Behold The King: Why Pray?
Notes
Transcript
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.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
God responds positively to those who ask, seek, and make their desire known to Him because He is good.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Reciprocate the Relationship
Reciprocate the Relationship
God is the originator of all life. Yet He has no origin. In science they call Him the uncaused cause.
gen 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
God created you to be His image bearer. Your existence has a purpose and meaning.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Due to the introduction of the sin nature in mankind, our communication with Him is hindered as well. Yet He is still in active pursuit of our attention. All of creation testifies to His existence and His goodness.
Conclusion:und in Colossians gives testimony of the creative power as well as His purpose for creating everything.
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
When Jesus proclaims that we should ask, seek and knock, He is declaring that humanity needs to reciprocate the initiated relationship.
Knock means to wrap your knuckles on something to announce your presence.
Ready Response
Ready Response
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.
Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything, He is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions. - A. W. Tozer “Knowledge of the Holy
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Reassuring Resemblance
Reassuring Resemblance
Because we know that God is good and unchanging, we can be assured that His response to our request are good.
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
If you have been saved, by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, you know have the Spirit of God dwelling inside of you empowering you to do good to others in His strength.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
Bodie Thoene, coauthor of bestselling Christian fiction such as the Zion Chronicles, once worked for John Wayne as a script writer. In Today’s Christian Woman, Thoene tells how that opportunity came about.
By the time I was nineteen, I was commuting to Los Angeles and doing feature articles on different stunt men and other film personalities for magazines. Four years later, an article I co-wrote with John Wayne’s stuntman won the attention of the Duke himself. One day he called and invited [my husband,] Brock, and me to come to his house. He talked to us as if we were friends, showing keen interest in us as individuals. From that day on, I began writing for his film company, Batjac Productions. Brock helped me with the historical research.
We were awestruck. Here was this man who had been in film for fifty years and he takes a young couple with small children under his wing! Once I asked him, “Why are you doing this? You’re so good to us.”
He replied, “Because somebody did it for me.”
Conclussion:
We Ask, Seek, and Knock to reciprocate the relationship started by God. God already knows our needs/wants. He already knows what answer will grow us to be more like His Son, and He always answers appropriately. We should do the same to others.