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Jesus talks about asking and receiving…  (Pg.1)

Have you ever prayed for something and it didn’t come to you the way you wanted?

– Or maybe you haven’t seen the answer to that prayer yet… In this part of His ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus calls us to a better understanding of how we ask, and receive answers to those requests, from God the Father.

We will start by read Matthew 7:7-14… (ESV used here.)

Matthew 7:7-11… “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  (8)  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  (9)  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  (10)  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  (11)  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

 

— Now to dig deeper into these scripture verses…
(I’ve added some possible replacement words from the original Greek version.)

 

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, (beg, call for) and it will be given (bestowed, committed, granted) to you…”

Q1. Do any of these replacement words bring a new light to the meaning of this promise?

(EG: Ask = beg?  Or  Given = granted?)

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Also … “seek (used here means, to worship God), and you will find (get, obtain, perceive)…”

Q2(a). How do we seek something, while bringing worship to God?

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Q2(b). When God help us find something, how does that relate to; getting, obtaining, or even perceiving?

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“…knock, and it will be opened to you.” — In Greek this means just what it says in English.

Q3. What do you think we are ‘knocking’ on so that God would ‘open it’ to us?

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Jesus talks about asking and receiving…  (Pg.2)

 

Matthew 7:8 For everyone who asks (calls upon God) receives, and the one who seeks (while worshipping God) finds, and to the one who knocks (and asks to enter a closed door) it will be opened.

Q4. Can we discover some keys to gaining answers to our prayers from this verse?

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Jesus sums up His lesson on prayer requests made to God our Father in Vs 9-11.

(Vs.9-11) Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (11) If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Q5(a) Fill in the blanks… (11) If you then, who are evil, know how to give ______ gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give ______ things to those who ask him!

Q5(b).  How do Vs. 9-11 connect to Vs. 8? – (Vs.8) For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

– (Think about how a loving Father would answer any request of his child.)

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Q5(c). Can we apply this knowledge from Vs.9-11 in seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

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— We will hold onto these thoughts as we turn to our prayer time.             …(KRK)