"Pray and believe you have received it"
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV) 마태복음7:7-87 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Today’s scripture describes the three types and stages of prayer. Commentators say that Jesus used these scriptures to emphasize the importance of prayer.
Other commentators see the text as a stage of prayer and explain what attitude a prayer person should have in order to receive a response.
"To ask is to hope in one’s heart, to seek is to take that hope and manifest it into an action, and the knocking on the door is a meeting with the Lord.” Through the scriptures, God taught the Saints the importance of prayer. Prayer is a precondition for confirming God's promise, and prayer's response was an expression of God's love for the Saints.
Another theologian (Lange) claims that praying is closely related to life. He said, “I ask because I lack, I seek because I am lost, I knock because I am closed off."
Another scholar Handriksen said that prayer should be based on a personal belief in God. He further emphasized that action and perseverance must accompany prayer until there is a response.
Today, through the scriptures, God teaches the Saints the importance of prayer. Prayer is a precondition for confirming God's promises, and prayer's response is an expression of God's love for you.
How should we pray?
1. Prayer is a conversation
In order to have a conversation, there must be an establishment of a relationship.
How can you have a relationship with God? (Matthew 마28:18-19)
Our Lord teaches us the way.
First, you must make friends.
Second, establish a Paternal relationship with God .
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”(Romans 8:15)
Third, you must nurture the relationships(Matthew 28:20)
(1) Nurture the life of imitating Christ(Romans 8:29)
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.(Romans 8:29)
“49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[a]bear the image of the heavenly man.(1 Corinthians 15:49)
“2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.(1 John 3:2)
“4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.(2Peter 1:4)
(2) Nurture the life of living as a Christian
Negative Attitude
2 Corinthians 6:14
2 Timothy 2:4
1 John 2:15-17
• Positive Attitude
Matthew 6:33,34
Romans 12:1,2
Col 3:1,2
Hebrew 12:1,2
Titus 2:11-15
2. In prayer, if you ask in accordance with God’s will, you will receive an
answer the moment you ask.(1 John 5:14)
“14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.(1 John 5:14)
“15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we what we asked of him.(1 John 5:15)
“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,( Isaiah 58:9)
3. Through prayer we get to know the will of God
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
1 Thessalonians 4:3
John 6:40
4. By meditating upon the scriptures, you can discover the will of God.
1Samuel 12:23,24
Our brothers and sisters
My loving brothers and sisters, we are God’s children. God adopted us as his children so we call him Abba, Father. Thus we can share words of endearment such as “I love you” with our Father God. We can lay down all of our worries and burdens before our Lord Jesus and gain rest from him.
God wants to be glorified through us. How are you going to glorify Him
