Matthew 7:7-11 (Devotion)

ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN - "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are 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!"

At times it is easy to read Matthew 7:7-11 and conclude that God will answer every prayer we utter provided we ask in faith. The challenge is that God is not our puppet, genie or Santa Claus whose supreme desire is to make us happy, healthy and wealthy 24/7/365. He simply does not think and act based on our limited knowledge and experience and submit to our authority. Rather, He works through His omniscience according to His sovereign will and for His Glory (not ours). "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). It is difficult to comprehend the enormity of Matthew 7:7-11 though because our human understanding is limited. Therefore, (for example) when natural disasters strike, terminal illness is diagnosed, or persecution and abuse impact our lives, the temptation is to blame God for not stepping in and putting a stop to anything outside our sphere of influence which causes us pain, fear, depression, heartache, hopelessness, etc. On the surface, it sounds logical and reasonable. Why wouldn't God want us to be healthy, safe and prosperous? The truth is, God's desire IS for us to be happy. Better yet, His desire IS for us to be complete, content and at peace with the world around us. However, His desire is contingent upon us finding our happiness, contentment and peace IN HIM and not in anything this world has to offer. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'" (Psalm 91:1-2).

Keep in mind, this sermon on the mount teaching comes shortly after Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. "Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" (Matthew 6:9-13). One key takeaway of the Lord's Prayer is how we posture ourselves when we pray, which is paramount compared to what we are praying about. In other words, recognizing and acknowledging who God is presupposes our trust that He will hear our prayers and act accordingly, because only He has the supreme power, authority and ability to act if He so chooses. The proof lies in the emphasis Jesus makes: YOUR name, YOUR kingdom, YOUR will. Therefore, when we pray we need to lay down our pride and selfish desires at the foot of the cross because the only thing that matters is aligning our hearts with GOD in every way. Prioritization is a common pitfall for most of us though, because it starts with intentional effort. An easy way to discern how intentional we truly are in our spiritual discipline of prayer is to answer the following questions:

• Am I intentionally setting aside time to pray and keeping my appointment with God?
• Am I intentionally clearing my mind before I begin to pray?
• Am I intentionally beginning my prayer's focus with God first and foremost?

What does it mean though to begin with God first and foremost in our hearts and minds?

• Am I intentionally submitting to God's power and authority (Hallowed be Your name)?
• Am I intentionally aligning with God's mission and purpose (Your Kingdom come)?
• Am I intentionally obeying God's Word in order to apply its teachings unto righteousness (Your will be done)?

No doubt, the majority of us never take the time to posture and align ourselves before jumping into our laundry list of prayer requests because we are consumed by the immediate at the expense of the eternal. We simply cannot see the forest through the trees because we only see what is directly before us. We fail to recognize that God has a greater purpose for the temporary trials which frustrate, consume or inconvenience us. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). And if we do not remind ourselves who God is when we pray as Jesus taught, we will likely fester seeds of resentment in our hearts toward God that destroy us from within or fall away completely because of unmet expectations we place on God. The key is finding examples within Scripture that echo the format of the Lord's Prayer to paint a picture of what fruitful, quality time with God looks like, prioritizing our adoration of Him before personal supplication (prayer requests). Granted, that does not guarantee or assume any particular outcome, rather it focuses our attention squarely on strengthening our relational bond with God through the joys and trials we face regardless of circumstantial outcome.

Psalm 23 is a perfect example of how we can begin our prayers with adoration before supplication to ensure that when we ask in faith, we will receive. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1-4). Keep in mind, God does not need our adoration because heaven itself declares the glory of the Lord without ceasing. "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke" (Isaiah 6:1-4). In actuality, the practice of adoration is vital because it reminds us who we are compared to the all-powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, Creator of the universe and Savior of mankind. Therefore (in our example), when we acknowledge God as our shepherd and affirm how He provides, restores and directs our paths unto righteousness, we are equipped with the tools we need to combat spiritual warfare and endure trials. Simply stated, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), and adoration is the method to achieve that mindset.

With this comprehension in mind, we can begin to understand that Jesus is planting a far deeper root within our hearts than prayer request protocol. The message Jesus desires for us to comprehend from Matthew 7:7-11 is that despite our finite capacity to understand God's sovereignty, our Father's love for us is unlimited and unconditional. Therefore, when our prayers are righteous or when our motivations are selfish, God filters out anything that would cause us eternal harm in order to sanctify us according to the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. Of course, we may not comprehend that in the moment. We may in fact bristle and lash out in anger toward God for not meeting the desires of our hearts. Nevertheless, His love is firm and consistent, not contingent upon our obedience to His Word or lack thereof throughout every moment of our lives. Paul reminds us, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Therefore, we are wise to understand that whether God answers our prayers as we see fit or He ordains, the end result will always draw us closer to Him, whether we find ourselves downtrodden in the valley or resting joyously upon the mountaintop. The Lord declares, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15). May we rest peacefully knowing that our Father loves us enough to not only hear our prayers, but meet our needs according to His sovereign will and sanctifying purposes. And may we trust that even in moments of chaos and confusion, He never leaves or forsakes but draws us into His loving embrace where we can find eternal rest.