PROGRESSION OF PRAYER
Submitted by Benson Kyama, Nairobi
Jesus' instructions on prayer are so simple we can all follow them:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). With this promise: "everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (v. 8). There is no such thing as "unanswered prayer," if only we will ask, seek, and knock.
Note the progression.
A child asks for his mother's help. But he cannot find her, so he seeks her. He still cannot find her, so he knocks at her bedroom door until she opens and answers. So with us. We ask, but when it seems he does not hear, we seek him. When it seems he is not to be found, we knock. It may seem that the door is closed, but it is not. Your Father will always be open to you: "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18). He wants to hear your prayer even more than you want to pray it.
So pray with urgency. Jesus' words are imperatives, not options, but commands. Charles Spurgeon advised: "He who prays without fervency does not pray at all. We cannot commune with God, who is a consuming fire, if there is no fire in our prayers." So pray urgently, and continually. Jesus' words are in the present tense: pray and keep on praying.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). With this promise: "everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (v. 8). There is no such thing as "unanswered prayer," if only we will ask, seek, and knock.
Note the progression.
A child asks for his mother's help. But he cannot find her, so he seeks her. He still cannot find her, so he knocks at her bedroom door until she opens and answers. So with us. We ask, but when it seems he does not hear, we seek him. When it seems he is not to be found, we knock. It may seem that the door is closed, but it is not. Your Father will always be open to you: "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18). He wants to hear your prayer even more than you want to pray it.
So pray with urgency. Jesus' words are imperatives, not options, but commands. Charles Spurgeon advised: "He who prays without fervency does not pray at all. We cannot commune with God, who is a consuming fire, if there is no fire in our prayers." So pray urgently, and continually. Jesus' words are in the present tense: pray and keep on praying.
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Benson Kyama, left, is a minister in the Nairobi church and a regular contributor to this website. He has previously written or been featured in the following stories:
Who Is Right For Me? |