July 18, 2019
Adrian Rogers
Scripture Passage: Matthew 7:7
There is no substitute for prayer. It is the Christian’s greatest privilege, and many times, our greatest failure. It is the most unused, untapped force in the Universe.
Matthew 7:7 shows us the three principles of prayer: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Our Heavenly Father knows our needs before we can even ask. We do not pray to impress God or to inform Him of anything He does not already know. We pray to invite God to work in our hearts and in our lives.
God can do anything He wants without us, but we can’t do anything without Him. He wants our participation, and He enjoys it when we delight in working and abiding in Him as well. (John 15:4-5)
Prayer also develops us and causes growth. When we pray and the answer doesn’t seem to come, we turn to Scripture and seek the face of God. God doesn’t want us to live independently of Him. Dependence on God leads to intimacy and a stronger bond than ever before.
Adrian Rogers says, “The great problem is not unanswered prayer; it is unoffered prayer.”
Our responsibility is the asking, God’s responsibility is the giving. Any desire that concerns us can be brought to God in prayer.
When praying, we are on a quest to discover what the Lord wants for us. We must seek the purposes of God and discern whether we are asking for the right things.
Then, there must be determination: prayer is knocking on closed doors. God’s answers are direct, different, or denied. But they could also be delayed for our own growth and good. If that is the case, we have to keep knocking. We cannot stop until we have the answer, and God has given us that assurance.
We are assured that God will answer our prayers, because God is good, He is wise, and He is love.
Are you waiting for God to answer a prayer today? Remember: Ask, seek, and knock. Voice your desire to God, seek His Word to be sure it is according to His will, and keep knocking.
