Don’t give up on prayer! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our (Re)Formation series with a message about persistence in prayer.
Matthew 7:7-12
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
As Jesus teaches his followers, he encourages them to approach God with a “shameless audacity.” We can have this kind of boldness because in Christ we receive three important things.
1) POWER to live.
As Jesus preaches his sermon, listeners might wonder how anyone could live up to the impossibly high standard he sets. How might we find the resource to follow through on his teaching? We ASK. We SEEK. We KNOCK.
2) PERSPECTIVE to trust.
Jesus teaches us that God is better than our best thoughts about him, but still as close and accessible as a Father. If the best of our earthly fathers are still broken, HOW MUCH MORE will God bless those who ask him!
3) PERSISTENCE to endure.
As you pray, your prayers don’t dissipate, they accumulate. Don’t stop asking, don’t stop seeking, and don’t stop knocking. Your Heavenly Father can be trusted to hear you and respond at just the right moment!
