, logical, consistent instruction in Godly principles we can understand.  Others do not.  I like scripture to be certain and definite, without any guessing on my part. 

I was thinking about one the Apostle John wrote, so I looked it up and one word caught my attention ... the word because.    

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."  (1st John 3:22)

Really?  We receive ... because ... we do certain things?

This sounds a lot like, "works" to me.  What happened to asking in faith?

Jesus said ... "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes." (Mark 9:23)  And again ... "If you have faith, and doubt not ... it shall be done." (Matthew 21:21)

Faith.  That is what our hope in Jesus is built upon.  But in the scripture I question, John is speaking about works (the keeping and the doing of things) being the prerequisite for receiving an answer.

Is John agreeing with James, that faith ... "without works is dead?"  Is this scripture saying that ... "by our works" ... we show God our faith?  I thought God looks upon the heart.  Is God impressed by what we do?  Can faith be measured by works?  If so ... how much is enough?

Not wanting any guessing on my part ... I needed to look at this verse of scripture a little closer.   

According to the early Hebrew Aramaic translations into Greek, the first phrase, "And whatsoever we ask" ... is conditional, meaning ... provided you are asking "... according to His will ..." (1st John 5:14)

And then John writes, "we receive of Him" ... the word receive in it's primary meaning is ... to take, to get hold of ... which alludes to our part, the faith part, as in "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Okay ... my thinking on the first half of this scripture is ...

1.) Whatever we ask must line up with God's will.  Some things prayed for, such as "Lord let me jump across the Grand Canyon" or "Lord let me win the lotto" most likely won't fit within His will for you.

2.) We have a part in receiving from God.  Knowing it's something God wants us to receive, we have to see it as something already done, making the answer so real that we get hold of it by faith.  It becomes the substance hoped for.

Now the last half of this scripture ... "because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." 
The word "because" is a conjugation and seemingly clarifies the reason we receive from God ... because we keep and do certain things.  

The way John wrote, "we keep His commandments" is interesting to me.  The word "keep" as used here means, "to guard, to watch, to keep your eye upon it." 

What do we keep an eye on?  His "commandments" ... which translates into English as, "a precept, an authoritative prescription, an injunction" ... that compels a person to carry out a certain act.

I'm not sure compel is the proper word.  Compel commonly implies the exercise of authority with the impossibility of doing anything else.

So ... are we compelled by a sense of duty to ... "do those things that are pleasing in His sight?"  Maybe, if you think that's what it takes to receive an answer from God.

As far as I can tell from the translations I have, the original wording of this last phrase should read something like this ... "bring forth, perform those things that are agreeable and fit to be before the face of God, and in His presence." 

So, I'm bringing this short scripture study down to this ... I want to present my own translation or interpretation of 1st John 3:22.  This is just my opinion of what I think John is saying ... based on the fact that a believer should know the heart of God and asks according to God's known or perceived will.

My rendering, such as it is ... "And whatsoever we ask, (according to His will) we receive of Him (take hold of it by faith) because we do (guard and perform) those things (precepts) that are pleasing (agreeable) in His sight (in His presence, before His face.)"

And is it not true that God is as close to us as our breath is, and therefore everything we do in reality is ... in His face ... because His eye is never off of us.

So ... do we have to qualify ... before we can receive from God?

Honestly, I don't know.  I hope not or I'm in trouble.  But ... although this verse hints or alludes to so called works ... real faith ... is active and produces "good works." 

The Apostle Paul writes these words in Ephesians 2:10 ...

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

So, let's walk in them.