TEXT: Luke 11:9-13
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
We are in a series of messages titled “Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible.” The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have completed 169 messages in this series.
This is message #170 titled, The Nature of God in Relation to Prayer (Part 3)
There are some basic truths about God that we want to learn that will help create confidence in our prayer life. In our last two messages, we saw three of these principles.
1. God wants us to come to him in prayer. He is eager to hear our prayers.
2. As people who have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we can come boldly to God in prayer.
3. God values persistence in prayer. If we do not get an answer the first time, we are to pray again and again and again.
The Lord continues this theme with his three-part command, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Asking, seeking, and knocking are metaphors for prayer. Through prayer, we ask for our needs. Through prayer, we seek God himself. And, through prayer, we knock and Heaven’s door until we receive an answer. However, as Henry Morris states, “All three verbs are continuous: Jesus is not speaking of single activities, but of those that persist.” In other words, Jesus is telling us to keep on asking, and ye shall receive; keep on seeking, and ye shall find; keep on knocking, and it shall be opened unto you.
Jesus Christ also inspires His disciples and us to have confidence in the process of prayer. He gives us three cause and effect statements. They are so simple that their power can easily be missed. The word “shall” carries with it an air of certainty. If you ask, you WILL receive. It is already set in the fabric of the universe. That is just the way the world works. If you seek, you WILL find. You may not find what you think you are looking for when you first start praying, but you will find what God wants you to find in response to your prayer. If you knock, the door WILL be opened unto you. What’s behind the door may not be what you expected or what you want. But if you knock, God will open the door. “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
To drive this point home, Jesus once again contrasts God with human behavior. H says, “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?” The obvious answer to each of these questions is “no.” Jesus goes on to say, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
When breakfast time comes around in your house, and your children are hungry, you will give them something that is good and nutritious for them. You may not give them what they want or what they are asking for, but you certainly will not give them something that could harm them. Yet, you are a sinful, imperfect human being. How much more will God who is perfect and holy beyond comparison give us, His children, things that are good for us in response to our prayers.
Now, notice how Jesus ends this discussion by saying, “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” He specifically mentions that God will eagerly give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. This statement ties back into the original question of one of the disciples that sparked this discussion: “Lord, teach us to pray?”
It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly learn how to pray and pray effectively and consistently. As Romans states, “the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us.” Only those who are truly saved have the Holy Spirit. And it is only they who can unequivocally claim the promises contained in these verses.
The Holy Spirit drives us to prayer and prays through us. With this emphasis, Jesus brings His answer to the disciple’s question full circle. He has not only set an example of prayer and taught us how to pray, but, in His Holy Spirit, He has given us everything we need to ask and receive, to seek and find, to knock and have doors opened to us. In the Holy Spirit, He has given us everything we need to pray and have our prayers answered.
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Now, if you are with us today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Gospel Light House of Prayer International 