Introduction:

MATTHEW 7:7-11

A.            The Key to Prayer: Persevering in Prayer, 7:7-11

(7:7-11) Introduction: “Ask...seek...knock”: the Lord commands and challenges us to persevere in prayer.

            1.         What is persevering prayer (v.7)?

2.             Why persevere in prayer (v.8-10)?

3.             Why does God not answer our prayers immediately?

            4.         How does a person persevere in prayer (v.11)?

1.            Persevering Prayer: What is persevering prayer (v.7)?

It is asking, seeking, and knocking until the answer is received, found, or opened. It is being so obsessed with getting something that a person never gives up until God responds.  The words ask, seek, and knock are in the present tense.  A person is to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. He is to persist in prayer. The words receive, find, and open are also in the present tense (Matthew 7:8). This shows that the answer to prayer is more than just a promise for the future. The person who perseveres in prayer possesses the answer now. Perhaps the thing has not yet happened, but by faith the believer knows that God has heard his prayer (1 John 5:14-15). (Ephes. 6:18.) Christ taught several important lessons about prayer.

a)            True prayer is persevering prayer.

God expects all of our prayers to be persevering. When we sense a real need to pray, we not only ask, but we seek and knock. We do not play around and glibly murmer a prayer. We pray, really pray.

b)            Prayer is to be often.

Christ commanded prayer. He pointedly said: “Ask...seek...knock.” And, as pointed out above, He demanded that we pray often and pray with intensity.

c)            The answers to our prayers are assured (Matthew 7:9-10).

(1)           God Is Not Reluctant To Give. He is not sitting back disinterested and unconcerned about our welfare. He is as a loving father is to his child—loving and caring. He will not refuse the request of His dear child.

(2)           God Will Not Mock Our Requests. He does not give grudgingly (James 1:5). He does not even hesitate to give. And what He gives is not of less quality than what an earthly father gives. God does not give ragged substitutes. He gives exactly, or better than, what we ask (Matthew 7:11; Ephes. 3:20).

d)            The thing wanted must be in God’s will.

It must not be asked from selfish desires and motives. God gives only what is good and wholesome for us (1 John 5:14-15; cp. James 1:17; James 4:2-3).

e)            True prayer, persevering prayer, acknowledges our dependence upon God.

When we are genuinely in need, we come to God and ask and seek and knock. This has been the experience of all believers time and again.

The very fact that we are asking, seeking, and knocking demonstrates that we are truly dependent upon God. We are His children and He is our Father. Christ said that true prayer is prayer that really means business: it is sincere and genuine in its requests and it keeps on asking and asking until God answers.

Thought 1. There is more to prayer than just asking. A person asks, then he seeks and knocks at the door of heaven until God grants the request. Note two things.

1)         Seeking Contains The Idea That We Seek To Meet The Request Ourselves. This is especially true if the request can be met by human effort. There certainly is no idea of sluggishness or complacency in the tone of “ask...seek...knock.” The thrust is action, a get-to-it attitude.

2)         Knocking Contains Two Ideas. First, we approach every door that we can until the right door opens. We certainly would not pound and pound away at the same door. We must move about knocking until the right door is opened. Second, we must continue knocking at the door of heaven. We must wrestle with God, not giving Him rest until He opens. Such action shows dependency upon Him. And coming to Him in fellowship and communication is bound to please Him, just as such communication pleases an earthly father.

ü   Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”" (Matthew 26:41, NKJV)

ü   Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart," (Luke 18:1, NKJV)

ü   Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”" (Luke 21:36, NKJV)

ü   Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (Ephesians 6:18, NKJV)

ü   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4:6, NKJV)

ü   Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2, NKJV)

ü   Pray without ceasing," (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV)

ü   But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29, NKJV)

ü   Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" (1 Chronicles 16:11, NKJV)

ü   Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6, NKJV)

ü   And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

ü   "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" (Psalm 105:4, NKJV)

2.            Prayer: why persevere in prayer (v.8-10)? There are three reasons.

a)            Prayer is conditional. Christ is pointed:

If we ask, we receive. If we do not ask, we do not receive. If we seek, we find. If we do not seek, we do not find. If we knock, it is opened to us. If we do not knock, it is not opened to us.

                                    “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:3).

Thought 1. Failing to persevere in prayer shames God and ourselves. True prayer is persevering prayer. Our genuineness and sincerity are known by how much we persevere in prayer.

