August 12, 2021
A false theology rampant in our materialistic nation teaches that God wants all of us to be financially wealthy. That if you're not rich, it's simply a lack of faith. Nice thought, but it doesn't wash well in about 90% of the world. And often, the motivation is just about me and my self-centered desire to have more money that drives such heresy.
But in a knee-jerk to that teaching, we can swing too far to the other side. God is concerned about His children. He has promised to meet our needs and provide "exceedingly abundantly beyond" all we ask or think. He tells us in the model prayer to pray for our daily bread. This speaks of His provision in every area of life, not just finances.
COMMANDED TO ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK
In the final chapter of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7), Jesus commands us to ask Him for what we need.
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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
OUR CONTINUAL PURSUIT
The tense of the Greek language is telling in these verses. The actual thought is "ask and keep on asking ... keep on seeking ... keep on knocking."
It's a prayer that perseveres, a prayer that doesn't give up. One of our great issues is going to God about something, not getting an immediate response, and walking away doubting Him.
THE FATHER'S CONTINUAL CHARACTER
Jesus compares us to a dad who is asked for food from his son and the totally predictable response. He then reasons how ludicrous of us to think that God is of lesser character.
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (vs. 11)
What is Jesus telling us to do? We should start asking and keep asking; start knocking and keep knocking; start seeking and keep seeking and start BELIEVING that God will give WHAT IS GOOD (i.e., what we really need) to those who pursue Him.
Father, thank You for Your overwhelming generosity and abundant care. Thank You that there is no need I have that you are unwilling to meet in your perfect time and perfect way. Give me discernment regarding what to pursue and then the persistence to never give up in prayer. And cleanse my desires so that what I want is perfectly aligned with Your desires for my life and ministry.
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