Prayer (2)

Previously, I covered a breakdown of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a model for how to construct your prayer time with the Lord. In this post, we will do a deep dive on Matthew 7:7-11. In this passage, Jesus is teaching us about asking, seeking, and knocking. Here is the passage;

7 “𝘈𝘴𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥; 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.  8  𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥.  9  𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦?  10  𝘖𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵?  11  𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘏𝘪𝘮!

The New Testament was written in the Greek language. We are going to review some of the key words from this scripture. Starting with Ask, the Greek word is 𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐨 and it means to request, petition, or require. Given is the Greek word 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢. It means giving something to someone (of one’s own accord to give on something to his advantage). It also means to bestow a gift. The next set of words are seek and find. Seek is 𝐳𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐨 in Greek. It means to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into. Find is 𝐡𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐨 in Greek. It means to come upon, hit upon, to meet with. It also means to find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny or observation. Lastly the words knock and open need to be defined. Knock in the Greek is krove, which means knock at the door. Open in the Greek is 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐠𝐨, which means to open.

If we use the definitions of the Greek words, we can paraphrase the scripture to read in this manner;

𝘙𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦; 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳; 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

Jesus is telling us that we can ask, and seek, and knock to get answers. He will see to it that our requests will be answered. But why are many prayers not answered? We need to look at James 4:3.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴.

It sounds like we are asking the wrong questions. How can we ask the correct questions? Look at 1 John 5:14-15;

14  Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  15  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Our prayers get answered when we are asking according to God’s will for us. That means we must submit ourselves to His will and be obedient to ask and do the things He wants for us. Do not think that this is a difficult thing. Jesus Himself said in John 6:38 - 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘔𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘦.

It is a matter of using the outline at the beginning of this post to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into the Bible so you can know God’s will. That is found in Romans 12:2.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥.

Our way of thinking is corrupt because of sin. But if we study the Bible, which is the Word of God, we will transform our way of thinking so that it aligns with the way God thinks and in that we will find the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Then when we pray and ask the Father, He will grant us our petitions. In a broad sense, God’s will is the same for all of us. 2 Peter 3:9 states;

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘶𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

God does not wish for anyone to die and go into eternity not in His presence. However, each of us has a different assignment or story to complete while we are alive. So, in this respect, God’s will for each person is different. I may hear a person praying and asking for some specific thing and thinking to myself; that sounds great. I think that I would like the same thing. God may not desire for me to have that because my path is different than theirs. That would constitute me asking amiss. I need to spend time thinking, meditating and reasoning in God’s Word so I can know what He desires for me specifically.

Our relationship with Jesus and the Father is a personal one. Each of us has a unique personality that God the Father put into us. You will need to build your relationship by spending one on one time with God so that He can show you what is best for you.

Rejoice, for you are greatly loved!