1)         We show disrespect to the Giver when we ask and walk away before receiving what we ask.

2)         We show our gross insincerity when we seek once or twice and stop.

3)         We leave any resident questioning when we knock once or twice and walk away before he comes or has time to open.

b)            Every believer is heard and every prayer is answered.

It is not just the believers who are well-known—the leaders and official laborers—whom God hears and answers, He hears everyone who “asks and seeks and knocks.”

c)            God cares much more than an earthly father cares.

God can be approached as Father. Above all others, He knows what a father should be. Whatever good is within earthly fathers has come from Him. He made fathers. He put within their hearts an instinctive attachment and love and desire to nurture. Therefore, we can expect Him to be personally attached to us and to love and nurture us (cp. Psalm 103:13).

ü   And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:13-14, NKJV)

ü   Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

ü   But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29, NKJV)

ü   If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14, NKJV)

ü   Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’" (Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV)

3.            Prayer: Why does God not always answer our prayers immediately?

 Why is it necessary to ask and seek and knock and to keep on asking and seeking and knocking? Why do we need to ask at all when God knows our needs even before we ask?

                        There Are At Least Four Reasons.

a)            Prayer teaches us to communicate and fellowship with God and to trust and seek God more and more.

When God holds the giving back, we keep coming to talk and share with Him more and more. Just as a human father longs for our fellowship, our heavenly Father longs for our fellowship.

b)            Prayer teaches us both patience and hope in God and His promises.

When God does not give immediately, we patiently (enduringly) keep coming into His presence, waiting and hoping in what He has promised us (Matthew 21:22; John 14:26; 1 John 5:14-15).

c)            Prayer teaches us to love God as our Father more and more.

Knowing that God is going to answer our prayer and having to wait on the answer causes us to draw closer and closer to God and His gifts. Then when the prayer is answered, our hearts are endeared to Him much more than before.

d)            Prayer demonstrates how deeply we trust God and how much we love and depend upon Him.

A person who really trusts God—who really knows he is going to receive what he has asked—will bring more and more concern to God. He will come to God in prayer more and more. But the person who is not quite sure about receiving will only occasionally come, usually only in emergencies. God easily sees how much we love and trust Him by our prayer life.

4.            How Does A Person Persevere In Prayer (v.11)?

a)            The believer must come to God as his Father. Christ explicitly tells us how to come to God.

(1)           We must come to God as “Our Father which is in heaven.” The words “in heaven” acknowledge His sovereignty. God is able to do whatever we ask, and we are to expect Him to grant our requests.

(2)           We must come to God as we come to an earthly father: freely and openly, communicating and fellowshipping. And we are to come often, not neglecting the love, respect, and trust due Him.

(3)           Note the words “how much more.” Whatever earthly parents are, God is much more. He is much more as a Person and as a Father. He knows our every request and He has the knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, and power to grant them.

(4)           God has taken the initiative to create the family relationship with us. He has adopted us as children of God. Therefore, we can come to Him in much more trust and confidence than we can to our earthly fathers (Galatians 4:5-6.)

ü   For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God," (Romans 8:15-16, NKJV)

ü   Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26, NKJV)

ü   But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”" (Galatians 4:4-6, NKJV)

b)            The believer must come to God for good, wholesome things (Matthew 7:11).

Thought 1. Earthly fathers are human and sometimes carnal, and some fathers are even deliberately evil. Note three things about earthly fathers.

1)         Earthly fathers sometimes make mistakes in what they give. They can and do give stone and serpent-like things to their sons, not deliberately, but mistakenly. They are simply deceived by what the world calls acceptable and good. But God is not deceived. God gives only “good things,” things which are truly wholesome and beneficial. If we ask for that which is wrong and harmful to us, God will quickly and pointedly say, “No,” or else He will give what is really needed.

2)         Earthly fathers are sometimes ill-natured, cross, provoking, and wrong in their response to a child’s request. But not God. He always understands and knows exactly how to respond and what and when to give.

3)         Earthly fathers are sometimes evil and harmful, threatening and dangerous, forsaking and deserting. But not God. God knows exactly how to meet the need of the son or daughter who is forsaken or deserted (Psalm 27:10).

ü   But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)

ü   Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, NKJV)

ü   If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”" (Luke 11:13, NKJV)

ü   And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:28, NKJV)

ü   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," (Ephesians 1:3, NKJV)

ü   Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10, NKJV)

ü   So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you." (Exodus 23:25, NKJV)