Matthew 7:7-12 (PRAYER)

INTRODUCTION:

Matthew 7:7–12 KJV 1900

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 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? 12 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.

PETITIONARY PRAYER (ask)

Did you know that you can pray without asking God for anything? You can pray with requests. And we should have times of prayer like this. But Jesus isn’t calling us to this kind of prayer in our passage. He says… ASK.

This necessitates a request or a question. Something that needs an answer.

We never want to isolate a portion of Scripture from the rest of Scripture. Or we never want to take verses out of their context. Does anyone know what this means? We must consider how the verses we are reading connect to the the passages before and after it, as well as all of Scripture. So, think back to vs. 1-6 and our lesson from last week. Why is Christ Jesus instructing his followers to ask, seek, and knock? They have a need.

Jesus instructs his followers to bring petitions to God based on their need. As we saw last week, what is humanities greatest need? Humanities greatest need is that we cannot measure up to God’s standard of perfection, therefore we stand under the judgment of God.

The greatest petition we could ever bring before God is our need for salvation through Jesus Christ.

So Jesus says, If you know that you stand underneath the judgment of God, ask for salvation, it will be given to you. (we’ll see in a moment how believers specifically bring petitions to God)

Did you know that God wants you to bring petitions to him?

Philippians 4:6 KJV 1900

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

God wants to hear from his children. God can handle all of our petitions, all of our neediness. There is nothing God can’t handle and there is nothing God doesn’t want to hear.

Do you believe that? God wants to hear about all of your worries and anxieties. God wants to hear about your financial pressures or health concerns. God wants to hear about your relationship wishes or struggles. God wants to hear about your deepest desires and dreams. God wants to hear about your sin struggles. God wants to hear it all!

*give an illustration about asking questions to my mom as a kid and then the pastors now.

- asking questions admits you have a need.

- asking questions persistently gets people tired of you, but never God.

PERSISTENT PRAYER (seek)

God seems to reward those who pray with importunity. Question. What does importunity mean?

Luke 11:5–8 KJV 1900

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Importunity = Persistence

Many Christians will only bring their requests to God once. God seems to reward those who pray with persistence.

George Muller (1805-1898), a Christian evangelist and director of the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England, was a man renowned for his life of prayer and faith. A famous account illustrating importunity in his life concerns five of his friends:

Muller began praying regularly for the salvation of these five friends. He continued to pray for them daily, without ceasing, for decades. After approximately 18 months, the first friend was converted. A few years later, two more came to faith. It was only after Muller had been praying for over 50 years that the fourth friend was saved. The fifth and final friend was converted shortly before Muller's own death.

Perseverance: Muller did not give up, even when decades passed without seeing the desired results.

Faith: His persistence was rooted in the belief that God is faithful and desires to answer the earnest prayers of His children, in His own timing.

Dependence: It demonstrated his continual dependence on God, not his own efforts or timing.

PARTICULAR PRAYER (good gifts)

What you pray about matters. Jesus wants us to be specific (particular) in our petitions.

The rest of Scriptures tell us that we can ask for wrong things or amiss when we pray.

James 4:3 KJV 1900

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Jesus gives an illustration concerning a father and son. If the son asks for bread will the father give a stone? If the son asks for a fish will the father give a serpent?

The instruction here is simple yet profound and hard to put into practice: Ask for good things. Can someone tell me, what does Jesus mean by good things?

I’m going to give several principles that should govern our prayer as we see in our passage and in the broader Sermon on the Mount:

Bring your needs to God. (1 Peter 5:7)

We already touched on this. God wants to hear about your needs.

Pray in accordance with God’s will. (Matthew 6:10)

What does God’s will mean? holiness, righteousness, sharing the gospel, daily provision, etc. God will probably not grant your request for a ferari. We can have confidence that God will reveal his will to us if we pray in accordance to his will.

*give a copy or two out of Just Do Something

Pray concerning seeking the kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:33)

similar to the last point. Understand the scriptures.

Pray for forgiveness of sins and fortitude against temptation. (Matthew 6:12-13)

Let’s do an exercise together real quick. Let’s transform the following prayers into prayer that are specific concerning God’s will:

God would you give me more money or a raise at work? How can we transform this prayer?

God would you give me a girlfriend?

God would you help this person to stop bothering me?

Particular praying helps us consider God’s will before our will. And this pushes us into the next point. Our prayers and living should consider the benefit of others.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER/LIVING (vs.12)

The Golden Rule. Can anyone say this verse without looking?

This verse is meant to be taken in the positive, not the negative. What does that mean?

Believers should love others by seeking to do good unto them. Not, we shouldn’t do unto others what we would not like done unto us.

This can and should be done through prayer and Christian living.

Our prayers should seek the good of others. We call this intercessory prayer.

Pray for their salvation.

Pray for their spirituality. (holiness, fight against sin, encouragement)

Pray for their needs.

When we seek the good of others, we ultimately fulfill the summary of the law and prophets.

Matthew 22:36–40 KJV 1900

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Often times the Sermon on the Mount can be described as teachings about an upside down kingdom. What does that mean? A kingdom unlike and totally opposite from anything else we see around us.

Seeking the good of others is the hallmark of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, a disciple changed by God. This doesn’t come natural to us. It’s countercultural. It’s radical.

Maybe you struggle with someone in this room. They annoy you, frustrate you, or anger you. They’re different from you or younger than you. They get on your nerves. Christ teaches, that we pray and act on behalf of the good of that person.

Maybe you ultimately seek your own good. You’re primarily concerned about receiving the good of others. Christ teaches that his disciples are ones that pray and act on behalf of the good of others. Examine your heart.

CONCLUSION:

Disciples of Christ bring their requests to God persistently and specifically. And they act for the good of others.

How might the Scriptures be trying to change you tonight?

Do you pray? What does your prayer life look like? Prayer is not about quantity (praying alot). It’s about our heart. Do you recognize God as Father and therefore run to God with your needs? Do you fail to recognize your needs and think you can fix everything yourself? Maybe you pray in accordance with your will and not God’s.

How is Scripture trying to change you tonight?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Jesus says to “ask, seek, and knock.” Why do you think He commands that right after talking about judgment? How does realizing we need God change the way we pray?

George Müller prayed for his friends for literally decades. What makes it hard for you to keep praying for something when you don’t see results right away?

Jesus says the Father gives “good gifts.” What are some examples of things that feel “good” to us but might not be “good gifts” according to God? How can that change the way you pray?

PRAYER PROMPTS

“God, help me be honest about my needs. Show me what I should be asking You for, and give me the courage to bring everything to You.”

“God, help me stay persistent. When I don’t see answers right away, strengthen my faith instead of letting me give up.”

“God, put someone specific on my mind who needs encouragement, salvation, or help. Teach me to pray for their good the same way I’d want someone to pray for mine.”