Sermon On The Mount: Ask, Seek, Knock Series

It is not just important that we pray for God’s will but to be an effective prayer we must pray in God’s will. That means that we are in his will when we pray. That means that we are “a righteous man”. We are pure in heart. This is why Jesus said in , Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

John wrote in 1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” Notice the qualifying statement. It is not just asking for anything but there is a conditions in which we must meet to get our prayers answered.

Pray persistently

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7 AV)

We understand the clearly as we read the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-7.

Paul tells us to “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” in Colossians 4:2. Then as if to repeat himself he writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

Some other great examples of persistence prayer is Moses who had to hold his hands up for the Israelites to win the battle.

Then we see Elijah who prayed for prayed for rain after a long drought 1Kings 18:41-45. The Bible tells us that 7 times he sent his servant to look for the rain. When there was no evidence then persistently he presently his requested to the Lord until the rain came.

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:41-45 AV)

It is not just important that we pray but that we pray with power. That we get in touch and in tuned with God. Then he will give us “good gifts”. I have no problem with believing that God has provided for everything that we need plus even some of our wants. In each all we have to do is ask. Ask him.

What we need is important to God.

Praying for Others

These series of passages ends with this command from the Lord, Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

I believe that this is the last principle of prayer. Prayer will change you. It will change your attitude toward God and others. But not just prayer I believe he is talking about intercessory prayer. I believe the last command to effective praying is to pray for others. Not just for your needs. Not just for your families needs but your neighbors needs. Your friends needs. Your enemies needs. When God sees your unselfish prayers for others he will begin to answer for you. It does not mean that we never pray for ourselves but we must follow the principle of “Putting others first”. This is carried over even into our prayer life.

What is it that you have need of tonight? Let us begin by acknowledging God but also by interceding for others.