Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Persistence in prayer will pay off.
Persistence is not just the continuation or repetition of an act.
Persistence implies that the act is done repetitively with the same type of fervency in which the act was initiated.
In this lesson on prayer, which happens to be Jesus second lesson on the subject, he characterizes the prayer life of the disciple as being persistent.
The reason our prayer lives lack power is because we either don’t pray long enough, or we don’t pray strong enough.
Effective prayer requires both intensity and consistency.
The New Testament requires both frequent and fervent prayer.
James tells us that the:
Prayer seems seemingly ineffective because we refuse to commit to the type of prayer that is effective.
This problem of commitment is neither unique nor is it novel.
Although it is common for saints to say that they’ve prayed, and God hasn’t answered their prayers.
This disappointment isn’t exclusive to prayer.
We deem prayer to be ineffective when it does not produce our desired result.
Much in the same way we deem the church ineffective when it has not produced our desired result.
The church is supposed to magically fix our lives.
The Church is supposed to solve all of the issues in the community.
The church is supposed to fix my marriage.
The church is supposed to fix my children.
The church is supposed to fix my finances.
Beloved, the church cannot do anything until you give yourself to the church.
Effective prayer requires you to give yourself to prayer, both consistently and passionately.
The problem with prayer, is our commitment to prayer.
The fact that this is Jesus’s second lesson on prayer during the Sermon on the Mount says a lot about the importance of prayer.
Another important observation that we must make about this text and the Sermon on the Mount in general Jesus attempts to characterize our relationships with our brothers and sisters, and our relationship with God.
He addresses attitudes.
He tells us to value the eternal more than the temporary.
He encourages us to avoid anxiety.
He teaches us to be compassionate judges.
Now, he exhorts us to be persistent prayer warriors.
Our attitude toward prayer should be such that prayer has power if we remain persistent.
Prayer has power, if the prayer has persistence.
Perhaps, our prayers lack both power and persistence because our attitude toward prayer and the God who answers prayer is wrong?
I believe this pericope addresses that problem in three ways.
Action
First, we lack persistence in prayer because we do not rightly understand the act of praying.
I’m sure that at this point you have a basic understanding of the mechanics of prayer.
That is prayer is the channel of communication that God has given us to communicate with him.
It’s not that we don’t understand the mechanics.
I believe we also have some understanding of the occasion of prayer.
We know how to pray when we get in trouble.
We know how to pray when we get a bad report from the doctor.
We know how to pray when our pockets are empty.
We know how to pray when people hurt us.
It’s not that we don’t understand the occasion of prayer.
The reason we do not have the correct attitude about prayer is because we don’t understand the act of prayer.
That is, we don’t understand that prayer requires the person asking to be as active as the person giving.
Prayer is an intense act that requires the prayer to be as invested in the answer as the one he is praying too.
If we pay close attention to what Jesus is saying in verse 7 we see that the person praying is both the subject and the object.
That is to say that the person praying is the one putting something in, and the one getting something out.
If you ask, then you will get.
If you seek then you will find.
If you knock then it will be open to you.
So many of us want God to do things for us without asking him to do it.
You cannot expect God to turn it around if you don’t first turn to God.
The Bible says only then will he respond.
You can’t keep expecting the prayers of everyone else to carry you.
Grandmother can pray, but one day grandmother won’t be around.
Mother can pray, but one day mother might not be around.
The Pastor can pray, but one day the Pastor may not be around.
You can’t keep accusing God of being an absentee father if you’ve been an absentee prayer.
When you practice prayer, you profit from prayer.
We must be active participants in prayer, but there is something else that verse teaches us about the act of prayer.
This verse also teaches us about the intensity of prayer.
If you notice, the act of prayer is described using three verbs: act, seek, knock.
These verbs are listed in an ascending scale.
That is the verb which expresses the least amount of physical effort is listed first, and the verb which implies the most physical effort is listed last.
The act of prayer requires perseverance.
Our prayer lives lack persistence because we fail to understand that the act of prayer requires perseverance.
It is amazing to me how easily we give up on God, but will persevere for no good people in our lives.
We have more faith in people who have proven themselves unfaithful, than God who is faithful.
The act of prayer requires perseverance.
It requires the same type of perseverance that we have when we keep letting people who hurt us back in our lives.
The act of prayer requires the same type of perseverance that we have when we keep lending them money and they haven’t paid us back yet.
The act of prayer requires the same type of perseverance that we display keep saying we’re going to quit, but we show back up at work everyday.
Prayer is an act that requires perseverance, but it also requires active involvement.
The text says ask, seek, and knock.
All three of these verbs are active verbs, not passive verbs.
That means that the person who receive, the person who finds, and the person to whom the door is open is the person who initiated the effort.
Many of us pray with the attitude that once we ask God we’ve done enough and now it’s God’s job to do all the work.
It’s this passive attitude that is hurting our prayer lives, our children, and our homes.
We do just enough to say that we did something, but then we take a passive role.
We send them to school, but never ask them about grades or about homework.
We show up at church, but we never spend time with the Lord when we leave.
We do just enough to say we did it, but never put in any real effort.
If you want to experience the power in prayer you have to get off the bench and get in the game.
The Bible says that Jacob wrestled with the angel all night long.
He touched Jacob’s hip and his hip was put out of joint, yet Jacob kept wrestling.
When day came the angel said, “Jacob let me go”.
Jacob said to the angel, “I won’t let go until you bless me”.
Brothers and sisters, we have to learn how to pray like Jacob.
We have to pray when it convenient.
We have to pray when it’s convenient.
We have to prayer when it hurts.
We have to pray with tears in our eyes.
We have to persevere in prayer.
We have to be active in prayer.
We have to put something into prayer if we are going to get something out of prayer.
Assurance
Secondly, our prayer lives lack power and persistence because we do not have faith in God’s assurance.
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