The Pathway To Answered Prayer

Sermon Series:

Praying the Bible Way

Sermon title:

“The Pathway To Answered Prayer”

Matthew 7:7-11

Matthew 7:7–11 (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?

10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!

11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

INTRODUCTION:

A- Remember two facts about prayer and requests:

1- God already knows your needs and is moving to fulfill them.

(Matthew 6:25-30)

Matthew 6:25–30 (NLT)

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,

29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

2- Prayer is work and requires diligence

(Psalm 55:17)

Psalm 55:17 (NLT)

17 Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.

(Luke 6:12-16)

Luke 6:12–16 (NLT)

12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

14 Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot),

16 Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

(I Thessalonians 5:17).

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

17 Never stop praying.

TS: With these two truths firmly in mind, let’s take a look at the pointers Jesus gives about the pathway to answered prayer.

I -THE REQUESTS (Matthew 7:7).

Matthew 7:7 (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

* Requests are made by:

A- Asking (Matthew 7:7a).

(Αἰτεῖτε= to ask for with urgency, even to the point of demanding—‘to ask for, to demand, to plead for.’)

1. The starting point for requesting God's intervention is asking.

(James 4:2)

James 4:2 (NLT)

2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

a. There are some things that we must ask of God, if they are to happen.

* Revival- Must be sent by God, through the Holy Spirit. We do our part through prayer, confession, and surrender.

2. There are two responsibilities in prayer—man’s and God’s

(2 Chronicles 7:14).

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)

14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

3. One of the most vital ingredients in prayer is intensity.

(Exodus 32:9-10; 31-32)

Exodus 32:9–10 (NLT)

9 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.

10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

Exodus 32:31–32 (NLT)

31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves.

32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”

(Romans 9:1-3).

Romans 9:1–3 (NLT)

1 With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it.

2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief

3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.

B- Seeking (Matthew 7:7 b)

Matthew 7:7b (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

( ζητεῖτε= to try to learn the location of something, often by movement from place to place in the process of searching—‘to try to learn where something is, to look for, to try to find.’)

1. Sometimes we must become involved in seeking out God’s answer.

a. Sometimes it is a struggle:

1) Example of Gideon

(Judges 6:11-39).

Judges 6:11–39 (NLT)

11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites.

12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

17 Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me.

18 Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.” He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”

19 Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.” And Gideon did as he was told.

21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

23 “It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.”

24 And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day.

25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it.

26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.

28 Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed.

29 The people said to each other, “Who did this?” And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash.

30 “Bring out your son,” the men of the town demanded of Joash. “He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole.”

31 But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, “Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!”

32 From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means “Let Baal defend himself,” because he broke down Baal’s altar.

33 Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel.

34 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.

35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded.

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised,

37 prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.”

38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.”

2) Other examples:

* H.S. student who wants to find God’s will for college.

* Person who wants a deeper understanding of scripture.

C- Knocking (Matthew 7:7c).

Matthew 7:7c (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

( κρούετε= to knock on a door, as a means of signaling one’s presence to those inside—‘to knock.’)

1. Sometimes we must keep knocking until God opens the door or until the answer comes.

a. Example of the woman and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8).

Luke 18:1–8 (NLT)

1 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.

3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,

5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ ”

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

b. Person looking for a job must keep on prayerfully knocking.

II- THE RESPONSE (Matthew 7:8)

Matthew 7:8 (NLT)

8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

A- Assurance of an answer.

(1 John 5: 14-15).

1 John 5:14–15 (NLT)

14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

1. There are three positive promises in this verse:

a. Everyone who asks receives.

b. He who seeks finds.

* Sometimes we are like children.” I can't find it.”-when they haven't looked.

c. To him who knocks, it will be opened.

B- Always persist in prayer.

1. Delay does not mean that he will not answer.

2. Why are there delays in his answer?

a. Sometimes we have the wrong attitudes.

(James 4:6-7)

James 4:6–7 (NLT)

6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

b. Sometimes we ask with the wrong motives.

(James 4:3)

James 4:3 (NLT)

3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

c. Sometimes he is seeking to develop our faith and patience.

d. Sometimes he is testing our earnestness.

3. Why don’t we persist?

a. Sometimes we don’t want God to deal with our issues-

(James 4:8-9)

James 4:8–9 (NLT)

8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

We'd rather give up on God’s best rather than yield completely to Him.

b. Sometimes we lack the faith to believe an answer is coming.

* The largest Gold vein in the world was found by a crew that started digging 3 feet from where the previous crew gave up.

III- THE REASSURANCE (Matthew 7:9-11).

Matthew 7:9–11 (NLT)

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?

10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!

11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

A- God wants to give good gifts.

1- Like a good parent wants to give good gifts to his children.

a. A good parent would never give anything harmful or worthless.

(James 1:17).

James 1:17 (NLT)

17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

b. Sometimes we don’t get what we ask for because it is not good for us.

* As a teenager, I prayed for a particular girl to like me. Wasn't granted. Found out later that she would not be good for me. The Lord later brought the right one- into my life.

B- God knows your needs.

(Matt. 6:24-33).

1. He knows much better about our needs than we do.

a. Children easily get wants and needs confused. Many times even adults do the same.

C- God always responds in love and wisdom.

1. If we, as imperfect human parents, know how to give good gifts-- how much more does our perfect, wise heavenly father!

2. Note: Because of his love, the answer is sometimes “No!'

a. God’s answer is not always what we want to hear at the time.

* God’s answer to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was not what his human side wanted to hear.

(Matthew 26:36-46).

Matthew 26:36–46 (NLT)

36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”

37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.

38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?

41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”

43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.

45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

* God’s answer to Paul about his thorn in the flesh was not the answer Paul had hoped for.

(2 Cor. 12:7-10).

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (NLT)

7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

CONCLUSION: