Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. – Matthew 7:7
Some words just roll off your lips. Do you really care how someone is when you ask, “How are you”? In times of hardship, people often say, “I’ll pray for you.” Does the person who says he or she will pray for you actually do it?
Are there some prayers that are never heard, let alone answered? The prophet Isaiah spoke to the children of Israel at a time when they had lost any spiritual identity with the true God who had led them out of Egypt. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). A wall existed because of their disobedience.
Today’s verse might sound like a blank check in prayer language, but there is more to it. First, this promise is only valid for you, the believer. In context, Jesus was speaking to His disciples – those who were committed to Him as the Messiah. Secondly, obedience to the Father shapes how you pray and what comes out is your desire to please God instead of yourself (1 John 3:22). Thirdly, God wants prayers to come from the right place and with the right motivations (James 4:3). Fourthly, but not comprehensive of all, submitting to and understanding God’s will means that the things you desire, and the things you want, are in line with God’s will for you (1 John 5:14).
Believer, the relationship between you and the Lord determines how you pray. With submission to God, your heart is open to the many ways He may answer. Pray in faith with a submitted heart for this nation and those who are in authority. Ask for wisdom and discernment in the direction they are leading this country. May the Lord guide and bless those who seek His will.
Today’s Verse: Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 1 John 3:16-24
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
