Sermon Outline

1. Prayer Is Rooted In God’s Sovereignty
2. Prayer Has Conditions
3. Prayer Is Connected To The Gospel of Grace

Introduction

For the Christian, prayer can be both a glorious experience and also a challenging spiritual discipline. We often experience God’s presence in prayer. We go into our prayer closet and pray to our Father in secret and He rewards us. And one of His rewards is His nearness. We may experience this when we pray alone or when we pray with others.

But most of us would also admit to identifying with Peter and James and John in the garden with Jesus when they fell asleep after our Savior had asked them to be in prayer. We fall asleep or get distracted in prayer or grow bored or unmotivated. And we slink away from our time of prayer or mutter something like Lord please accept these weak prayers.

Tim Keller in his book, Prayer, tells us:

Prayer, then, is both awe and intimacy, struggle and reality. — Timothy Keller

Prayer is hard work and we must keep working at it all of our Christian life. The title of our current series on the Sermon on the Mount is called Living in The Kingdom. And the reason we must continue working at prayer is that prayer is part of Kingdom Living. At least 15 verses in this famous sermon are about prayer. Things get done in the Kingdom when God’s people pray.

And like most of the rest of the Christian life, growing in prayer does not usually happen through big powerful experiences but rather as we make small but significant changes in our lives. And my hope for us as individuals and as a church is that we will grow in prayer as a lifestyle. That we will find ways to build prayer into our lives throughout the day.

And what I want us to see today is that there is no specific formula for effective prayer. It could be described both as an art and a science. There are some principles that can help us. And one of the things our text tells us here in Matthew 7 is that though prayer has certain conditions to it we must keep in mind that prayer is rooted in who God is. Prayer centers around who our great and glorious Father in heaven is, the One with whom we have been called into a loving relationship. Let us go to him in prayer now.

I. Prayer Is Rooted in God’s Sovereignty

The Word of God gives us many wonderful promises concerning prayer. Especially in the gospels, over and over again our Savior lays out some amazing claims about receiving what we ask of him in prayer. They are sometimes hard to believe. .

John 14:13–14 (ESV) — Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

The Apostle Peter describes these promises in his second letter as precious and very great promises. We must feed our souls on these promises if we want to grow in our fruitfulness in prayer. But at the same time we must be aware of and focus on the greatness of the God to whom we pray. He is the Sovereign Lord of all the earth. He is our heavenly Father who knows best and has His eternal purposes (both for the cosmos but also for our personal lives)

So the Christian acknowledges and bows to the Kingship and Lordship of Christ. This is what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. The Lord is King over all things. The first (clear) petition we are taught to pray in the Lord’s prayer is Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is the orientation of the Christian’s life (not just his/hers prayers). This God that we come to in prayer Ephesians 1 tells us that He works all things according to the counsel of his will, J.I. Packer discusses the connection between prayer and God’s sovereignty in his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.

I do not intend to spend any time at all proving to you the general truth that God is sovereign in his world. There is no need; for I know that, if you are a Christian, you believe this already. How do I know that? Because I know that, if you are a Christian, you pray; and the recognition of God’s sovereignty is the basis of your prayers. In prayer, you ask for things and give thanks for things. Why? Because you recognize that God is the author and source of all the good that you have had already, and all the good that you hope for in the future. This is the fundamental philosophy of Christian prayer. The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence.

— J. I. Packer

This is to be our orientation when we come to prayer.

Psalm 115:3 (ESV) — Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Theologian AW Pink, said of prayer that often we focus only on the conditions of answered prayer and forget the Sovereignty of God We are to be aware of the conditions of prayer and will talk about them in our second point. But let our focus be first on our great God and His good and holy and wise rule..

This is the foundational understanding of Christian prayer. In prayer we come to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, to whom belongs honor and glory forever and ever. We pray to a God who rules over all things. And it should give us great comfort and joy in both life and in prayer. We pray to the King who is our Father! And we can trust in His good and wise will. But this should not keep us from the holy calling of asking and seeking and knocking in prayer. This brings us to our second point.

