A Chicago based company claims the prize as one of the world’s largest magazine fulfillment firms. Translated, that means they handle subscription mailings by computer. One of their main responsibilities is to send out renewal and expiration notices. But as computers do, there was a malfunction one day, and an unsuspecting rancher in Powder Bluff, Colorado, got 9,734 separate mailings informing him that his subscription to National Geographic had expired. The rancher had enough, and he dropped what he was doing and traveled 10 miles to the nearest post office. He actually sent in the money to renew his subscription, and included a note which said: “I give up Send me your magazine ” There is something about multiple requests that brings about a response.
Little children know this. They get it. If they want something, they don’t just say, “Mom, could I please have a snack?” No, they say, “Mom, give me a snack, give me a snack, give me a snack. Can I have a snack, mom? Can I? Huh? Huh? Mom give me a snack.” And they repeat that cycle until you break down and give in. They cling. They pull. They tug. They whine. They know how to get what they want.
As I began to think about the verses we have read together today, I began to think how wonderful it is that we have a God who actually wants us to ask him for things. He tells us to ask, seek and knock, and that if we do, we will receive, find and see an open door, an open heart and welcoming arms. What a wonderful God we serve He could destroy the world, but he came to save the world. He could have hidden from us, but he came to us and made himself known. He could be angry with us, but he constantly shows his love and mercy to us. He could remind us of how unworthy we are, but he opens his heart and invites us to ask for what we need from him. It is wonderful and exciting to know this God.
As we consider the words of Jesus, let’s first think about this: Prayer’s cornerstone is the character of God. Jesus begins by saying, “Which of you, if his 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 7:9-11). The invitation to ask is based on the goodness of God and his love for us. The point of what Jesus is saying is that if we, as sinful human beings, want to be good to our children and bless them with good things, how much more does a God who is perfect in holy love want to give us good things.
The people who lived around the lake of Galilee understood some of the subtleties of what Jesus was saying. When he said, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?”, they saw the comparison. The brown flat stones around the lake of Galilee looked very similar to the flat bread which the women baked. A good parent would not try to fool a child with a flat stone when he asked for bread. He would not say, “You’re always asking for something. Here, this stone is all you get ” No, the loving father would give the child what they needed. Or what if a child asked for a fish, would you give them a snake? What Jesus may have intended was an eel — a sea snake. It is possible to imagine a father, living near the lake of Galilee, who is a fisherman by trade. You can see him pulling fish from his net, and close by is his son who says, “Father, give me a fish ” But instead the father pulls an eel from the net and throws it at him. Eels were considered unclean by the Jews of that day and were forbidden to be used as food, so it would have been a double insult to the child.
The Gospel of Luke adds a third example. He says, “Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?” (Luke 11:12). The scorpion is dangerous. It can sting with its tail, which it brings up over its back. It clutches its victim with lobster-like claws. The sting can be painful and even fatal. When it is at rest, it can fold its legs and claws under it. Like this, the pale scorpion can look very much like an egg. But what kind of father would mock his child by giving the child a scorpion when the child has asked for an egg? Certainly not a good father, and certainly not a good God. The goodness and love of God are the cornerstone of our faith. If we do not trust the character of God, we will not be able to pray in the right manner. If we do not understand the character of God, if we do not believe that God loves us and wants to do good to us, we will never be able to approach him. Or if we do, we will not be able to trust him.
William Barclay says, “Any man who prays is bound to want to know to what kind of God he is praying. He wants to know in what kind of atmosphere his prayers will be heard. Is he praying to a grudging God out of whom every gift has to be squeezed and coerced? Is he praying to a mocking God whose gifts may well be double-edged? [Or] is he praying to a God whose heart is so kind that he is more ready to give than we are to ask?” Barclay gives an example of what other gods are like from Greek mythology: “The Greeks had their stories about the gods who answered men’s prayers, but the answer was an answer with a barb in it, a double-edged gift. Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, fell in love with Tithonus a mortal youth, so the Greek story ran. Zeus, the king of the gods, offered her any gift that she might choose for her mortal lover. Aurora very naturally chose that Tithonus might live for ever; but she had forgotten to ask that Tithonus might remain forever young; and so Tithonus grew older and older and older, and could never die, and the gift became a curse.”
