February 13
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened,” Matthew 7:7-8.
In yesterday’s meditation, we considered two questions on the basis of what is recorded in the Bible: “What is prayer?” and, “To whom should we pray?” Today, we begin with the question, “Why should we pray?” There are four things that should move us to pray: God’s invitation to pray, His promise to answer our prayers, our own needs and the needs of others, and thankfulness and praise to God for His many blessings.
In our prayers, we ask for things that are in two different categories – bodily blessings and spiritual blessings. The bodily blessings include all of the necessities and the desires for the things here and now, such as food, clothing, good health, employment, peace on earth, and many more things. The spiritual blessings include the forgiveness of sins, a stronger faith, deliverance in the time of temptation, and the will and power to resist our sinful flesh, the ways of the wicked world, and the attacks of the devil. When we pray for bodily blessings, we ask God to give them to us if it is His will. We follow the example of the leper who said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean,” Matthew 8:2. “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us,” 1 John 5:14. Spiritual blessings deal with our souls’ welfare and our salvation. For these, we pray without attaching the words, “If it be Your will!”
Generally, we conclude each of our prayers with the words, “We pray in the name of Jesus.” What does that mean? We pray with faith in Him as our Savior. We come and pray in the presence of our gracious God, trusting and believing that He has forgiven us for Jesus’ sake. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you,” John 16:23. We should pray with the confidence that God hears and answers our prayers. The Savior said, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,” Matthew 21:22. We should always remember that God answers our prayers in His own way and in His own time. We cannot dictate to God when and how He should answer our prayers. In answer to some of our prayers, God says, “Yes, now!” In answer to other prayers, God says, “Not now! Later!” At times, God will delay for the purpose of strengthening our faith. Through the prophet Isaiah, He says, “‘For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer,” Isaiah 54:7-8.
We should always remember that when we talk to God in prayer, we should approach Him as humble, penitent sinners who come trusting in His forgiveness, which was gained for us by our Lord Jesus Christ through His perfect life, His innocent suffering and death, and His great victory over death and the devil. In tomorrow’s devotion, we will conclude a few other aspects of prayer. We pray:
“Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry, ‘Behold, he prays!’
O Thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod –
Lord, teach us how to pray.” Amen.