The Reward for Persistent Prayer

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)

Here is one of the most comprehensive promises about prayer offered to those who belong to Christ. It’s found in the greatest sermon ever preached – The Sermon on the Mount. Read it slowly and consider the challenge Jesus is presenting to His listeners then and to you and me today. It’s found in Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV). I’ve highlighted some words and phrases that literally jump off the page to me:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

Let’s start with the verbs in this passage. Ask, seek, and knock are all in the present tense, indicating continuous action. The New Living Translation captures the significance of this tense by rendering this verse like this: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” In other words, don’t give up! Jesus' followers can keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking, indicating the importance of persistent, consistent prayer in their lives. God promises to answer believers who persistently ask, seek, and knock.  “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Verse 8)

Everyone in this passage refers to those who belong to the heavenly Father. Those who are not God's children cannot come to Him as their Father. As a dad, I’ve noticed that my children are not shy about asking for what they want, and they don’t give up when they really want something. This is the same kind of intimate relationship we share with our Heavenly Father. He delights in our asking Him. In fact, in James 4:2b we are told, “… you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” So, don’t be shy about asking for what you want.

In verses 9 through 11, Jesus said, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”  While this doesn’t give us a blank check or offer us some magic lamp making God our personal genie, it does give us confidence that we can depend on God to not only answer our prayers but gives us even more than we ask!  He says, if as human fathers we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!  Wow! What a promise. So go ahead – Ask Him now.

Jesus is revealing to us the very heart of God, the Father. He is not selfish, begrudging, or stingy! As His children, we don’t have to beg or grovel when we come to Him with our requests. He is a loving Father who understands and cares about all our needs, physically, emotionally, materially, financially, and spiritually. He willingly gives good things if we will just ask Him. Don’t give up. Sometimes His delays are a test of our perseverance or to see how badly we really want it. So ask and keep on asking until He says, “No.” Seek and keep on seeking until you find God’s best. Knock and keep on knocking until the right door opens. Be persistent in prayer. You will experience a deeper dimension of the presence of your Heavenly Father.    

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit https://kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.