Many examples could be given like this from other world religions whose gods are capricious, angry and vengeful. They are only concerned in displaying their power. But we have a God who not only gives us good things, but gives us himself as well. He wants us to know him and allow him to know us. He invites us to draw near to him and ask.
A second important idea we want to think about today is: Prayer is powered by our persistence. Persistence means that you keep at something. You don’t give up. You have patience as you continue to believe that God is going to answer the prayer you have prayed. You are consistent in your prayer life.
Bill Hybels tells the story of a man in his church who came to him and said, “When I was a new believer, the thought of talking with the God of the universe, the thought of him listening to me, responding to my cares and concerns, was so overwhelming I could barely take it in. I prayed all the time when I first discovered I could. I prayed when I got up. I prayed on my way to work. I prayed when I sat at my desk. I prayed at lunch. I prayed with my kids at dinner. I prayed with my kids when I put them to bed. I was a praying monster. It brought me such joy. God was answering my prayers. My life was changing, and I could see others’ lives changing. Then, I don’t know what happened. The whole deal just cooled off. I don’t pray much any more.” He lost his consistency. He was no longer persistent.
That happens sometimes. And it is not necessarily a sign of losing out spiritually. Part of it is the ebb and flow of life. Both in times of feeling very close to God and in times of danger we often pray like crazy. It feels like it is constant, and then the crisis, either good or bad, ends and we go back to life as normal. Prayer does not seem as pressing.
I remember taking a youth group on a canoe trip to Canada. We began paddling across a beautiful wilderness lake in Algonquin Provincial Park. We could see the clouds rolling in, but we had no idea what it would be like on the lake in just a few minutes. With fifteen of us in canoes, and most of the kids were inexperienced, we were in danger as the storm moved in and the waves began to crash over the front of our canoes and swamp them. We were getting separated, but I called for everyone to come together and keep heading into the waves to keep from getting rolled over. I began taking the extra paddles and lashing the canoes together to form a raft. Once we were secure, we began to bale the canoes as those in the back tried to keep us headed into the waves. It was very tense, and I can assure you that all of us were praying every minute. We needed help and we knew it. We were in danger. But the next day the sun came out and we went swimming and played in the water around our camp site. We didn’t think about praying so much. We were no longer praying fervently, repeatedly, hopefully and desperately. We were not as aware of our need of God — even though our need of God was just as great.
Some people only pray during a crisis. And when the emergency is over, they continue to live as though God does not exist. They live selfishly and ignore God’s moral laws. They brush God aside until they need him again. God is often used by his children.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a comedy set during America’s Depression era. The story revolves around three petty criminals who escape from a chain gang. One of them, the leader named Everett Ulysses McGill, tells his companions that he has buried money from a bank robbery near his property in order to persuade them to make a run for it. But near the end of the movie, the law catches up with them, and even though they have been pardoned by the governor, the lawman who has been pursuing them is intent on hanging them. As they are about to be hanged, Everett, Delmer, and Pete stand trembling in front of a large oak, deep in the woods and far away from anyone who can help them. They turn their eyes up to the three ropes that hang from the old tree. Everett, who never had much use for God before, drops to his knees and begins to pray for a miracle from God. “Lord, please look down and recognize us poor sinners. Please, Lord, I just want to see my daughters again. I’ve been separated from my family for so long. I know I’ve been guilty of pride and short dealing. I’m sorry I turned my back on you. Forgive me. We’re helpless, Lord. Help us, please.” As Everett ends his prayer, a small stream of water begins to run around his knees. His companions also notice the water and stare at it in confusion. As the wind blows, suddenly a great wall of water sweeps away everyone and everything in its path — including the lawmen who were about to hang them. The next scene shows Everett, Delmer, and Pete gasping for air as they break the surface of the water. Delmer raises his voice yelling, “It’s a miracle We prayed to God, and he pitied us ” Everett, who just a short time was crying out to God for just such a miracle, chastises his friends as “hayseeds” for believing that it was an act of God. He says, “Don’t be ignorant. There’s a perfectly scientific explanation for what just happened.” Pete says, “That ain’t the tune you were singin’ back there at the gallows ” Everett brushes it off and says, “Well, any human being will cast about in moment of stress.”
