Introduction:
Our theme for today’s sermon is “ask and it shall be given”. It is a teaching on prayer and its various dimensions that include the need to pray, the way to pray and the results to expect. Prayer is the heartbeat of the believer and results from an intimate relationship with God. It is to the believer’s spiritual life what oxygen is to the physical body. Prayer sustains the believer’s spiritual life, just as oxygen sustains the physical body. A physically dead body has no need for oxygen just as a spiritually dead person sees no need to pray. Since in Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death”, (Rom 6:23) we are all spiritually dead and separated from God and see no need to pray. Jesus Christ took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for sin that whosoever believes in Him is “delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into His kingdom, for in Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”. (Col 1:13-14) The good news is that our salvation does not depend on us for “By grace are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8)
Step One: The revelation of God’s grace
a) Testifies to our spiritual birth
The revelation of God’s grace is through faith and testifies to our spiritual birth, eternal life and godly nature and is confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. (John 3:16)
b) Testifies to our justification
The revelation of God’s grace testifies to our justification. Justification means “just as if” I had never sinned. “Jesus was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our Justification.” (Rom. 4:25)
c) Testifies to our righteousness
The revelation of God’s grace testifies to our righteousness. Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness that we might be made righteous with His righteousness, a righteousness that has never known sin before. We have become His children and can call Him Father. Which Father will deny His beloved children when they ask for what they need to fulfil His will and divine purpose?
Illustration:
“Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness”. (Gal. 3:6) He had an intimate relationship with God and was able to intercede on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah when he heard about its impending destruction. He knew the nature and will of God and asked the Lord “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen. 18:23) Abraham continued saying “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Gen 18:25) Abraham established the truth he knew about God and then began to intercede for 50 righteous people. He continued to reduce the number of the righteous till he reached 10. He stopped at 10 righteous people believing that Lot and his family would make up that number. He was wrong because if there had been 10 righteous people God would not have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Application:
God is a just God and will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. As believers we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus met God’s requirements when He bore and exhausted the full judgement of God on sin before crying out “It is finished”.
Step Two: The revelation of God’ nature
a) God is good
Abraham had an intimate relationship with God. We can also relate to God the right way when we have a revelation of His power, goodness, love and faithfulness. The Psalmist declares that “the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations”. (Ps. 100:5) “There is only one who is good” declares our Lord. (Matt. 19:17) God is willing to meet our needs and will always honour His Word and fulfil His promises.
b) God is love
The Scriptures reveal that God is love. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love”. (1John 4:8) “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”. (1 Jn. 4:16) When God abides in us, we act and ask according to His will.
c) God is faithful
The Scriptures also reveal the faithfulness of God. “The Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one”. (2 Thess. 3:3) The Lord is at work in our lives to protect us and faithfully fulfill all His promises.
Illustration:
The only person who is able to meet all our needs is a good, loving and faithful God. Science and technology, seem to have made many people indifferent to the goodness of God. They wrongly believe they are capable of meeting their own needs and see no need for God. The truth however, is that no one is truly self-sufficient and independent. No amount of careful planning and management can take care of all our needs. In the event of unexpected emergencies our only hope is to turn to God. Jesus illustrates this with a parable that emphasises the goodness of God by contrasting Him with an ungodly person. If an ungodly person can be prevailed upon to respond to human need, how can we doubt the willingness of God to respond to our needs. What Jesus is talking about in this parable is more than just an embarrassing situation due to a lack of bread. He is talking about the difficult situations we encounter in life. He is referring to the misery, suffering and fear caused by terrorist attacks, armed robberies, kidnappings and murders. He is referring to child delinquency, addiction, criminal behaviour, divorce, a business failure, a crippling accident, a terminal illness or even death. These are the unexpected demands that all of us can be confronted with.
Application:
These tragedies happen when we least expect them. When they do happen, there is only one place to go. Christ has invited all those who labour and are heavy laden to come to Him and He will give them rest.
Step Three: The revelation of God’s will
a) God’s will to meet our needs
It is not enough to know the revelation about God’s nature but also the revelation concerning His will. His Will and His divine purpose have been clearly revealed in His Word. God wants to use us fulfil His divine purpose by taking care of our needs when we ask for the right thing with the right motive. We must know His will in order to be prepared when confronted with unexpected demands.
b) God’s will to answer prayer
God has taught us to pray because it is His will to answer our prayers. We need to value prayer as God can only meet our need when we ask. Some people argue that if God is all-powerful and knows everything He should just go ahead and do what He wants? They question why events on earth should be related to our prayers at all? John Wesley gives us the answer when he says, "God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer." This is because according to the Scriptures the whole earth was given over to man’s rule or dominion and God was bound for all time and eternity to honour His commitment.
c) God’s will for us to have an abundant life
God wills to answer our prayers so that we can have life and have it more abundantly.
Illustration:
We can only ask for the right things when we know the will of God. As our Father He answers prayer and like the host in the parable when we are confronted with an unexpected guest we should not just sit down and complain but go to Him in prayer and ask. The host in the parable knew a friend he could ask for bread to meet his need that night. He walked through the dark streets till he found the house. He then knocked on the door and asked for bread and continued knocking till he was given the needed bread.
Application:
What will we do when we are surprised with an unexpected need? Do we know God well enough to ask Him to meet our need? Will we find our way to His presence? And will we knock and continue knocking till He meets our need?
Conclusion:
What will we do when a midnight visitor surprises us when we have nothing to offer? Will we know who to ask and where to find Him? When we regularly go before God we will know where to find Him in the dark when surprised by an unexpected demand. If, however, we do not know our way to His presence, how can we expect to find Him in the dark? When those who have an intimate relationship with God ask for anything according to his will, they put His reputation at stake. The way and manner He meets the needs of His people is a witness to the world that He alone is God.
Personal Response:
God wants to bless us and meet our needs but we first need to come to Him and ask believing “that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. (Heb. 11:6) Let us value our relationship with Christ and spend time with Him to the praise and glory of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
