One of the things that I found confusing, even discouraging over the years was asking God something in prayer. Now it may seem a little odd for a pastor to admit struggle about prayer, but let me give you some background.
I mostly grew up in a Christian environment. Not necessarily a Christian home, but my parents saw to it that my brother and sister and I went to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and sometime to church. My grandparents were devotedly religious and whenever I was with them they took me to their church. And so I heard from an early age things like read your Bible pray every day, Jesus loves me, This little light of mine let it shine and memorized verses like John 3:16, the Lord’s prayer and psalm 23. Even verses and promises like that found in Matthew 7:7-8 were a part of my growing up.
But when things in my family went bad –like my dad’s alcoholism becoming more impacting on our family, I would ask God for things and found he didn’t seem to listen or perhaps not care enough to answer. As I grew older I found there were more verses and statements in the Bible like Matthew 7:7-8, where it Jesus, for example would say, ask anything in my name and it will be given to you. Even the Lord’s prayer or Psalm 23 seemed to give the impression that all I had to do was ask and “Poof” God would answer.
But I found it wasn’t so. Brook Shields (some may remember her) never did answer my letter to come and be my girl friend, I still haven’t been asked to make a movie, my songs haven’t made it on a CD, the Beatle’s didn’t get back together, I haven’t won the lottery, and well, you get the picture. Is it that God is not able to answer my prayers, unwilling to answer my prayers, uncaring about my wants, am I not getting the formula right –saying the right words? Why is this not working?
This morning we are going to touch on this area of prayer and God answering. It deserves a much longer and more detailed examination but for this morning we will look at this oft quoted and often misunderstood passage that Jesus gives found in Matthew 7:7-11. Please stand with me and read it out loud together.
Pray
Over the years I have sat with many people who have asked basically the same question: “why doesn’t God answer my prayer?” Many times I have sat by a hospital bed with someone dying or with family who ask why doesn’t God answer my prayer for healing? I have sat with men and women who ask why hasn’t God given me a job? I have had people hold open their Bible and point to this very verse or to John 16:24 which records Jesus as saying, “Ask anything in my name and it will receive.” And when the answers don’t seem to come, they wonder –does God still love me? Have I done something wrong? Does God not care? And yes, I admit, sometimes I come to that point too. God, why do my parents struggle so? When our prayer go unanswered (at least we think they are unanswered because they are not answered the way we want), it challenges our faith, our trust in God.
In looking at such passage as Matthew 7, we need to see not the verses or words of Jesus in isolation, but in the context of his life, ministry and teaching. Where we often end up in trouble or struggle, is when we take these verses out of context. And we know how that can change totally the meaning of something.
For example, several years ago a movie was playing and one of the reviews quoted in the advertisement was “…most amazing…” This gave the impression that the movie was really good. What the movie review actually said as, “This film is a most amazing waste of time ever produced for the big screen.”
When we come to this passage in Matthew 7:7-11, we must put things in context. Taken on its own, as it often is, we can get the impression that all we have to do is ask and God will give. The context is first the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the mount. Jesus is calling those who would follow Him to authentic discipleship. We’ve looked over the last several weeks on what this means, and bottom line is God first in all things. Rick Warren in his book The Purpose Driven Life says, “It’s all for Him. The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. It is the reason for everything that exists, including ourselves. God made all for His glory.” (page 53). We need to see this as we look carefully at three key words in this passage
–ask, seek, knock. The key to understanding these important action words is this aspect of all for the glory of God and the key to our understanding about God answering our prayers.
First in the word ask we find the primacy of God. The word “Ask” which Jesus uses here, it is a word which in the Greek means to ask of a superior. And we must also keep in mind we ask according to His nature. God will not do anything which will go against his nature. (eg. someone to die). The apostle John further gives us insight as he writes in His letter I John 5:14 (ask –same word, anything according to His will.) When we “ask” we are placing ourselves in a position of submission –God is superior. Yes, Jesus refers to God as our heavenly Father and we are His children, but still the position is clear –ask our superior –someone greater than us, better, able to do what we cannot.
All through the sermon on the mount, in fact all through the life and teaching of Jesus, God the Father is first and foremost. One of the key verses we must take note of in understanding this 5:16 –the praise and glory of the Father was and is first and foremost for Jesus. The angels shouted out at the birth of Jesus, “Glory to God in the highest!”, Jesus we read in John 17 in his high prayer makes it very clear that he came to bring glory to the Father in coming to the earth and completing the work the Father gave him (verse 4). Even beyond the life and teaching of Jesus, the Bible is literally saturated with this focus –the glory of God. (Psalm 89:5-8 eg.)
He is the everlasting God, the Lord of all, creator of all. He is the almighty and eternal one. He is the holy God, most holy God. Even as we sit here, even as we struggle, even as we enjoy the lake or sit down to lunch, as we work and play cry and sing, as we run and leap or feel the ache of arthritis, even as we breath and pulse –God is everlasting, God is eternal, God is holy. Even as we pause to utter our prayer –to ask we must remember, we cannot forget he is a holy God sitting on his throne, high and exalt, whose glorified and to whom the angels continually praise “Holy holy Holy, Lord God almighty!” (Revelation 4 and Isaiah 6)
When we approach God in prayer –to ask or seek or find, this is the environment in which we enter –Imagine His throne high and exalted, angels flying around, the cacophony of praise and we, dare to come into his presence without recognizing this! We dare come before the almighty God to ask and not join in the praise?
