The New Covenant - Prayer (Continued)

Introduction

Matthew 7:7–11 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?

Body

Jesus continues His teaching on prayer by telling us He welcomes our prayers, and encourages us to persist in them.

“I’d rather be able to pray than be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.”—D. L. Moody

“There is more that you can do after you pray, but there is nothing you can do until you pray.”—Dr. Curtis Hutson

“The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!'”—Hudson Taylor

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.”—Abraham Lincoln

“Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer, except that which lies outside the will of God.”—Unknown

Our passage of scripture indicates that true prayer, effectual prayer, will not be a quick easy process.

It will be labor. It will be a struggle. It will require endurance.

That we must endure in prayer until our answer is realized.

Our scripture text:

We must Ask:

This involves humbling ourselves before God

We acknowledge our inadequacies and our utter helplessness.

We don’t always like asking someone for help because of these things.

This involves acknowledging God’s absolute power and authority.

We come to God for help because we believe He can answer our request.

We come to God for help because we believe He will answer our request.

It shall be Given you:

God promises us an answer to our request.

He does not promise us when the answer will come.

He does not promise us how the answer will come.

It will not be lent to us, or sold to us for a price. It will be given to us.

“We have not because we ask not...”

We must Seek:

We seek as if to find something of great value we have lost.

We seek as if to find something of great value we know is out there.

We will Find:

He will bring the object of our desire into our lives.

God Himself is found of those who seek Him.

We must Knock:

We may knock at the door of God as friends and children. We are no longer considered enemies or intruders.

Don’t knock at God’s door and then leave before He answers. It’s rude!

Daniel 10 — Daniel fasted and prayed for three weeks. His prayers were heard the first day, but the answer was delayed by the “prince of Persia.”

The door will Open:

God will open the door when the time is right. Do not try and force the door open yourself!

Jesus tells us of the absolute sufficiency of His promises.

All of God’s promises are conditional: “If you will, I will”

When we satisfy the conditions, the promise is ours.

The promise depends upon God’s ability to answer.

The promise depends upon God’s willingness to answer.

God is no respecter of persons. Matthew 7:8 — “For everyone that...”

By faith we claim the object of our prayers, and it becomes just as sure to us as the actual possession

Matthew 11:12 KJV 1900

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Faith is NOT passive! It’s aggressive. It’s dominant. It’s militant. As is our praying.

Jesus promises that He will not give us things harmful to us.

He compares Himself to earthly fathers.

If we, with our selfish, sinful nature, know how to bless and provide for our children, how much more will God, who loves us enough to lay down His life for us, do for us?

Earthly fathers will deny their children things that are harmful to them, no matter how much they cry and whine and complain.

Jesus will also deny us those things that will harm us.

God’s answer will NEVER be a disappointment and we will not be denied any good thing.

Conclusion

Our ability to persevere in prayer will determine to a very large degree how effective we will be in prayer.

When we have satisfied our covenantal responsibilities, and we’re praying in God’s will, we can expect the answer to come.

Whatever answer God gives us, it is for our very best.