Matthew 7 - The Key to Effective Prayer!
Verses for the Day
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him
As Jesus finishes up his Sermon on the Mount, there are many valuable teachings in chapter 7. Each section could be a separate daily bread blog entry. I picked these verses because other than reading the bible daily, the other non-negotiable practice for Christians is daily prayer. I have a very simple definition of prayer,
"Prayer is talking to God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."
Oftentimes I find people in my church who are reluctant to pray publicly, because they don't want to sound dumb. Or, they don't play like "so and so". They think eloquence and using big theological words constitutes a "good prayer". This is why the prayer Jesus taught the disciples last chapter is so important. We tend to overcompliate things.
In chapter 7 Jesus teaches the disciples and us the threefold nature of prayer. In its simplified form it is "ask, seek, knock". Let's take a look at each of those words.
Ask - Obviously the prayer which will never be answered, is the prayer that is not offered. There are no "dumb prayers". In this passage Jesus compares the love of a parent, who would only want to give their children the best, with our Heavenly Father, who is even more willing to give good gifts to His children.
Jesus does teach us that if we ask with impure motives, we will not likely receive an answer to that prayer. But when we sincerely ask God for what we need, we know he hears our prayer. Why? Because He promised He would as a good and loving Father.
Don't be afraid to ask God for what you need and even what you want. God knows what is best for you even when you don't. By asking God it shows that you trust him and go to him in faith.
Seek - The next part of the process is seeking God in prayer. Prayer is not a passive activity. We seek God's will when we pray. We also seek discernment in prayer so that we can tell the difference between God and evil. We seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us in our prayers.
We also seek to see when God is answering our prayers. or signs that reveal his will for us. One example of this is called an "open door". We might be praying for something and God seems to open a door of opportunity related to this prayer. We keep seeking God's will and maybe another door opens.
When we seek in prayer it shows that we are ready and williing to act on God's answer to our prayer. One example of seeking God in prayer is when we "wrestle with God" in prayer. The famous example is Jacob.
In Genesis 32, Jacob was returning to Canaan after 20 years and was about to meet with his brother Esau. He was afraid of what Esau might do to him, because years earlier he had tricked his father, Issac, into giving him the birthright, which belonged to Esau.
Jacob wrestled with a man, who is thought to be an angel, or a pre-incarnate existence of Christ. How do we know this? The man said to Jacob,
"Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Genesis 32:28
As Jacob reflects on this experience he says,
"So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:30
Wrestling with God in prayer leads you closer to the answer. It shows your willingness to trust God in the process. It shows the two way relationship of prayer between us and God.
Knock - To knock is the step of action. You can ask and seek, but if you don't knock you will never know if the door will be opened. An open door is the place where your prayer intersects God's will for your life, and the lives of others around you. To knock is an act of the will and a way of saying,
"If you open this door God, I am going to take it as an answer to my prayer and walk through it."
While all of prayer is expressing faith in God, knocking on the door is the willingness to ready to act when God opens the door.
To summarize you can see that although our prayers don't need to be long or complicated, they express our trust and willingness to act in faith when He answers our prayers.
Application for the Day
Did you realize that you can ask God for anything, as it shows that You trust in Him as Your heavenly Father?
Do you seek God in prayer? Have you ever wrestled with God in prayer?
When you ask, seek and knock are you willing to go through the door God might open for you?
Prayer is one of the greatest gifts we have as Christians,m and it is at the heart of our relationship with God. Let us remember what James said to the early Christians,
"You have not because you ask not!" James 4:2
Prayer of the Day
"Father, we come before you to thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you that you always listen to our prayers and always give us what we need in your perfect timing. Though we don't always know why or when you will answer our prayers, we trust in your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."
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