Praying with Passion

Sunday, Aug. 23
Lk. 11:9. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Asking, seeking, and finding might seem to be out of order. If I need something, I first seek it and when I find it, I ask for it. Since I’m reluctant to meddle with the inspired Word of God, I’m probably on the wrong track. The order of these words may not be the focus here. It may be simply a matter of intensity or persistence. A word often connected to this parable is “importunate,” which simply means persistence. I mentioned earlier that this was not the main idea of this parable. The main point is how much more God will give gifts to his children than human fathers do. I’m going to stick with that, but without question the man in the parable was persistent, and it was that persistence that got him what he wanted. But he was dealing with a human being, not God. I have a problem applying the persistence part of this parable with our Father in heaven. I don’t see anywhere in the Bible that God is reluctant to give good gifts to those that honor him. Many times we don’t even have to ask. “Before they call I will answer.” Isaiah 65:24. We need to remember that parables have one main point. We need to stick with that. The core truth remains: God will not deny giving good gifts to his children. When prayer is not answered, there has to be a reason for it. There are several possibilities. We might be asking for something that is not good for us, or that would interfere with his plan for us or for others. It may not be the right time. It may be that sin has blocked communication with God. Maybe he has answered it in a different way, and we don’t recognize it. The point is that God will never let you down.