Today’s Reading: Matthew 7:7-11 (HCSB)
Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Today’s Question: Is God obligated to give you whatever you ask in prayer?
“Ask…Seek…Knock”: These are three words that I have heard preached as a sermon outline on many occasions. I have also heard these words uttered as “promises of God” for those who are dealing with a major life decision or difficulty. “Ask and it will be given to you” sounds clear enough.
But the meaning of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount do not offer the message most people want. This is not a promise of material wealth; and it is not a promise that God will remove a loved one’s cancer. Jesus is not giving us a blank check to fulfill the desires of our heart, nor is He forecasting a better tomorrow. I know this will disappoint many, but we miss the rich meaning of this text to impose our subconscious want.
What is it that Jesus instructs us to ask for and to seek diligently after? Context shows us. Jesus just gave a warning about discernment. Immediately after this statement, Jesus offers a call to salvation. One more academic point: The Sermon on the Mount is not a compilation of wise statements (like the book of Proverbs), but it is a seamless teaching of Christ that builds sequentially on the preceding principles. To lift these verses (“Ask…Seek…Knock…”) from the context and flippantly use it as we wish is spiritually destructive.
This passage has an obvious application to prayer. Kent Hughes notes, “The stacking of these words is extremely forceful… Jesus is driving his point home, and the point is this: We are to passionately persist in prayer. We naturally persevere in our prayers when someone close to us is sick. If one of our children becomes ill, we pray without ceasing. Likewise, if we are in financial trouble or if we are hoping for a promotion or if we have a frightening or dangerous task ahead of us, we generally find it easy to pray. But do we persist in our prayers for spiritual growth for ourselves and others? Do we ‘ask . . . seek . . . knock’ for a pure mind? Do we keep on knocking for a forgiving spirit or for the removal of an angry or critical spirit?”
It is clear that Jesus is instructing His disciples to be diligent in their walk with Him. To follow Jesus requires a continual and conscious decision. Prayer is the means by which we “keep up” with Christ as He offers to lead us.
A few years ago I was introduced to a concept called “Kingdom Prayers.” These are request that are focused on the will of God and not on my wants and desires. Kingdom prayers remind us of who God is, what He is doing, and the call He has placed upon our lives. Instead of viewing prayer as a holy vending machine, Kingdom praying is an act of submission to the Lordship of Christ.
We are called by Christ to “ask…seek…knock.” Yet, this invitation is to a specific need- our growth in the Lord. We are called to follow Him. In this crazy, sin-filled world, this is no easy task. Therefore, we must persevere by asking God to draw us closer to Himself, seek to obey His word, and knock by making the most of every opportunity the Lord gives us to proclaim His Gospel message. This is the picture our Lord paints of the life of a faithful servant. What are you asking God to do in your life today?
“Follow One, Lead Others” Principle #49: Christians seek to align their will with God’s plan through fervent and persistent prayer.
Today’s Prayer Point: Ask God to help you pray in the way that brings Him glory and brings you closer to Him.
Shepherding Well 