Lessons from Matthew 7: Consistent in Prayer
Jesus gave His followers a model of prayer in chapter 6, but in Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus encouraged those followers to be consistent and persistent in prayer and He gave 3 characteristics of this kind of prayer.
Consistent in Prayer
The first thing He said was ASK! As a child of the living God we come to Him as we would come before our earthly father. We ask Him for what we need, forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, and whatever else we might have need of as His children. And, we ask with a complete and utter dependence on Him.
Like a child who desires to learn how to tie his own shoes, we come to God and ask Him for what we need in order to be all that He has called us to be.
We seek Him diligently and consistently until we learn to do that which He has called us to do. This is not in our own strength but rather in His. We expand our learning and our ability through greater dependence and reliance on Him. And we do so by repeatedly knocking at the door of His throne room.
This is not a one-time event but rather a consistent and persistent pursuing of God through the truth of His Word and prayer. We ask, seek, and knock for wisdom and discernment and to be all that He desires us to be!
Too often people give up after only a few halfhearted efforts and determine on their own that God cannot be found or concerned with their needs. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow-through, and Jesus assured us that we will be rewarded for our efforts.
Jesus said, in verse 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!
Don’t give up; continue to follow Him. Be persistent in faith, focus on pleasing God, and follow through with what He has given you to do. Then, you will reap His rewards.
Jesus’s followers who consistently and persistently A.S.K. God in prayer will not be disappointed or unrewarded.
God often gives us much more than we can ever think or imagine. In fact, Jesus promises to those who give like this, it will be given unto them. A good measure, Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “pressed down, shaken together and running over, will pour into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I don’t know about you but I certainly could use a good measure of God’s grace and mercy, love and forgiveness!
Jesus ended this second section with a commendation: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
This shows that greater are love and forgiveness than a critical or harsh spirit for wrongdoers.
And so in everything sow love. Remember, the measure with which we give is also the measure with which we will receive.
In Judges (just think of the name of the book) it was Adoni-Bezek who conquered 70 kings and cut off their thumbs and big toes. After suffering the same fate he said, “Now God has paid me back for what I did to them” (Judges 1:7).
May that not be said of us as God’s children. Instead, may we reflect the spirit and heart of our Lord Jesus. Let us reflect His goodness and grace to us by repeating His Words and actions on the cross, praying and asking God to, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do!”
Terri Hamman
Faith & Fitness Coach