CHAPTER 9
"...Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened." -- Luke 11:10
The plain teachings of Jesus accord us a valid
reason to believe that every sincere prayer offered by His people shall be
answered.
Jesus stated the three essentials of prayer when
He said, "Ask, seek, knock." He disclosed these three essentials of prayer in
His parable about the man asking his friend for three loaves. It is quite
obvious that he was asking, seeking and knocking when he made his request for
bread in the middle of the night.
The Master's words revealing the inherent
principles of effectual praying confirm our faith, enlarge our understanding,
and enable us to appropriate His certified promises. It is apparent that His
promises relating to prayer are as vast in scope as the extent of His promises
pertaining to salvation. It is written,
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things." -- Rom. 8:32.
This Scripture reveals the possibilities of
prayer to be as great as the boundless measure of redemptive grace. The
unsparing God places no limit on our praying because there is no limit placed
on His giving. If we believe that Christ was sacrificed to save us to the
uttermost, we must likewise believe that He is able to supply our needs to the
uttermost.
The lamentable fact is we have been exceedingly
slow to comprehend the unlimited possibilities of prayer revealed in Christ's
plain words. When we fully understand His instructions about praying, and
grasp the promises by faith, we will not find it difficult to pray the
effectual fervent prayer of achieving faith. We certainly owe it to ourselves
and to all men, to consider seriously the fundamental principles of prayer
disclosed to His disciples in answer to their request, "...Lord teach us to
pray..." The very essence of this request is in itself a prayer to know how to
pray.
It is necessary to consider Christ's teachings
regarding our daily bread in order to understand the three essentials of
prayer. He has focused our attention on the requests for bread in His entire
discourse on prayer. Our daily bread is contained in the first direct request
revealed in the Lord's prayer, "Give us day by day our daily bread." The
request for bread follows the prayer of worship. "...Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done..." The request for bread also precedes the
prayer for pardon and preservation. Bread is obviously the central theme of
the Lord's prayer, according to the teachings of Jesus.
Our Lord emphasizes the need of bread in the
parable of the man seeking the three loaves at midnight, and concludes His
discourse by arresting our attention to the son asking bread of his father.
It is apparent that Christ's teachings about
asking for bread contain something much more important than our temporal needs
in this life. He evidently intended to stress the fact that we needed
spiritual food in order to live in time and in eternity. We recall that Jesus
astonished His disciples when He said, "I am the bread of life." When He
uttered these words He made it clear that we cannot live without Him, for He is
as essential to spiritual life as bread is essential to physical life. (See
John 6:48-58.)
The three essentials of prayer are readily
understood when applied to the Saviour, who is the living bread from heaven.
When we sincerely ask for the Lord Jesus, we shall receive Him; when we
earnestly seek Him, we shall find Him; and when we knock at His door, it shall
be opened unto us.
The three fundamental principles of prayer apply
to the entire scope of life in this world, and in the world to come. I am
thoroughly convinced that the redeemed family of God will ask, seek, and knock
in prayer throughout all eternity. Their request will not be hindered by their
infirmities of body and mind as they are in this world. We are daily aware of
the fact that we know not what we should pray for as we ought. We will be able
to make our requests known unto God in that holy place with a clear mind and a
glorified body.
It is quite evident that our Lord would have us
understand this startling fact seeing that He made the request for bread the
central theme of family life. It is certainly true that as long as we live in
the Father's house we must depend on Him to sustain us. There is no valid
reason to believe that this relationship shall end when we enter heaven. There
is nothing in the Master's teachings to show us that we ever become
self-sustaining in life, either in this world or in the world to come.
I am fully persuaded that the fundamental
principle of asking and giving will continue to all eternity. God stated this
fundamental rule of His household when He said to the Son,
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee..." -- Psa. 2:8.
This astonishing principle of asking and giving was clearly an integral part of
the Saviour's ministry on earth. We find the same basic principle revealed in
the amazing fact that He ever lives to make intercession for
us.
The three essential principles of prayer are
revealed in nature. Every living thing in creation must be fed. Every plant,
insect, and living creature on earth must ask, seek, and knock in order to
obtain food from nature. We accept this obvious fact without question.
We have no reason to believe that eternal life in
heaven will be sustained independent of our relationship to Christ. He
supplies our needs in this world in answer to prayer, and He shall continue to
supply our eternal requirements in answer to prayer. If this is the rule of
the Father's household on earth, it will continue to be the rule for ever.
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