Prayer through Hardship

Matthew 7:7-12

a. Pray and ask (7:7-10)

b. See the Lord is good (7:11-12)

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Pray and ask (7:7-10)

i. Jesus starts this section with such a compassionate heart. As I read this, I was reminded what type of person He was. It reminded me of Mark 6:34 where He feeds the five thousand and it says that when He saw them, He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The warmness of Jesus’s compassion is something we need to be reminded every day. We grow cold because of the things of the world and we need constant reminders so that we don’t become like the world.

ii. But as I read this, it reminded me of the Lord’s great love for us. It reminded how much He loved me. Jesus truly understood the hearts of those who followed Him. This helps us understand that Jesus understands me and my troubles. Can I remind you that when you go through hardship, whether you are going through one or have gone through one, can I remind you how much Jesus loves you?

iii. Read your bible, read Matthew 7:7 and you will see how much Jesus loves you. This simple verse tells us the love of Christ. Why do I say this? Jesus had just talked about not judging others. Judging others when? When we get into arguments with them. When we get into a fighting match with those we love, Jesus calls us not to judge them. Don’t assume things about them. Rather, take the log out of your own eye so you can clearly see the speck in your brothers eye.

iv. Without understanding my own sinfulness, I will never be able to see the sinfulness in my brother or sister. Without understanding my need for forgiveness, I will never be able to forgive others. This is why Jesus tells us, take the log out of your own eye before you help your brother take the speck out of his. This is why it makes sense that after Jesus tells us to do something this difficult, how can we do this?

v. Jesus starts in verse 7 by telling us ask and it will be given to you. Verse 7 gives us the reminder of the certainty and effectiveness of prayer. Now does this mean, that you pray and all of a sudden it will be given? No. Jesus tells us, ask, and continue to ask. Plead your case with God. Again, the purpose of Jesus’s statement is not a check to check off. No, it’s the heart and desire to trust and cling to God. Again, it goes back to the righteousness of 5:20. Our righteousness must surpass that of the pharisees. What does this look like? We must continue to pray and ask even when God doesn’t answer. Why? Because we believe ultimately that God will provide. This is what we mean by God’s faithfulness. That doesn’t mean the moment you pray He will answer our prayers. No sometimes, these answers take years, decades, maybe it won’t be answered before we die. But the certainty is that it will be given.

vi. What’s important about this verse is that Jesus repeats this 3 different ways. He tells us to ask first, then to seek and last to knock. They all mean the same thing. The stress here is constantly be in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This reminds us as believers that we should constantly be praying but also, constantly pleading. This is why Jesus says ask, seek and knock. The reality is, even when God doesn’t answer, you must keep at it. This is the essence of faith. It is to trust even when, as Jesus says, seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.

vii. The reality of these statements tell us that even when you seek and you can’t find it, continue to seek and eventually God will show you it. Knock, and it will be opened to you here means that knocking shows us a door that cannot be opened. But if you continue to knock, that door that won’t open will be opened for you. What this reminds us is, everyone in life will face doors in life that are closed. No matter how hard you try to solve this problem, no matter how hard you try to push or kick or break the door down, some doors can’t broken or opened. It must be opened for you. The promise here is that God in His timing, will open these things for you.

viii. We might say that’s unfair and useless if God opens it after I don’t need it, but it shows us where our hearts are. Again, the purpose of prayer is to remind ourselves that we are the creation and He is the creator and without Him, we can’t succeed. Prayer is the expression of dependency on God. Even when you don’t see the answer or response you want to hear right away, God will open that door. Ultimately, prayer is trusting in the goodness and faithfulness of God. When you know God is good and faithful, you will wait. If you can’t trust in His goodness, then we will run out of patience. But again, this is what the world wants us not to do. The constant reminders are, well if God is good, why doesn’t He answer our problems right away? If God was good, why would He allow us to suffer so much? Again, suffering is the means in which God shows His faithfulness. You must suffer to see God’s character through it. God’s character is not found in abundance. It is found when we are weak and small. That’s the only time we will trust and rely on Him.

ix. This is why Jesus says in verse 8, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. It goes to again affirm the constant reminder to God’s faithfulness when we pray. When we are praying and trusting despite the results we would like, all those who ask will receive. This is the goodness of God. God is good. Amen? This is the hardest lesson to learn because when we grow through trouble, we question, God where are you? This is where our faith dwindles. But the constant reminder of the Bible is faith is to believe even when we don’t see or hear. That’s what Hebrews 11:1 reminds us. Faith is knowing with full confidence, the conviction of things not seen.

x. This is the element of faith and when we go through struggles it is to test our faith. It is there to remind us to keep trusting. When we go through struggles and our faith is dwindling, we should not just say I have no more faith. No, all situations in our lives are to remind us and challenge us who it is we believe and trust in.

xi. Then in verse 9, Jesus changes the situation. Jesus now deals with the question of what if God gives you something you don’t want? Jesus says, what man is there among you, that when his desperate son asks for a loaf, will instead give him a stone or if he asks for fish, the father will give him a snake instead? Verses 9-10 show us that God will not mock us. Jesus uses the prior example of Matthew 6:26-30. The question of, if the birds of the air don’t prepare for their retirement, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them, don’t you think that you are worth much more than they and will take care of you too? Don’t you trust that when I say I will give you what you need, that I will actually provide you these things?

xii. The problem with us is that, we struggle to believe these things. This is why we have so much turmoil in our lives. We wrestle with these things because it’s actually hard to believe that God will be there for you. Why? We are constantly buying into the world’s philosophy of you must take care of yourself because nobody will take care of you. But the Bible’s stance is, I will take care of you. I have taken care of you. I have given you my son. I have called you righteous through my son. I have forgiven your sins through my son. I have accepted you into my family through my son.

