A Generous Father

Text: Mat. 7:7-11

Main Point/FCF:

Application:

Matthew 7:7–11 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

What are some common ways that this passage is misinterpreted?

Think back over the past couple of weeks’ sermon passages (i.e., Matthew 6). How does the context of Jesus’ sermon inform our understanding of this command and promise in Mt. 7:7-11?

What kinds of things does Jesus tell us to “ask” for and “seek” in Matthew 6?

We’re to ask for God’s will to be done, our daily bread, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation. (Mt. 6:9-13) We’re to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

What is suggested by Jesus’s command to “knock”?

Perseverance in prayer

What do you think is the “it” in the promise, “it will be opened”?

The doors of the Kingdom. It is a promise of entry into the Kingdom of God.

Prayers God always answers:

Asking for his will to be done in our lives.

Matthew 6:10 ESV

10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Psalm 40:1–8 ESV

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. 6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

Prayers that seek God’s kingdom and a deeper relationship with him.

Jeremiah 29:11–14 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

When our hearts desire God, God grants us the desire of our hearts--himself!

Prayers for wisdom

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

2 Chronicles 1:7–12 ESV

7 In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”

Prayers of repentance

Matthew 6:12–14 ESV

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:15–16 ESV

15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Luke 11:13 ESV

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!”

Whole-hearted, persistent prayers

Luke 11:5–8 ESV

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

Blessing us with answered prayers makes God happy.

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Luke 12:32 ESV

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

How do you feel when you give your child a gift they really, really wanted on Christmas?

Does it surprise you that God is even more joyful at granting your requests in prayer than you and I are when we give our children good gifts?

How does this change or challenge your mental image of God the Father?

How does the image of a Father giving gifts to his children and the promise in this passage change our understanding of why God sometimes says “no” to our prayers?