Dialogue 29 — Seeking Prayers
Luke 11:9–10 (NKJV)
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Here’s another passage describing how to pray—Luke 11:9–10. Make sense out of that one.
Actually, that’s a pretty good example of what I’m talking about. We tend to think of these verses in terms of requests for favors.
But when Jesus said, “seek, and you will find,” how could this not include seeking His will? When He said, “knock, and it will be opened to you,” what kind of door is He talking about?
The concept of doors opening often refers to prayers that seek His will. God often answers prayers for direction by opening or closing doors. Some of my clearest answers to prayer were “doors” closing clearly and painfully. God has said, “No,” to my heart’s desire more than once this way. What I had been praying for suddenly became impossible.
But the pain of disappointment was overwhelmed by the profound sense of His presence. The first time this happened, I was an agnostic—but not for long.
That’s how you became a Christian?
Yes, but let’s not do that now. My point is that not knocking on His door fits the “I never knew you” theme perfectly. You wouldn’t come into your boss’s office without knocking on the door first.
So, what kind of prayer could be called “knocking on His door”?
Prayer isn’t supposed to be a one-way communication. Few people have heard God give an audible reply, but solid replies are anything but rare. Any conversational prayer counts, even a lamentation. If you’re screaming, “Why God, why?” and are looking for an answer, you’re knocking on the door. So, maybe that’s a sixth kind of prayer—door-knocking. It’s not seeking His will with something specific like, “Should I accept this job offer?” You just want to connect.
Just connect? Like how?
Imagine you had a chance to chat with the wisest, most powerful person in the world—say Solomon in ancient Israel. You’re just an ancient Israeli peasant, but through some happy circumstance, you get a chance for facetime with the king himself. What would you talk about? (Assume you have plenty of time to prepare and think of good topics.)
Would you pepper him with requests for favors? Let’s hope not. Remember, he doesn’t just have money; he has supernatural wisdom. Who knows what you might learn?
So, you might not even have a list of questions. You’d just want to hear whatever he has to say. It’s the same, and more, with God. Just peppering Him with requests isn’t the best use of the time. Getting to talk to Him is an awesome blessing. It’s incredible that He’s interested in hearing anything I might have to say. I must be boring.
So, it sounds like you’re just saying to treat God like He’s God.
Pretty much. There are two more rules (hints, actually) for seeking God’s will in prayer. First off, it’s not good to make it a forced binary sign—where the answer has to be yes or no based on something that happens next. You must leave room for a non-answer. Sometimes you’re supposed to make your own decision and learn from it. Not every prayer is answered, and interpreting a non-answer as a sign borders on superstition.
That makes a lot of sense. I see Christians do some pretty extreme things.
Well, sometimes they’re right when they do things that look extreme from a distance, but not always. Don’t expect to understand everything.
Let me move on to the other “hint”—exceptional signs. There’s one case where a binary choice is okay, if a non-answer is the default. The prayer might be something like, “Lord if you want me to do this extraordinary thing, please give me an extraordinary sign. Otherwise, it’s just too over the top.”
Is anything like this actually in the Bible?
Yes. The classic example is Judges 6:36–40. Gideon asks for an almost impossible combination of events to confirm something.
Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. (ESV)
Because of this reference, asking for an extraordinary sign like this is called “fleecing.”
But do not miss Gideon’s nervousness about asking for such a clear sign. He knows this is a bold, even presumptuous, prayer request. It’s a very rare kind of prayer.
Makes sense. See you tomorrow.
