SHARING BREAD
7 “Ask and it will be given to
you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks
finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matt
7:7-12 (NIV)
In the previous chapter Jesus taught us how to bring glory
and honor to God through our prayers by giving us the model of the Lord’s
Prayer. In our verses for today, He teaches
us to pray, pray and pray again. I am
reminded of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians:
17 pray continually;
1 Thess 5:17 (NIV)
“Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the
saint. Beware of anything that stops the
offering up of prayer…..maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in
your heart to God all the time.” Oswald Chambers
“You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all
price. Never, never neglect it.”
Thomas Buxton
12 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you. 13 You
will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD. Jer 29:12-14 (NIV)
Jesus assures us that God welcomes our prayers and urges us
to come to Him persistently and continuously.
This is emphasized by His use of the present tenses in the verbs – “keep
on asking”; “keep on seeking”; “keep on knocking”. Where God finds a prayerful heart, He will be
found faithful to hear our supplications.
He is discovered by those who earnestly seek Him. Indeed, as our Great High Priest in heaven,
Scripture tells us Jesus is at the right hand of God living to intercede on our
behalf setting forth for us the perfect example:
24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent
priesthood. 25 Therefore
he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he
always lives to intercede for them. Heb
7:24-25 (NIV)
We must also approach God as His children – as one would
approach their earthly father – both expectantly and confidently - with complete
trust that He will never withhold anything from us which would be for our
ultimate good. We can be assured He has
full knowledge of what is best for His children and we can rest securely in
what His hand allows in our lives. It is
the promise of Scripture and he is ever faithful to His Word:
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek
the LORD lack no good thing. Psalms
34:10 (NIV)
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows
favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is
blameless. Psalms 84:11 (NIV)
God compares His love and concern for His people to both an
earthly father and a mother however, His compassion, tenderness and goodness
far surpasses that of any fleshly parent. While God is infinitely wise and kinder in
what He bestows, natural parents can be found foolishly fond – lavishing
without having the wisdom to show restraint – to the ultimate detriment and not
good of the child. God is able to give us anything yet He is wiser to withhold
His hand if in His infinite wisdom He knows it will harm and not help us:
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalms 103:13 (NIV)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have
no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah
49:15-16 (NIV)
James tells us that every good act of giving and every
perfect gift is from God Who ever remains the same:
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows. James 1:17 (NIV)
What I know to be true by experience is that God delights in
our praying back the promises of His Word to Him. We can be confident we are praying His will
as well as being assured the answer will come to pass in His time.
“Pleading the promises of God is the whole secret of
prayer.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
What I glean from this:
·
I am to
pray continually.
·
Prayer is
a precious privilege.
·
God is
compassionate and kind and does not withhold anything from me that would not be
for my ultimate good.
