PRAYING WITH PERSEVERANCE

-- { Matthew 7:7-11 }  ⁷ ‘Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? ¹⁰ Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? ¹¹ 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!  -- NRSV

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

Prayer is serious business.  One focus of our theme for 2005 of “Turn On The Light” is Prayer.  Today we look at part two of our three part series on “How To Pray.”  Last week we looked at “Praying With The Right Motive.”  Today we will look at “Praying With Perseverance” and next week “Praying In The Name Of Jesus.”

Our text for today is Matthew 7:7-11.  We will break it down into three parts.

First, what is persevering prayer (7:7)  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

What is persevering prayer?  It is asking God, seeking God and knocking at His presence until the answer is given, found, or opened.  It is like an obsession until an answer is received.  The tense of the Greek is present tense meaning that you are to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking.  

The words “given”, “find” and “opened” are also in the present tense meaning that the one praying comes to know he already has the answer.  It may not have happened yet but by faith the believer knows that God has heard his prayer.  

Jesus taught several important lessons on proper prayer.

1. True prayer is persevering prayer.  Do not play around with prayer.  If you are going to pray, pray hard.

2. Prayer is to be often.  Jesus commanded prayer and like Paul wants you to pray at anytime and in any place.

3. The answers to our prayers are assured.

1. God is not reluctant to give to you.  He is not disinterested or unconcerned.  He cares more than we can imagine.  God loves to give.  James says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

2. God will not make fun of your requests.  With God there is no such thing as a dumb prayer.  And He can give exactly what we ask or beyond.  Paul says in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

4. The thing wanted must be in God’s will.  You should not ask out of selfish desires or motives.  God will give only what is good for us.  John shares about this in 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

5. True prayer acknowledges your dependence upon God.  The very fact of your asking, seeking and knocking witness to your faith and trust in God.  You will not be praying to God if you don’t believe in Him.

There is much more to prayer than we will be covering here.  Don’t forget about your prayers of thanksgiving and praise, confession and forgiveness.  

In the area of asking there are a couple of principles that we must consider.

Second, why persevere in prayer (7:8-10)  “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

1. Jesus is very pointed;  If you ask you will receive.  If you don’t you won’t.  We must always leave God some room here, however.  His hand is always on your life even when you ignore Him.  He is faithful.  But James reminds us in James 4:2, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”  So Jesus wants us to pray seriously, sincerely and with perseverance.  

2. Every believer is heard and every prayer is answered.  God is up to the task.

3. God cares much more than an earthly father cares.  Jesus wants us to approach God as our loving Father.  This is a new privilege we have through Jesus.  When He taught us to pray, He said, “Our Father…”

Third, how does a person persevere in prayer (7:11)  “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!”

1. You are instructed by Jesus to approach God as your Father.  Jesus gives some clear instruction here.

1. You must come to God as “Our Father, who art in heaven…”  The words “in heaven” acknowledge His sovereignty.  He is able to help us.

2. You must come to God as you come to your earthly father -  freely, openly, communicating and in fellowship.

You have been adopted as His child.  That should bring you a new security for the future.  You can trust Him always.  As Paul says in Romans 8:15-16, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

2. You must approach God for good, wholesome things.  Earthly fathers are human and thus can do wrong things.  This is not the case with our Heavenly Father.  

1. Earthly fathers sometimes make mistakes in how they live and what they give.  They may be deceived by what the world thinks is good.

2. Earthly fathers are sometimes ill-natured, mean, provoking, and wrong in their response to a child’s request.  But not God.  He understands and can see our innermost self and is sensitive to us and will respond accordingly.

3. Earthly fathers are sometimes evil and harmful.  They may threaten or put their children in danger.  They may abandon their children.  But not God.  He is your Father for now and eternity.  

We have the promise of our Heavenly Father through Jesus in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

In summing up, how are we to pray with perseverance?

  Amen.