AN OPEN INVITATION OF PRAYER
Desiring
Less Than What God Can Give
In his
book The Divine Commodity, Skye Jethani shares a story from a trip he took to
India with his Father. While walking the streets of New Delhi, a little boy
approached them. He was "skinny as a rail, and naked but for tattered blue
shorts. His legs were stiff and contorted, like a wire hanger twisted upon
itself." Because of his condition, the little boy could only waddle along
on his calloused knees. He made his way toward Skye and his Father and cried
out, "One rupee, please! One rupee!" Skye describes what happened
when his Father eventually responded to the boy's persistent begging:
"What
do you want?" [My Father asked]. "One rupee (one Quarter), sir,"
the boy said while motioning his hand to his mouth and bowing his head in
deference. My Father laughed.
"How
about I give you five rupees?" he said. The boy's submissive countenance
suddenly became defiant. He retracted his hand and sneered at us. He thought my
Father was joking and laughed at his expense. After all, no one would willingly
give up five rupees. The boy started shuffling away, mumbling curses under his
breath.
My Father
reached into his pocket. Hearing the coins jingle, the boy stopped and looked
back over his shoulder. My Father was holding out a five-rupee note (five-dollar
bill). He approached the stunned boy and placed the coin into his hand. The boy
didn't move or say a word. He just stared at the coin in his hand. We passed
him and crossed the street.
A moment
later, the shouting resumed, except this time the boy was yelling, "Thank
you! Thank you, sir! Bless you!" He raced after us again—not for more
money, but to touch my Father's feet.
This, I
imagine, is how our God sees us—as miserable creatures in desperate need of his
help. But instead of asking for what we truly need, instead of desiring what he
is able and willing to give, we settle for lesser things.[1]
After
addressing his disciples on how to relate rightly to our brothers and sisters
in the family of God, as well as to all people, Jesus gave "An Open
Invitation of Prayer." As Madame Guyon noted, "Everyone is capable
of praying, but many have the mistaken idea that they are not called to Prayer.
Just as we are called to salvation, we are called to Prayer."[2] We will look at the three
aspects that make Prayer simple, accessible, and sustainable. Matthew 7:7-11
Though
Prayer is a vital Kingdom Principle, most Christians don't pray. Only a few
people attend our prayer meetings. One flimsy excuse we offer is that we are
busy and don't have time. Yet many of us spend a lot of time scrolling through
Reddit threads, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, or getting into political
arguments on Twitter. Why don't we Christians pray?
Taylor
Staton points out some obstacles that hinder Christians from praying: 1. We
don't pray for fear of being naïve. 2. We don't pray for fear of silence. 3. We
don't pray for fear of selfish motives. 4. Of all these, most people struggle
with this: we don't pray for fear of doing it wrong. He goes on to say,
"The only way you get it wrong is by trying to get it right." In the
wise words of Candler School of Theology professor emerita Roberta Bondi,
"If you are praying, you are already doing it right."[3] Jesus used three verbs to
explain how we should approach Prayer.
Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it
will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock,
and the door will be opened to you." In a world full of uncertainty and
chaos, Jesus' promise is the most assured thing we can rely on. This command
carries a certainty that requires repeated, ongoing action from a believer to
receive the blessings that accompany the promise.
Prayer
is an open invitation from God for all people, even more so for God's children.
Vs. 8: For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one
who knocks the door will be opened. If you respond to this invitation, you will
be blessed; if you ignore it, you do so only to your peril. Prayer in its
simplest form is talking to God as we talk to our closest friend.
I. Ask,
and it will be given to you.
Biblically,
the word "ask" means to request, to beg for arms; it is seeking help
from an inferior to a superior, etc. In its simplest form, Prayer is asking God
for help in our helplessness. God invites us to ask or call in Him in Prayer,
which fosters a dependence on Him, as it should.
Jeremiah
33:3: "Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and
unsearchable things you do not know." Psalm 86:6: "Hear my Prayer,
LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because
you answer me." When you are struggling with what and how to pray, turn to
the prayers of God's people like Abraham, Moses, Hannah, Hagar, and
particularly the Psalms of David, as they give you inspiration and language of Prayer
to God.
Asking
God in Prayer doesn't always have to be in words; at times you can't find the
words to pray because of pain and agony. All you can muster is to cry out loud
in pain. Psalm 55:16-17: "As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice."
Psalm 34:6, This poor (afflicted) man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved
him out of all his troubles." NASB
The
newborn babies, before they could articulate and learn to trust their parents
they weep and cry to meet their needs for food and pain. Similarly, Prayer
emerges spontaneously in the midst of pain and suffering. God, our heavenly Father,
hears our cries and responds. Tyler Staton notes, "Prayer is a journey
that starts with need and ends in relationship."[4]
Jesus
highlighted the Father-child relationship in prayer in Matthew 7:9-11. Though
our earthly fathers, being evil, give us good gifts, how much more will our
heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him? Let us ask our heavenly Father confidently
what we need. I have seen God provide many times. Ex: Dental Needs. I also
experienced unanswered prayers.
II.
Seek, and you will find
Matthew
7:7b: "Seek and you will find. The one who seeks finds." This verb in
Scripture often refers to God himself and His Kingdom. Jer 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek
me with all your heart." When we earnestly seek Him, we will find him in
the end.
In Ch 16:11, the Psalmist made seeking God his
earnest pursuit. "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for
you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no
water." We come to God in asking; we grow in our relationship with our Father.
When we seek God more than the gifts, we will receive the greatest gift, God Himself.
"Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of
himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive him and
keep him as your own." Writes Mother Teresa."[5]
God is more eager to reveal himself to us than we
are eager to seek Him. He even reveals himself to those who do not seek Him.
Isaiah 65:1: “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by
those who did not seek me. Jesus is appearing to Muslims in dreams.
III.
Knock, and the door will be opened. (Shameless Audacity)
Knock,
the final verb in this teaching on prayer, signifies our desperation and
persistent attitude in prayer. Jesus used an illustration to encourage
persistence in prayer. Luke 11:5-8. A friend had a midnight visitor. This
friend had nothing to feed him, which was shameful in those days. He went to another
friend, knocked at the door, and repeatedly asked for bread.
Though
he initially rejected his pleas, he eventually got up and gave him as much as
he needed because of his shameless audacity. This illustrates that whatever our
need may be, we come to God, knocking in prayer with shameless audacity until
God answers. When he does, he gives us all that we need. Yet sometimes, no matter how hard we knock,
the door of provision may remain shut. What do we do then? Sometimes a closed
door is as good as an open door.
God
invites us all to pray to Him as we would talk with a close friend. Our asking,
seeking, and knocking in prayer are not a one-time thing but should be
continuous. When we linger in God’s presence through prayer, He gives Himself
to us more than He gives gifts.
[1] Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity (Zondervan, 2009), pp.
113-114
[2] Madame
Guyon, Experiencing God Through Prayer, Page 11
[3] Tyler Staton, “Praying Like Monks,
Living Like Fools, Pages 13-22
[4] Tyler Staton, “Praying Like Monks,
Living Like Fools, Page 170
[5] Tyler
Staton, “Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, Page 172
