The Promise of Prayer

We have been encountered by some great motivation to pray in this parable. We have been motivated by the person of Christ. We have been motivated by a parable told by Christ. Now, let us be motivated by the promise given by Christ in verses 9-13. Jesus said,

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
ESV

He tells us to Ask, Seek, and Knock. The three words are all commands…not suggestions. We are instructed to pray! We are instructed to ask, to seek, and to knock. The tense of the verbs in Greek describe a continuous action; keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. Each of the commands gets a little more serious and confrontational. Each word is a little more intense than the word preceding it. You can ask, and you can even seek. You can even knock (bang) on the door, and you should. Why? Because, everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. This is indeed one of the greatest promises concerning prayer in all of the Bible.

There are other promises concerning prayer all throughout the Word. For example, Matt 18:19 says, "if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." Matt 21:22 says, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. He said in John 14:13-14, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." The promise of prayer is that He will hear and He will answer! Think about this. We have access to the God of the universe! We have access to the Omnipresent, Omniscient, All wise, Omnipotent, Almighty, Sovereign God of all creation! He has given us access to Him through the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ! He has promised to hear and to answer our petitions. That is motivation to pray! We read in Jer 29:11-13, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart."

Before we close, we need to stop to be sure we understand the point of Prayer. In these promises concerning prayer, is Jesus giving us a blank check? No. This is not a blank check. It's already been qualified by verses 2 through 4, hasn't it? Here's how you pray (the Model Prayer). The point of prayer is not to change God's mind. God is Sovereign. Listen to what he says in the following Scriptures.

Prov 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Isa 14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn: "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,

Isa 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'

God has ordained the end as well as the means to the end. Prayer is not about changing God's mind. It's not about changing God's plans. It's not about giving Him information He doesn't have. God has got it all figured out. He is sovereign. So why even pray? What is the point of prayer? Here is the point: Through prayer, we can be used by God. Prayer is not about changing God's mind. It is about changing our hearts. When our hearts are changed, then we see Him, His will, His purposes and then we join Him. We don't pray our will….we pray His. Someone has said, "Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God."

Oh how we need to pray. If we are ever to see a move of God, we must pray. I am asking you to pray for the following needs throughout April.

Pray for the men who are on the mission trip to Columbus, MS this week.
Pray for the mission trip to India April 20-30.
Pray for the Mappila people of Kozhikode India that God would begin preparing their hearts and their minds to hear and respond to His Gospel. Many Muslims around the world are having dreams and visions of Jesus just prior to the arrival of a mission team. Pray that the Mappila Muslims of Kozhikode will begin having dreams and visions that will encourage them to seek the truth.
Pray for the men who will travel to the DR in May

Will you be a watchman on the walls for these requests?

Isa 62:6-7 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

Please forward this along to everyone in your inbox to ask them to help us pray.