Matthew 7: The Sermon on the Mount (37)
Pray Psalm 63.1, 2.
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
Sing Psalm 63.1, 2.
Nun Danken: Now Thank We All Our God
O God, You are my God, and earnestly I seek You!
My soul thirsts and my flesh in weariness now greets You!
Thus I would see Your face, with glory and pow’r arrayed,
in this Your holy place, Your beauty here displayed.
Read Matthew 7.1-11; meditate on verses 7-11.
What does it look like when you are asking, seeking, and knocking?
Prepare.
1. What incentive does Jesus give us for persevering in prayer?
2. How does He emphasize the importance of keeping on in prayer?
Meditate.
Jesus returned to prayer at this point in His sermon to emphasize its importance, the need to persist at it, and the promise that attends to it.
The promise is that God is ready at all times to bestow heavenly gifts upon us. He is more eager to give than we are to seek! Our Father surrounds us with all manner of good gifts throughout the day, most of which—sight, breath, transport, work, the beauty of creation— we take for granted. These are from God, and should prompt us at some point in our day to reflect and give thanks.
But God has more in store: He wants to give us more of His Holy Spirit, for spiritual fruit and gifts, transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ, and power for witness-bearing (Lk. 11.9-13). Why don’t we ask more frequently for these things?
Prayer is hard work. So hard, in fact, that most of us don’t work very hard at it. We have a few minutes of prayer in the morning and evening, and probably at meal times. But that does not match the expectations of prayer Jesus holds out for those who are seeking His Kingdom and righteousness. We need to take up the struggle of prayer at every moment—asking, seeking, knocking—and persevering in prayer throughout the day.
We will not make progress either in righteousness or the Kingdom apart from an active, persistent, ongoing, and joyful life of prayer. The sooner we get to work on this, the sooner Christ’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven, beginning in our souls.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant [constantly, earnestly] prayer
was offered to God for him by the church.”
‘Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison;
and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, ‘Arise quickly!’
And his chains fell off his feet.”
Peter then went to, “where many were gathered together praying” for him.
He knocked on the door, a girl came to open the door, but was so astonished at the answer to their prayers, that she left Peter outside and ran to tell the others. They, also astonished, thought she was “beside herself.” Poor Peter.
“Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”
(See Acts 12.1-17 for the whole exciting story).
Praying—asking, seeking, knocking. And more knocking.
God hears and answers—constant, earnest prayer—even when tremendous faith is in abeyance.
As Peter’s friends exhibited.
So, what are the things Jesus taught us to pray for and about?
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your Name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matthew 6.9-13).
“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 good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7.11).
“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice, and
preserves the way of His saints” (Prov. 2.6-8).
“And those who know Your Name will put their trust in You;
for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Ps. 9.10).
“For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7.8).
“Persevere in prayer. The sooner we get to work on this,
the sooner Christ’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven,
beginning in our souls.”
Reflect.
1. What are some things you consider worth asking for and seeking over and over?
2. How might you help a new believer get started in this kind of prayer?
3. Whom will you encourage today to persevere in prayer, seeking the Lord and His Kingdom in all things?
So even we who are evil know how to give what is asked. How much more confidence ought we to have that God will give us good things when we ask. God will not deceive us by giving us one thing rather than another when we ask of him. Even we do not deceive our children. And whatever good gifts we bestow, we give what is God’s and not our own. Augustine (354-430), Sermon on the Mount 2.21.73
Pray 63.3-11.
Think ahead to what you’ll be doing throughout the day. Give thanks for each activity or task, and ask the Lord to remind you to give thanks again as you do them.
Sing Psalm 63.3-11.
Nun Danken: Now Thank We All Our God
Your steadfast love, O LORD, than life is better to me;
so I will praise Your Name, and bless You, LORD, most truly.
My soul is richly blessed; to You my hands I raise,
and open now my mouth to offer joyful praise.
By night, LORD, fill my mind with pleasant meditation.
For You have been my help as ’neath Your wings I station.
My soul clings, LORD, to You; I rest in Your Right Hand.
May all who seek my life in Your displeasure stand.
Unto the sword’s strong pow’r let our foes be delivered!
Pursue them to devour their mortal lives forever!
In God will we rejoice and glory in His grace;
but all who live by lies shall perish from His face.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column looks at David as a visionary leader. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
