Pray

Pray (Written by guest writer David Peterson)

Near the end of His epic first Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in Matthew 7:7:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

This same teaching is also found in Luke 11:9, where Jesus clarifies that we should come to God in humility, aware of our specific needs, praying for His will, and persevering in our pursuit of Him.

The astute Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote this about Matthew 7:7:

“Prayer is the appointed means for obtaining what we need. Pray; pray often; make a business of prayer, and be serious and earnest in it. Ask, as a beggar asks alms. Ask, as a traveler asks the way. Seek, as for a thing of value that we have lost; or as the merchantman that seeks goodly pearls. Knock, as he that desires to enter into the house knocks at the door. Whatever you pray for, according to the promise, shall be given you, if God see it fit for you. Let us never suppose our heavenly Father would bid us pray, and then refuse to hear, or give us what would be hurtful.”

Henry fleshes out the words of Jesus to remind us of the power and purpose of prayer.

In 1779, John Newton wrote the hymn “Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare.” The first stanza reads:

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,

Jesus loves to answer prayer.

He Himself has bid thee pray,

Rise and ask without delay.

Newton seems to urge us to bring our prayers quickly before our Lord and Savior, confident in His invitation to come.

Let us pray:

Holy Father, You listen to our prayers and respond according to Your will. Grant us strength to continue asking for what we need, and above all, teach us to listen for Your loving response. Amen.