diff --git a/mqtt-streaming/src/main/scala/akka/stream/alpakka/mqtt/streaming/scaladsl/MqttSession.scala b/mqtt-streaming/src/main/scala/akka/stream/alpakka/mqtt/streaming/scaladsl/MqttSession.scala
index 29413b942f..e225cff506 100644
--- a/mqtt-streaming/src/main/scala/akka/stream/alpakka/mqtt/streaming/scaladsl/MqttSession.scala
+++ b/mqtt-streaming/src/main/scala/akka/stream/alpakka/mqtt/streaming/scaladsl/MqttSession.scala
@@ -55,6 +55,31 @@ abstract class MqttSession {
    */
   def ![A](cp: Command[A]): Unit
 
+  /**
+   * Ask the session to perform a command regardless of the state it is
+   * in. This is important for sending Publish messages in particular,
+   * as a connection may not have been established with a session.
+   * @param cp The command to perform
+   * @tparam A The type of any carry for the command.
+   * @return A future indicating when the command has completed. Completion
+   *         is defined as when it has been acknowledged by the recipient
+   *         endpoint.
+   */
+  final def ask[A](cp: Command[A]): Future[A] =
+    this ? cp
+
+  /**
+   * Ask the session to perform a command regardless of the state it is
+   * in. This is important for sending Publish messages in particular,
+   * as a connection may not have been established with a session.
+   * @param cp The command to perform
+   * @tparam A The type of any carry for the command.
+   * @return A future indicating when the command has completed. Completion
+   *         is defined as when it has been acknowledged by the recipient
+   *         endpoint.
+   */
+  def ?[A](cp: Command[A]): Future[A]
+
   /**
    * Shutdown the session gracefully
    */
@@ -171,6 +196,9 @@ final class ActorMqttClientSession(settings: MqttSessionSettings)(implicit mat:
     case c: Command[A] => throw new IllegalStateException(c + " is not a client command that can be sent directly")
   }
 
+  override def ?[A](cp: Command[A]): Future[A] =
+    ???
+
   override def shutdown(): Unit = {
     system.stop(clientConnector.toUntyped)
     system.stop(consumerPacketRouter.toUntyped)
@@ -513,6 +541,9 @@ final class ActorMqttServerSession(settings: MqttSessionSettings)(implicit mat:
     case c: Command[A] => throw new IllegalStateException(c + " is not a server command that can be sent directly")
   }
 
+  override def ?[A](cp: Command[A]): Future[A] =
+    ???
+
   override def shutdown(): Unit = {
     system.stop(serverConnector.toUntyped)
     system.stop(consumerPacketRouter.toUntyped)
diff --git a/mqtt-streaming/src/test/scala/docs/scaladsl/MqttFlowSpec.scala b/mqtt-streaming/src/test/scala/docs/scaladsl/MqttFlowSpec.scala
index 90cbbb8957..39dcca78b6 100644
--- a/mqtt-streaming/src/test/scala/docs/scaladsl/MqttFlowSpec.scala
+++ b/mqtt-streaming/src/test/scala/docs/scaladsl/MqttFlowSpec.scala
@@ -51,43 +51,33 @@ trait MqttFlowSpec extends WordSpecLike with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll wit
 
       val connection = Tcp().outgoingConnection("localhost", 1883)
 
-      val mqttFlow: Flow[Command[Promise[Done]], Either[MqttCodec.DecodeError, Event[Promise[Done]]], NotUsed] =
+      val mqttFlow: Flow[Command[Nothing], Either[MqttCodec.DecodeError, Event[Nothing]], NotUsed] =
         Mqtt
           .clientSessionFlow(session, ByteString("1"))
           .join(connection)
       //#create-streaming-flow
 
       //#run-streaming-flow
-      val publishDone = Promise[Done]
-      val (commands: SourceQueueWithComplete[Command[Promise[Done]]], events: Future[Publish]) =
+      val (commands: SourceQueueWithComplete[Command[Nothing]], events: Future[Publish]) =
         Source
           .queue(2, OverflowStrategy.fail)
           .via(mqttFlow)
-          .scan((Option.empty[Publish], false)) {
-            case ((maybePublish, false), Right(Event(_: PubAck, carry))) =>
-              carry.foreach(_.success(Done))
-              (maybePublish, true)
-            case ((None, publishAcked), Right(Event(p: Publish, _))) =>
-              (Some(p), publishAcked)
-            case ((maybePublish, publishAcked), _) =>
-              (maybePublish, publishAcked)
-          }
           .collect {
-            case (Some(p: Publish), true) => p
+            case Right(Event(p: Publish, _)) => p
           }
           .toMat(Sink.head)(Keep.both)
           .run()
 
       commands.offer(Command(Connect(clientId, ConnectFlags.CleanSession)))
       commands.offer(Command(Subscribe(topic)))
-      session ! Command(
-        Publish(ControlPacketFlags.RETAIN | ControlPacketFlags.QoSAtLeastOnceDelivery, topic, ByteString("ohi")),
-        publishDone
-      )
+      val publishDone = session ? Command(
+          Publish(ControlPacketFlags.RETAIN | ControlPacketFlags.QoSAtLeastOnceDelivery, topic, ByteString("ohi")),
+          Done
+        )
 
       //#run-streaming-flow
 
-      publishDone.future.futureValue shouldBe Done
+      publishDone.futureValue shouldBe Done
       events.futureValue match {
         case Publish(_, `topic`, _, bytes) => bytes shouldBe ByteString("ohi")
         case e => fail("Unexpected event: " + e)