07/03/2024
Three steps to successful prayer sounds like it could be a pamphlet in a church lobby, but it is much more than that, it is what we all desire… a simple set of three words that we can follow which will improve our ability to converse with God. This morning we won’t be studying some carefully compiled set of rules derived by a theologian in an ivory tower, but rather the actual words of Jesus as He directs us to ask, seek, and knock in scripture. Then, we will apply His words to our prayers and faith lives.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 KJV
Pastor E.M. Bounds also wrote about these steps to successful prayer when he penned these words:
"In the three words ask, seek and knock, Jesus, by the order in which He places them, urges the necessity of persistent prayer. Asking, seeking, and knocking are ascending rungs in the ladder of successful prayer." – E.M. Bounds
And he concluded his thought by saying:
"No principle is more definitely enforced by Christ than that successful prayer must contain the qualities of waiting and persevering." – E.M. Bounds
Scripture tells us to ask God for guidance, the things we need, and truly, for everything in our lives that falls within the boundaries of His will. If we ask in faith and within His will, then we should have confidence that He will provide for us.
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 KJV
So if we ask in faith and within God's will, isn't that enough? Why should I seek and what am I seeking? First and foremost we must insure we are asking within the will of God, and this requires that we seek out His will. Sometimes we think we are praying within the will of God when in fact we are not. Our abilities are limited when it comes to understanding God and without diligently seeking His will we often misinterpret our own desires for His, and Satan is right there to further mislead us as well.
Quite often my wife will look at me and say "I know what you are thinking", when in fact she couldn't be more wrong. We have been married for forty eight years and she knows me pretty well in most things, but not all things... we are complex beings. As for her? Well, I know enough about her to realize that I shouldn't presume anything without some very intense seeking. When a husband accepts this bit of wisdom then his married life becomes much less traumatic (Ha!), Seeking God's will, even when we think we know it, is something we should do always.
Secondly, we should seek out the manner in which God will answer our prayer. In the bible we watch as Jesus heals some people immediately with no apparent action needed by the receiver except for a smidgen of faith, but in other things of God the provision comes over time and requires waiting and perseverance. The arrival of Jesus Himself was one such prayer... Jews prayed and sought Him for hundreds of years before His arrival, and even when He did arrive it wasn't as they had anticipated... We must seek.
And finally, we must knock. This doesn't imply that we must knock to gain God's attention, but rather to determine whether we are at the right place. Are we approaching God within His will? Are we seeking our answer to a prayer that He desires us to pray? Well, let's knock on the door and find out. Sometimes we find that we need to step back and continue seeking, but at other times the door swings wide open.
All of this implies persistence. I find it interesting that the Greek word that is translated as persistence actually means "shameless". As we ask, seek, and knock, we are doing so with persistence... shamelessly. As children we asked things of our parents without the need to be ashamed or fearing we might appear dumb. We knew that their love would preclude them from harshly judging us... And so it is with God.
There is no shame in an unanswered prayer; one that God didn't answer because we needed to realign our desires with His will. There is a saying we hear used in school that goes like this “The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask”, and this is true in prayer too “The only shameful prayer is one you don’t pray." The implication in this is that we must continue to seek, and then go through the process again and again until we feel we better understand God’s will... Ask, seek, and knock.
This morning as we pray, let's be persistent in our unanswered prayers; not in an aggravating, nagging way, but in one that leads us to continue seeking God's will for us and the appropriate prayer to pray. Let's listen to His voice, and also His silence, then seek out what He is telling us. Sometimes when we deal with each other the silence in a conversation says as much to us as many, many, words. When God is silent it isn't because He isn't listening... It's part of the conversation. In God's silence, continue to seek... then ask, seek, and knock once more. God hears our prayers and we must listen for His response… especially the silence.
“Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”
Micah 7:7 KJV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for instructing us to ask, seek, and knock as we seek you, and thank you Lord for making these instructions equally valuable to us as we pray. Thank you Abba for hearing every prayer we pray, and for not belittling us when we don’t pray as we should. Thank you for redirecting us and teaching us to ask again differently after seeking your will and character… then knocking once again. Help us to be shameless in our search for you as we long to believe, and patient in our prayer closets as we converse with you, and ask for your help and provision. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. You are without beginning and have no end, and this is true in all you are. You are the great I Am, and your patience with us in faith, and prayer, knows no bounds as we ask of you time and time again while seeking, and knocking at your door. Have mercy on us Father, and pour out a continuous stream of your grace upon us as we seek, and seek, and seek again. Wait on us Lord, and make provision for us, just as you did for the thief who hung on the cross beside Jesus and who, with his last few breaths, believed at last. Guide us in our prayers Father, and although we might froth the waters of prayer as we ask, seek, and knock repeatedly, show us the truth in your will, and perfect all that we ask of you as we become more righteous and obedient to you in every way. Do this Father we pray so that when we finally stand before you with Jesus that you will find us worthy at last, and grant us your joy, and peace, as we abide in eternity with you.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Great is our God and Father!
Amen!
Rich Forbes