For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.
Luke 11:10 (NASB)
What do you suppose is the catalyst that urges a heart to know God’s Prescence, repent, believe in and love Christ?
Have you ever had a moment when you couldn’t pray? Whether in grief or fear, or even in perplexity, it can be hard to verbalize your prayer. But keep trying. Go to God in silence until the joy of knowing Jesus returns. He hasn’t left.
Even if you can only say, “Help me.” or “I love you, Lord.” Be persistent. You are loved. Share your hope with the world!
Of course, it’s the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit that lives in your heart. He communes in a sweet and unified oneness with the Father and the Son. They draw us to them in that unity.
One of the functions of the Spirit is to encourage believers to pray. Not only that, but He teaches us to pray. And when we are at the end of ourselves, and we can’t pray, the Spirit prays for us.
As true Christ followers you will always have that Resource, and you are told to utilize this precious Gift with persistence.
Pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB)
Look at this little acronymn. I bet you know what it means. A.S.K.
A-Ask
S-Seek
K-Knock
In Luke 11:5-13, we find a parable of Jesus. It is the parable about the persistent man.
Apparently, in Jesus’ day, it was deemed impolite not to offer bread to visitors. In this story, a man’s desire for hospitality is intensified by the fact that his guest has arrived weary and hungry from a journey.
In Jesus’ parable, the man knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for three loaves of bread. The man explains his shame for not having the bread for his guest.
Everyone is asleep, so the neighbor initially refuses. However, the desperate man continues to ask, and eventually, the reluctant neighbor gives in, not out of friendship, but out of impatience.
So, Jesus begins to give the moral of His story by telling the disciples this.
“… everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”
But Jesus wants the disciples to understand why persistence in prayer is vital. Jesus wants you and I to understand that drawing close to the Spirit, our Helper, is our lifeline. The Spirit is our Source for every need, whether it is practical or spiritual.
The point is not that God wants us to beg for anything. He already knows everything that we need. Our real need begins with our need for redemption.
But He also know that we have practical needs and other spiritual needs after our redemption. He knows there are times when we don’t know what to do next.
By persistent, faithful prayer, we begin to see a track record of God’s goodness and love. We see every attribute displayed in His kindness toward all mankind. His patience is beyond our understanding.
Another moral of this parable is how to be persistent. Reverence for God is so important. If we approach God with arrogance, then we will find ourselves praying selfish, godless prayers. But we are told to pray with persistence, in faith and believing.
Our prayers should not focus on material gain but practical needs and be filled with thankfulness for what God has done.
We should always pray for others. Pray for the redemption of the lost, pray for other believers, and we are even told to pray for the quick return of Jesus. Revelation 22:20 (NASB)
Our persistent prayers of faith will quiet our troubled hearts and establish our feet to walk in God’s way, forever.
Luke 11 actually begins with a familiar passage. Why not read it aloud to the Savior who loves to hear you pray.
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation.’”
Luke 11:1-4 (NASB)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 