There are many people like Everett who use God in a time of crisis and then abandon him when life seems back under their control. But the only reason we can have the confidence to ask, seek and knock is because of an intimate relationship of trust and mutual love. It is a love that follows God and obeys him. And when there is an established and ongoing relationship, Jesus says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). You can avoid having a time when prayer seems to fade out of your life by establishing a regular time and place for prayer. It is a part of praying persistently and consistently. You need to build a holy habit of prayer that takes place at the same time every day, whatever that time is. Find a place where you can do that and don’t vary. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:1-8). That is really the question isn’t it? In the end, will there be those who have trusted in God enough to continue to pray and believe, even if they do not receive an immediate answer just the way they want it? Will they be persistent.
A third important idea we want to think about today is: Prayer is founded on faith. Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” It is those who exercise faith who receive, find and have the door opened. Prayer requires something on your part — faith. And without it there is no answer, for the Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). You have to trust in the goodness and ability of your heavenly Father. Our faith is in the character of God and the power of God. The Gospel of Matthew tells an interesting story about someone that most people would not have expected to have any kind of meaningful faith. Matthew tells it like this, “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion [an officer in the Roman army] came to him, asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will go and heal him.’ The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. . . . When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’” (Matthew 8:5-10).
I want to be the kind of person who says to God, “Just say the word, and it will be done. I know the kind of God you are. I trust you with my life, the lives of those I love and all the events of my life as well.”
Bill Hybels tells about an interesting experience after a baptism service in their church. He writes: “I bumped into a woman in the stairwell who was crying. I thought this was a little odd, since the service was so joyful. I asked her if she was all right. She said, ‘No, I’m struggling.’ She said, ‘My mom was baptized today. I prayed for her every day for almost 20 years. The reason I’m crying is because I came this close to giving up on her. At the 5-year mark I said, “Who needs this? God isn’t listening.” At the 10-year mark I said, “Why am I wasting my breath?” At the 15-year mark I said, “This is absurd.” At the 19-year mark I said, “I’m just a fool.” But I just kept trying, kept praying. Even with weak faith I kept praying. Then she gave here life to Christ, and she was baptized today. I will never doubt the power of prayer again.”
Sometimes when we pray and pray we feel like we are experiencing the law of diminished returns — so we stop praying. We correspondingly diminish our desires and dreams. We stop believing that God cares and that he will act — that he is indeed a God who wants us to ask. I hope that you will trust God’s love and concern for you, and his ability as well. I hope that you will continue to be persistent in prayer, no matter how discouraging the circumstances seem.
Rodney J. Buchanan
May 1, 2005
Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
Ask, Seek, Knock
(Questions for May 1, 2005
1. What need have you been praying for that has not yet been answered?
2. Share an answer to prayer that was a long time coming.
3. How much do you believe that your experience with other people (parents, relatives, friends, religious leaders) have affected your feelings about what God is like?
4. Read Matthew 6:25-26. What does this say about the character of God and his attitude toward you?
5. Read Luke 15:11-24. What does this say about how God views you in spite of your failures? How does this influence your confidence in coming to God in prayer?
6. Read John 5:14-15. Does this always happen? Why or why not?
7. Read the parable in Luke 18:1-8. What does this say about the nature of God and how we approach him? (Hint: God is not like the judge.)
8. Why is persistence important? What is a practical solution to a consistent prayer life?
9. Read Hebrews 11:1. Why is faith important in prayer? What role does it play?
10. Share something for which you will recommit yourself to pray and believe for in the long haul.