xiii. We know these things. We believe these things and yet, sometimes, these truths feel cold and far away. We feel alone. We feel that things are impossible, and I can’t do anymore. To that, our answer is verse 7-11. Keep praying and keep trusting. Even when you feel dry and are hanging out with a single thread, keep holding on. Why?

b. See the Lord is good (7:11-12)

i. Because of verse 11. Verse 11 tells us if you who are evil will give good gifts to your children, you who are sinners, and you see how desperate your child is, even you would do what’s right for them and give them what they need. If you know this, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?

ii. What is the secret to this? The question is, are you praying? Are you trusting? I don’t want to be like the charismatics who always blame the people for why they go through troubles in life. It’s because you don’t pray enough, it’s because you don’t give enough, etc. But the issue we suffer is, because our hearts are clouded by the problems of life. It reminds me of Mark 6:45-52 where the disciples, after seeing Jesus feed the five thousand go to the other side and they are hit by a storm. They just saw the miracle of God where Jesus prayed and had 5 loves and 2 fish and He just fed five thousand people. Even after seeing this miracle, the moment they are faced with a storm, they strain and don’t look to Christ.

iii. This is us. We have tasted and seen the miracles of God. We have seen God at work in our lives and the moment we have turbulence, we burn ourselves out and stop looking to God. Again, the problem is not that we aren’t doing enough. The problem is not that we aren’t looking to Christ. The problem is our nature. It is who we are. We love ourselves too much. We care about ourselves too much. It’s not about what we do. The problem is deeply rooted to our being. It is the fact that we are sinners. We are not sinners because we sin. No, we sin because we are sinners. It’s not about what we do, but rather, what we can’t do alone. This is why the believer is given faith. Faith is the only means to be able to trust in God. Faith is the means in which we see God. This is why the author of Hebrews 11 says in verse 6, 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarded of those who seek Him.

iv. What is the point of this verse? It isn’t that we can’t please God without faith. That is important but the thrust of the verse is found in those who seek Him. You see, if you are seeking God, if you are trusting in God, that is what it means to please Him. It’s not primarily to please God. No, it’s to seek God. You must believe that God is good and He is the rewarder of those who seek Him. You must seek Him.

v. This is why it makes so much sense that Jesus brings up prayer after teaching his disciples of hardship. When you go through hardship, when you are in an argument and you are at the point of judging others, don’t judge. Instead of judging, pray and seek Him. Understand that through these moments in life that God is good and He does these things like James 1 tells us. It’s there to build our perseverance. And if you struggle to see how God is building your perseverance, James 1:5 tells us, if you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. If you fail to understand how God is working good through these circumstances, go to God with Him. Ask Him. Seek Him. Again, the same reminder that Jesus tells us here in Matthew 7:7. James and Jesus use the same word to ask. If you lack wisdom to see how God is good, continue to seek. Don’t give up. This is the essence of your faith. This is how you know your faith is real. Even when you are discouraged, even when you feel like the world is falling apart, this is how you are found faithful. You must be full of faith.

vi. How are we full of faith? Verse 11 tells us how much more will your Father. Can we pause it there? He’s our father. Some of us have fathers that have shown us love and done all the things they needed to do. For the rest of us, our fathers have not been the perfect example of what a Father is or should be. But what Jesus tells us is, you have a Father in Heaven who will give you and cares about you the way you need to be cared for. Your father might not know everything about you and know your every need, but Your Father in Heaven, He knows what you need. If you being evil know and give good gifts to your children, your Father who is good, will give you the best gifts.

vii. This is what leads us to verse 12. Verse 12 is a reminder of Matthew 7:1-6 but verses 7-11 also help us to see Jesus’s summary. Verse 12 deals with how to treat others, but how do you treat others with respect? How do you treat others the way you want to be treated? You must seek in faith and see that God is good. You can only love others, when you are loved and you know what love is. In the same way, the only way we can treat people the same way you want to be treated is to understand my relationship to God. I must understand that I am first loved by God, and because of that, I can treat others the way they want to be treated.

viii. If we don’t have that understanding, it will always be an upward battle. We will always think to ourselves, how come I put in this much and the other person doesn’t put in the same amount? This isn’t fair. But the reality is, if we feel this way, we are minimizing the death of Jesus Christ. We are minimizing how great a cost Jesus suffered for my forgiveness.

ix. This is why the last connection to the Law and the Prophets because the Old Testament and the teaching of the Prophets is summed up by this idea of treat others with respect in the way that you have been given. What is it? It is Deuteronomy 6:5 or the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before me. Borrowing Deuteronomy 6:5, you shall love the Lord only with all your heart, soul and might. Again, you must seek only to please God. What is the second law of the OT? Leviticus 19:18. You shall love your neighbors as yourself: I am the Lord. We know this to be true because of Jesus says in Matthew 22:40. He says that these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. Why? Because our relationship and walk with Christ will dictate how we treat other people. People who are loved by God and know it will treat others with love. We can’t love others if we don’t know what it means to be loved.

x. So even when you can’t love others and trust others, seek and knock. Ask God to give you the strength to love them and what will God do? Give you another opportunity to love them by putting you in a situation where you will have to forgive and love them.

xi. I want to leave you with an example. In the army, they put some soldiers in very arduous and difficult training. Why? Because as we encounter these difficult situations, it teaches us how we should act and how we need to think. Well, it’s the same way in which God trains us. God puts us in difficult situations and tests us so we know how to act and how to trust in Him. We can never learn this unless we go through the fire. And what are we supposed to learn from these difficult lessons in life? Our job is to learn and see that the Lord is good.

3. CONCLUSION