Prayer and the Kingdom of God

"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Lk. 11:5-10). This parable of Jesus is as simplistic and plain as it gets, and what it tells us is that everything doesn't come easy, but everything that we need from God and don't give up on will come. Jesus made it clear in this parable that sometimes what we're praying about may not look like it is answered, and it may not feel like it is answered, but if we are persistent with God he will answer us. As long as we're not asking for something that is self-centered or wrong, God is going to answer us. Sometimes the answer is immediate, and sometimes it may be a long time coming; but if our faith is steadfast we will persevere in prayer until it does come. That is the kind of asking, seeking, and knocking that Jesus was speaking of here, and the parable shows that clearly. This is the kind of faith Jesus spoke of with the following saying: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Mat. 11:12). The word 'violent' comes from the Greek word 'biastes,' and it means "strong or forceful."

It is those who are of a strong and forceful faith who will refuse to give in to doubt and fear, that will obtain both what they need here, as well as the inheritance of the kingdom of God. As long as our hearts are free from sin and condemnation we have no reason to think that God is not answering our prayers that are well intended. It's evident that we can expect no answer from God if we are harboring any kind of sin that has not been confessed and turned away from: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psm. 66:18). The beloved apostle confirmed David's saying, and he also made it clear how to get our prayers answered: "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (I Jn. 3:20-22). Sometimes we don't receive answers however because we don't ask the way Jesus said to ask in our text passage. Then again sometimes we don't receive answers because we are asking for the wrong things or for the wrong reasons. James pointed out both of these things to us: "... yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (Jas. 4:2,3). But for the pure in heart it is a simple issue, and Jesus told it like it is: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mk. 11:24). He said the same thing in a little different words in another place: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (Jn. 14:13,14).

The beloved apostle believed what Jesus said and he echoed the same: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (I Jn. 5:14,15). God really wants us to get on board with his simplicity, and stop complicating plain issues. The ancient and powerful proverb says it best: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). There is certainly a temptation to lean on one's own understanding when much needed answers to our prayers seem to be long delayed, but the scripture tells us clearly; "the trial of [our] faith, [is] much more precious than of gold that perisheth" (I Pet. 1:7). The determination to keep our hearts pure and right before God while we are waiting for desperately needed answers to prayer, is our way of passing the trial of our faith in that regard. It is certain that the way of holiness is a way of much prayer, and what we understand about prayer and getting prayers answered has a large impact on our faith and our capacity to endure. Myself, I like getting answers fast, and you most likely do as well. But it doesn't always go that way, and we need to understand that we have not been cast aside just because our prayers seem to be going nowhere. They are absolutely going somewhere, and that will show up if we refuse to give up. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:29-31). Amen.