Matthew 7:7-11

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm

Prayer is greatly misunderstood and neglected because, quite frankly, it doesn’t make sense to us and we don’t like what prayer implies about us.  It doesn’t make sense that a sovereign God would somehow benefit from or be affected by our prayers.  Since He is the One who commands prayer; it is our natural assumption that He is the One who is benefited by prayer.  In reality, just the opposite is true.  We are the ones who benefit from prayer.  Prayer does not make God stronger or inform Him about things of which we are unaware.  He is all-powerful and all-knowing and has been for all of eternity.  When we pray, we admit our need for God and we demonstrate our desire to be near to God.  When we fail to pray, we are, in essence, making a declaration of independence and indifference to God.  We may not understand exactly how prayer works and we certainly cannot understand why a perfect and holy God desires to have a relationship with the likes of us.  No matter what we can or can’t explain; it all boils down to this: we need Him and should desire to have a relationship with Him.  Jesus turns from our relationship with others to our relationship with God.  He teaches us two very simple but very powerful truths that we need to keep in mind as we seek to deepen our prayer lives.

THE POWER OF GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR’S: Jesus taught us to ask, seek and knock.  Those three activities imply and demonstrate dependence.  We ask for things we don’t have.  We seek for things we don’t have.  We knock on doors in order to find or request things we don’t have.  When we pray to God we are demonstrating our belief that He has the things or the ability to provide the things we don’t have.  The wonderful truth is that we are right.  God has all that we need and all we will ever need in limitless supply and He delights in sharing it with us.  The reason we pray is simply because God has the things that we don’t have.  We have multiple needs and even more desires and we are very limited in our ability to meet those needs or fulfill those desires.  God has no such limits.  His power is far greater than ours.  He is able to provide all that we ask, all that we seek and all we hope to find when we knock on the doors of heaven in prayer.  God can give anything we ask.  God can find anything we seek.  God can open any door on which we which we knock. 

THE LOVE OF GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR’S: God does not always answer every prayer the way we expect or want Him to.  God is a Father.  We are His children.  Children don’t always ask for the right things, seek for the right things or knock on the right doors.  God’s provision for us is always determined by His love for us.  Fathers love to give their children gifts.  Fathers take great delight in hearing their children ask for good things and they take even greater delight in being able to provide those things.  Jesus reminds us that if we, sinful fathers, are like that; our heavenly, holy Father is even more like that.  He loves us perfectly.  Which is why He cannot always answer our prayers the way we think we want Him to.  Children sometimes ask for cookies right before supper and a good parent knows that broccoli is better for his child than a cookie so he tells his child “no” or wait until after supper when we will have cookies and ice cream.  God’s gifts are far greater than the ones we request.  If He tells us no or wait it is because He loves us and wants the best for us.  He delights in giving us the good things we ask for; but there are many times we ask for things that He knows are bad for us.  An accurate understanding of God’s love will always contribute to a life of prayer.  


APPLICATION: Recognize that we are dependent on God and demonstrate that dependence through prayer.  Trust in the power of God to provide all we need.  Remember that God is a holy and loving Father who delights is giving His children good gifts.  Trust in the love of God and His wisdom to know exactly how to answer each prayer in the best possible way.  Take great pleasure in prayer as we spend time talking to our Father.

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