Prayers

---

“What Makes a Prayer”
Friday, July 15, 2005 †


“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock,
and it will be opened to you,” (Mathew 7:7).


Why do we pray? What inspires us to pray? Well for starters we may pray because we simply want to communicate with God. We pray because we understand that it gives testimony to our covenanted relationship with God as our Father, and when we are engaged in our Father we grow to know Him and His ways in a more intimate way. We also pray because in our humility we realize that we will suffer without His guidance and His supporting graces in our lives, and we know that it is only by meaningful, sincere prayer that God’s grace is granted. And perhaps we also pray because we desire the ultimate fulfillment of a Christian life, and salvation. But what makes a prayer an answered prayer? With the quote from Mathew 7.7 Jesus revealed three key principles that constitute an answered prayer; 1) the principle of asking – “ask, and it will be given;” 2) the principle of abiding – “seek, and you will find;” and 3) the principle of anticipation – “knock, and it will be opened to you.”

We all know what it means to ask, but we sometimes overlook the fact that there are several different ways this could be done. For instance, a lost tourist can hesitantly ask a stranger for street directions not knowing whether this person will actually know the answer or not. On the other hand, child can humbly as his mother for something to eat when he is hungry with the confidence that she will provide for him. In Greek, word “ask” is “aiteo” which means to beg or to crave. This definition of asking suggests a humble, serious and dependent tone. Therefore, in the Christian prayer the tone of asking is a resultant of the word “aiteo” combined with the confidence of a humble child’s asking. For if our earth parents would provide for us when we are asking out of hunger, wouldn’t our heavenly Father provide us with much more if we were to ask it of Him? That is why we pray, “Lord, give us this day our daily bread …” instead of “may you give us ….”

The second principle that must be present for a prayer answered is “seek” or “zete”, meaning to seek to find out by thinking, meditating and reasoning; to inquire into. God continually calls on us to seek Him in His fullness. Then in the book of John 15:4-7, Christ expanded on the principle saying that the seeking must be a continued effort (or perseverance) referring to it as “abide.” In our dependency and desire for Christ we abide with Him in His omnipresence with whatever condition we find ourselves. And when we are one in God, the life and fruitfulness flows freely from the vine to all its branches. This is the total fulfillment of Christian living.

Then finally, the third principle that needs to be present is the literal act of knocking on a door, Revelation 3:20. When we knock on a door, we anticipate an answer; there is a sense of expectation or anticipation in a knock because we have faith that someone will be there to answer the door for us. And the reason why a person usually knocks on the door is because they desire entry so that they can have dealings with someone inside.

So, the next time you pray or find yourself wondering why your prayer has not been answered walk yourself through these steps: 1) ask with confidence and humility 2) be perseverant in your seeking so you can abide in God lastly, 3) anticipate He will be there to answer your need – knock with expectation. Ask yourself if you are abiding in Him? Is your request pleasing to Him? Are you asking in accordance with His will? If the answers are all yes, then just have faith in God and trust in His timing.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE