Book: With Christ in the School of Prayer
Chapter 5: “Ask and It Shall be Given You”; or The Certainty of the Answer to Prayer
‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall opened.’ – Matthew 7:7-8
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.’-James 4:3
Here He wants to teach us what in all Scripture is considered the chief thing in prayer: the assurance that prayer will be heard and answered. We cannot but feel how in this sixfold repetition He wants to impress deep on our minds this one truth, that we may and must most confidently expect an answer to our prayer.
Biblical scholars have rightly pointed out how the authors we read from antiquity never had a word processor with bold, italics, and underline in order to emphasize their point. They would frequently use word repetition to emphasize things that needed to be remembered. Jesus was certainly making the point that prayer will have answer!
In the three words the Lord uses, ask, seek, knock, a difference in meaning has been sought….
From here, Murray goes on to creatively distinguish the difference between the three: ask, seek, knock. Personally, I think Jesus was just using multiple illustrations to illustrate the same point. I really don’t see a need to nuance each of the three words.
This is the fixed eternal law of the kingdom: if you ask and receive not, it must be because there is something amiss or wanting in the prayer. Hold on; let the word and Spirit teach you to pray aright, but do not let go the confidence He seeks to waken: Every one that asketh, receiveth.
Oh, what a hard word to accept!
It is as if He would tell us that we are not to rest without an answer, because it is the will of God, the rule in the Father’s family that every childlike believing petition is granted. If no answer comes, we are not to sit down in the cloth that calls itself resignation, and suppose that it is not God’s will to give an answer. No; there must be something in the prayer that is not as God would have it, childlike and believing; we must seek for grace to pray so that the answer may come.
Our Father lets His child know when He cannot give him what he asks, and he withdraws his petition, even as the Son did in Gethsemane. … Let us withdraw the request, if it be not according God’s mind, or persevere till the answer come. Prayer is appointed to obtain the answer. It is in prayer and its answer that the interchange of love between .the Father and His child takes place.
Wow, even Jesus withdrew a prayer request after perseverance! I never thought of it that way.
Let us not make the feeble experiences of our unbelief the measure of what our faith may expect. Let us seek, not only just in our seasons of prayer, but at all times, to hold fast the joyful assurance: man’s prayer on earth and God’s answer in heaven are meant for each other.
So true. How often do we use our past experiences to set such low expectations for prayer? Perhaps it’s because we are unaware of the power of prayer. Or, perhaps we don’t want to be disappointed in ourselves if it doesn’t come to pass. Or, perhaps we don’t want to be disappointed in God. God has repeatedly shown himself to be good and faithful throughout scripture… Have we shown ourselves to be confident in his faithfulness? Perhaps that is the essence of faith.
