Prayer is a blessing as is, of course, receiving. We must recognize the fact that God does not need our prayers, but we need to pray. He doesn’t need information, but we need a place to cast our burdens. He doesn’t depend on our calling upon Him, but our hearts desperately depend on the benefits of drawing near to Him in prayer.
Matthew 6:7–8 (ESV) — 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
1 Peter 5:6–7 (ESV) — 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Psalm 73:28 (ESV) — 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
God is gracious in extending invitation after invitation to come to Him in prayer, all of which is fulfilling a basic need we have which is to live in utter dependency upon Him. Otherwise, when we live independently, we sin. It’s sin because it’s pride that keeps us from humbling ourselves to depend upon Him. Notice the passage in 1st Peter 5:6-7 above. Consider the motivation behind the invitations below as God graciously allures our hearts to come to Him with all our needs.
Matthew 7:7–8 (ESV) — 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
James 1:5–7 (ESV) — 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
John 16:24 (ESV) — 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
This is not a trick in alluring us to seek Him in prayer. He has actually promised to help us to pray, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Who will guide and intercede for us according to the will of God. He not only intercedes with the Father on our behalf, correcting our selfish requests, but He helps us by working on our hearts to long for that which is God’s will. Hence, when we pray, God is ministering to us to better understand and long for His will so in turn we will be praying with confidence that God will hear us because our desire is what is pleasing to God. Hence, we see those things for which we are praying, which in turn strengthens our faith and gives us a desire to depend upon God even more.
1 John 5:14–15 (ESV) — 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
We must understand that what hinders our prayers including sin, unbelief, selfish motives, and even the way we treat others that is not in keeping with the word of God.
James 4:2–3 (ESV) — 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Isaiah 59:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Psalm 66:18 (ESV) — 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
1 Peter 3:7 (ESV) — 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
We must realize how feeble our understanding of things really are, so that we not only rely upon God for answers to our prayers but rely upon Him to answer in a way that is best. Notice how Jesus taught this principle after He stated the invitation to ask, seek, and knock:
Matthew 7:9–11 (ESV) — 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 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!
In the same account in Luke, Jesus’s description of “good things” is described as the Holy Spirit.
Luke 11:13 (ESV) — 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Nothing could be better in this life than the ministry of the Holy Spirit Who brings us comfort, grace, help, enlightenment, greater understanding of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and grace to apply God’s word to life as wisdom from above. He, the Holy Spirit, is really the best answer to our prayers because He brings us what we need along with spiritual maturity in our dependency, and shines grace in our lives in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t get any better than that. But wait – there’s more…
Psalm 37:4 (ESV) — 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Isaiah 58:14 (ESV) — 14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
As the Holy Spirit works in your life, your soul is made to bubble over with great delight and you are able to rise above the issues of life that have driven you to the throne of grace as you find great contentment in the presence of God, Himself, thereby opening the real desire of your heart which is to know more of God’s presence and power which He lavishes upon you in grace upon grace. It’s a mere case of asking and receiving.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
