Matthew 7:7-14 Senior Pastor Alex Kennedy In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is commanding us to pray. He is commanding us to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. There is an upward urgency in each of these actions. Keep on asking Kyle Mercer said, “I don’t think we struggle wo much with unanswered prayer; we struggle more with unoffered prayer.” When we ask, we show a dependency on God and a humility. Asking is welcomed by Him because it is based on a relationship. Keep on seeking We look for things that are valuable or missing. If we have a right relationship with the Lord, then we should seek to know Him more. (Psalm 105:4; 119:2; Matthew 6:33) Keep on knocking There is an idea of persistence here. Knock until there is an answer. Jesus speaks directly to this in the Luke 11:5-8 parable of the persistent friend. In verse 8, it says, “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Experience does not seem to bear this out in our finite understanding. We must choose to pray while trusting in God’s goodness and willingness to answer. (Matthew 6:7-8) How long should we ask, seek, and knock? We do this until we get an answer of yes, no, or wait. If you haven’t heard yes or no, then you keep asking. Being good, our heavenly Father gives only good gifts to His children. Being wise as well, He knows which gifts are good and which are not. We must always remember that prayer is relational, not transactional. Verses 9-11 show a very practical way that this works. Children will ask their parents repeatedly for things until they receive a reply. Parents, even with an imperfect sin nature, want to give good gifts to their children, but must discern what is best for them. God, who is perfect in love and understanding, doesn’t give harmful things in response to prayer. He gives what is best from the perspective of an all-knowing Creator. Verse 12 is known as the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Jesus actually (brilliantly) turned around an old saying that everyone would have known. That saying was, “Don’t do to others what you would hate to have them do to you.” What is so compelling about this is that the old saying didn’t require someone to do anything, while the positive version requires action to honor another person. What Jesus is saying to love people any way you can. Jesus turns a corner in verse 13. He compares 4 sets of pairs (gates, trees, responses, foundations). He is saying, “Now that you’ve heard all of this, what are you going to do about it?” Jesus showed up, rescued us, and calls us to follow His way. He is worthy of our devotion, our trust, and our love. His way is not the easy way in the world’s eyes, but it is the way to eternal life! We will quit if we focus on the unanswered prayer instead of the Father who is worth trusting. Questions to Consider: What is the thing in your life that you have prayed the longest for before receiving an answer? How did you stay persistent? How do you protect yourself from believing the lie that God doesn’t care about your need when you don’t get the answer you want? When did you first hear The Golden Rule? What was the context? How will you choose to live that out with your family and your friends this week? How about co-workers and people that you come in contact with or you drive around? When is a time that God answered your prayer?