II. Prayer Has Conditions

So the Christian comes to prayer with the foundational truth that the Lord is sovereign and that His will may override our prayers. At the same time we are called to, invited to, commanded to pray And to pray believing prayers. Tim Keller quotes Martin Luther as saying it is in prayer that we conquer God. We are called to strive with God in prayer. I know that some folks may not like that language but think of Jacob saying to the angel of the Lord I will not let you go until you bless me. Think of Elijah who kept praying until it rained. Think of Isaiah who said give God no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

So we must embrace this mystery of divine providence and our calling to pray and strive with God through faith filled prayers. Tim Keller touches on this in his book:

If we overstress submission we become too passive. We will never pray with the remarkable force and arguments that we see in Abraham pressing God to save Sodom and Gomorrah or Moses pleading with God for mercy for Israel and himself or Habakkuk and Job questioning God’s actions in history. However, if we overstress “importunity,” if we engage in petitionary prayer without a foundation of settled acceptance of God’s wisdom and sovereignty we will become angry when our prayers are not answered - we will stop praying patient, long-suffering, persistent yet nonhysterical prayers for our needs and concerns.

— Timothy Keller

Now there are many conditions to answered prayer. This is not a teaching on all of those conditions. For our discussion today we want to focus on what the Lord has to say in our passage. And that is ask and you will receive, seek and you will find and knock and it will be opened. These three activities seem to be similar but different verbs. There is definitely overlap but they seem to be three different aspects of what we are called to do in prayer. As we examine these three activities I think it becomes clear that prayer involves active participation and it requires persistence.

The first of these activities is to ask. It’s the most basic part of prayer and often the problem is we don’t do it! We often don’t ask. James chapter 4 tells us we have not because we ask not. When we had the government shutdown recently most of us were probably concerned about it at some level especially when it kept going on without being resolved. But how many of us stopped and actually prayed for our country? I’m not throwing any stones because I realized I was in that category. Yes there are many things that we may be asking for in prayer but there are many other things that we don’t. So one thing I think is worth asking ourselves is “Are there things that are really important to me that I haven’t been taking to the Lord in prayer?”

One of the things that can help us build more prayer into our lives is not to despise praying little prayers often. Asking in prayer often. Whenever I pass by Apex Middle School it reminds me to ask in prayer for our ministry there. When I pass the place where one of my non-Christian friends works, I am reminded to pray (ask) for his salvation. When I come home from church I often pray for those I had the opportunity to talk and fellowship with. Do not despise the day of small beginnings or small faithfulness when it comes to asking in prayer. If you wait to get to some magical moment of heavenly prayer it will probably not or rarely come.

Tim Keller in his book on prayer speaks of another hindrance to asking in prayer.

To the degree you can shed the “unreality” of self-sufficiency to that degree your prayer life will become richer and fuller.

— Tim Keller

Keller also quotes a Norwegian book on prayer:

As far as I can see, prayer has been ordained only for the helpless… Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray.

— Ole Hallesby

I think this author is describing the humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence that J.I. Packer spoke of. So “are there things that you are not asking for because your attitude is “I’ve got this Lord”? It’s hard to admit that but often we live our lives that way. A lack of prayer, a lack of asking may be an indication of that. Sometimes we can be “content” with the current state of our life or ministry and therefore we don’t pray as we ought.

So prayer includes asking and also it involves seeking. Seeking involves searching for something. It also includes to inquire about a matter as well as to examine or inspect something. We seek God for things like wisdom, direction, strength, understanding or help in making a decision. This word seek means to search, or beg for something that is missing or lost or something you are lacking in - you need more of it. The verb stresses diligence and discernment rather than a casual glance.

Seeking is similar to asking only in a more intense or prolonged way. One commentator said that there is a progression in intensity as we go from asking to seeking to knocking. We are serious about the thing we are seeking God for. We see this seeking by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9. It highlights that prayer requires active and persistent effort.

Daniel 9:3 (ESV) — Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

The verb to “knock” carries the idea of striking at a door with the expectation of entry. (It involves faith). The word contains the meaning of both request and relationship.