Often when we come and ask God we come on the pretense of our rights, our goodness, our wants, our demands and we fail, we fall so far short of seeing He is our Father in heaven –hallowed is His name. Robert Dickie, in His book on worship, says “we have become man-centered rather than God centered in our worship [and in our prayers]. To pretend homage to God and intend only advantage to ourself is to mock God. When we believe that we could be satisfied rather than God glorified we set God below ourselves and that He should submit to us.” (page 23).
What Did Jesus say in the beatitudes? We are poor in spirit, we are mourning for our sin, we are meek and submit to the Father –then we see his kingdom and we are blessed!
The primacy of God is always kept in the forefront of our coming to God in prayer and asking Him. Ask, yes, ask, Jesus says to ask and keep on asking, but ask with the high view of God and His supremacy.
The second word seek has already been used by Jesus. We find it in chapter 6 verse 33. Jesus says we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then he says “And all these things (food, shelter, provision, clothes) to you as well.” To seek is to put ones full attention towards, to earnestly pursue and deliberately strive. Set your mind fully on the kingdom of God, His righteousness. What this means is placing God first, making it our priority to live the way he requires. This means living under God’s kingship and God’s rule. Again we look to the Beatitudes –blessed are the meek. And then to the Lord’s prayer, Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
But this word, seek, has a further dimension that we may find helpful. It means to earnestly pursue and to follow with single mindedness. Jesus, in the days or weeks prior to the sermon on the mount, called to two fishermen Simon and Andrew. “Come follow me,” Jesus said. To follow is to come behind and focus on the one ahead. Earnestly pursue in following Jesus. Seek –keep your eyes steadfastly on Him. Seek, follow after his example. Seek his kingdom, his righteousness (not our own for we have none!) seek Jesus and you will find Jesus. And as you follow you will walk as Jesus walked, Yes, even to places of suffering, persecution and struggle!
Jesus knew struggle, Jesus knew thirst, Jesus knew hunger, Jesus knew persecution, Jesus knew loss of friends and family, Jesus knew the gamut of life and the stuff of life. Jesus knew suffering, even suffering to death on the cross. Keep this in mind when you listen to the words of Jesus. He had the cross before him, he knew he would suffer and die he knew that he could ask God to take that suffering away –to remove that cup –in fact He did. BUT he kept the glory of God first –your kingdom come your will be done! In all and through all he kept the Father first –your will, not mine, your glory not my comfort, your kingdom Father!
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given –added, to you. Seek and you will find. Oh how often do we get that turned around. Why does God seem silent when we ask, why does God seem to not answer? Often I think this is because we ask for the things first –we give the foxhole prayers rather than the life of submission and seeking his kingdom.
Lord, give me a car then I will use it to serve you. Lord save me from this mess and I will go to church. Lord, let me pass this test and I will go to youth group. How backwards we have it, instead of following Jesus seeking Him and keeping our eyes on Him we look behind to see if he is following us to give us what we want! Seek, yes, Jesus says to seek and keep seeking, ut with His kingdom first.
Knock I believe, carries this same idea of seeking God’s kingdom and his glory first and foremost. We read knock and the door will be opened. In the Greek the verse actually reads “knock and opened to you.” The translators have used the parallel passage in Luke 11 to give us this idea of the door (read Luke 11:5-10). And this is a good understanding and helps us to picture what Jesus is saying here in Matthew.
There are two aspects from Luke that I would like to draw upon. The first is that the man who comes is a friend to the one inside –he knows him, there is a relationship. And this brings to mind the question, “What is our relationship to God?” The good news is this –God wants a relationship with us. Sin keeps us apart, but God provided a way for sin to be removed –Jesus died. God wants a relationship with us and it is not based on our efforts or works but in faith –for as many as received him and believe in His name (Jesus) he gave the right to become children of God!
The relationship we can have with God is as a friend –Jesus call us friends when we follow Him, but even more the relationship we can have with god is one of father. (refer to John 14:12-14)
The second aspect is that we can come with boldness. This boldness is not a brash or demanding pushing of our rights, but a confidence and assurance. It literally means lack of feeling shame. Without Christ we are lost –separate from God. We are sinners, dead. Not nice to hear, but true. We cannot approach the throne of God –we cannot even go to the door and knock! But in Christ, because he died on the cross, because he rose again, because he stands at the right hand of the father, when we come to faith in Him and are a follower –an authentic disciple, we are cleansed, alive, spotless, and have no shame –He is our father, he is our God, He is our provider and in Him we can trust.
And this brings us to the rest of the passage. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. If a son asks for bread –he gets bread. If he asks for fish, he gets fish (the two main food staples of Galilee). And how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask!
It has taken me a long time to come to being comfortable with seeming unanswered prayer. I may not always get the results I ask for but I have a confidence in my heavenly father to provide. I know he hears my prayers. I know he cares deeply for me. I know he will provide what I need. I know that He is Sovereign and all He does is for His glory. I know he is faithful, I know that as I seek first His kingdom and His righteousness all things I need will be given to me. I know I need to ask, seek and knock and to keep on asking, seeking and knocking. I know He works all things out for His glory and my good. I know I can approach with boldness because of Jesus and through Jesus and in Jesus’ name. I know My Heavenly Father will give me good gifts. I may not get what I want, when I want or how I want, but in faith I can know My God will provide. He is Jehovah Jirah, my provider, his grace is sufficient for me.
Prayer
All this now understood, we can come with an assurance and confidence in the words of Jesus. When we ask we will receive, When we seek we will find, when we knock it will be opened. God will give us good things, only good things always good things.
Jeovah Jirah –song!
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