We ask for what we wish; we seek for what we miss; we knock for that from which we feel ourselves shut out.

— Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2

Like a human father the heavenly Father uses these means to teach his children courtesy, persistence and diligence.

— D. A. Carson

In all three of these activities we are looking to receive that which we do not have and can only receive from God our Father. And in all of them we are active in our pursuit of the Lord. In Luke 11 it recounts a similar teaching of Jesus on prayer. In it he repeats what is recorded in our text: ask and it shall be given… But right before those words Jesus tells a story about a man who needs bread and he goes to his neighbors house late at night. It doesn’t specifically tell us that he knocks but his friend hears him at the door and at first refuses to let him in.

Luke 11:7–8 (ESV) — and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

This points to the condition of persistence. Impudence means shameless persistence. Children are really good at that. It doesn’t bother them to keep on asking. And neither should it bother us. Apparently it doesn’t bother the Lord. In fact it seems as if He is moved by it. In Matthew 15 is the story of a Canaanite woman who kept asking Jesus for the healing of her child. Even when the Lord seemingly rebuffs her, she is not dissuaded. He grants her request and says O woman great is your faith. (do you have a Christian friend? )

So persistence is one of the conditions of answered prayer. These commands to ask, seek and knock are in the present tense, which suggests continuous asking, seeking and knocking, not just a single request.

It’s interesting that in Matthew 6 Jesus tells his disciples not to be like the Gentiles who think they will be heard because of their many words/empty phrases. Now there are times in Scripture where God’s people are pouring their hearts out to God. (He’s just saying don’t think that you are heard for using many words) And here in our text he is calling us to be persistent in our asking. I think this is actually really helpful in understanding at least in part how we can be more consistent in our prayer life.

There are lots of things we can consistently ask God for. Some are things all Christians need or should pray for. Things like the need for wisdom and spiritual strength. We need to grow in holiness and the fear of the Lord, as well as to be filled with the Spirit. We should pray for opportunities to share the gospel and to walk in good works. Then there are things that are specific to our personal lives that we need. Maybe it’s a job, or healing, or a spouse or peace in our homes. And so ask for these things regularly and often and we should remember that we don’t have to use that many words.

In the sermon on the mount we are challenged by Jesus to live in a new way, a kingdom of God way. We are to be poor in spirit, merciful, pure in heart, salt and light and the light of the world. Those attributes of kingdom living should drive us to pray and ask often in prayer.

One of the reasons that prayer is hard work is that it involves a consistent engagement of the Lord. Some answers to prayer only come through persistent asking and seeking of God. Many of you know Tim Willis and his wife Vicki who are long time members. Tim was bed ridden for a number of years with an unknown sickness. After so many years he recovered and is now healed. One of the things that Tim and Vicki learned through that time was never give up asking God in prayer. They kept asking God and seeking God and knocking. They did this persistently over a number of years. Tim and Vicki kept praying, their homegroup kept praying, their church and friends kept praying and today he is an active healthy and fruitful member in our church.

III. Prayer Is Connected To The Gospel of Grace

So what does our text tell us about prayer and the gospel? First it speaks to the “universality” of the New Testament. The gospel is for all people in every nation. Young and old, male and female, rich and poor. Prayer is one of the blessings and responsibilities of all Christians. In verse 8 Jesus reiterates His promise and invitation for all Christians to come and pray.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:8

Remember He is speaking to His disciples about life in the Kingdom. Whoever is in the Kingdom can ask. We all have access to the King! Do you hear that beloved? You and I have access to the King—at any time of the day. Please do not gloss over that. It should continually be a source of amazement. Some of us may have a story of their five minutes of fame when they met and talked with a famous person. Everyday we can come to the throne room of the King.

Is this not part of the gospel of the Kingdom? And the glory of the New Testament saint? The priesthood of every believer? Yes, God gives different people different gifts and callings but we all have the same promises. Each Christian has access to God and can ask, seek and knock. There’s no secret door where the super saints can enter and we can’t. One of the most amazing blessings that the Christian has is that they can draw near or come close to God in prayer?

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV) — Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

James 4:8 (ESV) — Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Ephesians 2 tells us that we who were far off have been brought near—that is the glory of the gospel. Now, in verse 11 there is seemingly a fly in the ointment. Jesus says if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children. Jesus is talking to His disciples and uses this word evil. Martin Luther said

The saints in being righteous are at the same time sinners; they are righteous because they believe in Christ whose righteousness covers them and is imputed to them, but they are sinners because they do not fulfill the law and are not without sinful desires. They are like sick people in the care of a physician.”

— Martin Luther

We who have been justified by faith continue to battle sin all of our lives. But this should not keep us from drawing near to God in prayer. In fact it should drive us to the Lord in prayer. Is not this one of the tactics of the devil to keep us from asking and seeking and knocking? His reminding us that we are in a sense evil. Apart from Christ we are. And we more than anyone are aware that we fight against evil thoughts and words and deeds. In our text Jesus is acknowledging that we are fallen people saved only by His work on the cross. That’s the glory of the gospel that we who are evil can be made righteous by our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ.

And when our flesh or the devil remind us of our failings we have a weapon. It is the word of God. Romans 4 tells us that the Lord justifies the ungodly. So the next time you are battling condemnation just agree with the accusation and then claim that it qualifies you for the saving work of our Savior. It is the illogicalness of the gospel. How can an unrighteous person be righteous? Through the righteousness of another. (Big Brother)

So every Christian can draw near to God. And here is even a more amazing truth and blessing about being able to draw near to God in prayer through the gospel of Christ. We draw near to God who is our Father. Remember that prayer is about who God is and for the Christian He is our Father through Christ. In verse 9 Jesus says Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? And in verse 11 he takes it further: how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! He connects our receiving in prayer to the Fatherhood of God.

One of the most healing and strengthening things for your soul is to draw near to God the Father in prayer. Come freely by faith in Christ and you can experience His love and mercy and nearness. Our culture likes to speak of safe places. Scripture actually tells us of a secret place where we are safe.

For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock. (Psalm 27:5, NASB)

This is the presence of God and is available to every Christian. There is no safer, more secure and loving place than the nearness of God our Father. Ephesians 2 tells us

Ephesians 2:18 (ESV) — For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

It’s good for your soul to draw near to God and at times not even have to speak. Draw strength and mercy and compassion and wisdom from Him. One of the things that Tim Kellor advocates for in his book on prayer is to make meditation part of our prayer time. One of the wonderful truths we should meditate on as believers is the truth that through Christ Jesus, God has become our Abba Father, our dear Father. A good place to start meditating on this truth that is found in the sermon on the mount.

Seventeen times in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to God as our Father. The Kingdom of God is for those who have God as their heavenly Father. It is the Kingdom of our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. John did a great job a few weeks ago when he preached from chapter 6 on Jesus' words about not worrying or fretting. One of the great antidotes to worry is drawing near to God the Father in prayer.

Back in the day I remember seeing a bumper sticker that said something like there’s nothing going on in my life today that God and I can’t handle. That may seem simplistic but there’s a lot of truth in it. We experience that sentiment when we take our daily worries, concerns and fears to the Lord in prayer. Are you living anxiously because you haven’t drawn near to God your Father and asked Him for His help. Martin Luther in his last letter to his wife told her to “Pray and let God worry”.

Experiencing God as Father in prayer is very much related to the good news of the gospel message. You are forgiven of your sins by faith alone. You are justified before God by grace alone. God becomes your Father through Christ alone. Do not allow the devil or your flesh to rob you of the joy of being his child. Even if God is discipling you - He does it in love and He doesn’t condemn you or ignore you but accepts you warmly as His child.

God’s will is for us to ask and seek and knock in prayer confident that our Father will give us good things. .

Conclusion

In closing let me encourage to:

• Make it a habit of a daily prayer time. Tim Keller in his book remarks that it’s hard to have a lifestyle of prayer throughout the day when one doesn’t have a regular time with the Lord.
• Consider praying through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).Use the things that Jesus teaches on to be a source of prayer for you.
• Meditate on the wonderful truth that God is your heavenly Father.