Jesus addresses prayer first in His sermon, but then I caught two other facets from His actions:
Matthew 7:7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
And then in Matthew 8, here is how that chapter opened:
1 Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshipping. “Lord,” the man said, “if you want to, you can make me well again.” 3 Jesus touched him. “I want to,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
I was struck by the fact, that first he knelt before Him and worshipped. And he didn't ask for healing. He was concerned with Jesus' will and not his own. "If you want to" could be translated "If it's your will". He didn't come with his 'wish list' - he worshipped and wanted Jesus' will.
5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
Two things struck me about this passage. Obviously, the officer's faith and his respect for Jesus' authority. I think his faith was born out of respect for Jesus' authority. He knew what came from his own authority, and from the authority of those over him, but I think this shows that he knew that Jesus was God and as such, had ultimate authority.
But the first thing that I saw was that this man didn't 'ask' for anything either. He just stated the facts to Jesus. Told Him the situation and Jesus then took control. I think too often I think I know what is best and ask for specific things, instead of just trusting God to do what is best. But there is a 'happy medium' because in the first section Jesus tells us to ask and keep on asking. But perhaps in that section His emphasis is on asking, knocking and seeking for an 'awareness of Him', instead of for 'things'. As I typed that, I just remembered there is a parallel passage of this section.
Luke 11:12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
I think that's it! We are to beg, seek and continue to ask God specifically for spiritual things, a filling of His Spirit, an awareness of Him, etc., and to pray for the other issues of life, trusting Him that He knows what is best for us.
Secrets - there are none with God. But there ARE 'secrets' that He likes:
Matthew 6:3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
Matther 6:16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
And now to worry. As God's children, we bring glory to Him when we don't worry. He wants us to live differently from the unbelievers around us. But from the verses below, we see His provision is conditional:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Judging. There is only One who can judge because there is only One who is Holy. And it ain't us!
Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
I think every day as I blog, I say to myself "If I could just get a handle on these things, and do just this". If I could just beg God for His filling and trust Him with the other issues of life, if I could quit judging others, etc., etc. And over and over He says, "YOU can't do any of those things, only I can". And it's only as day by day that I relinquish my life and my will to Him, that I can see Him moving and working in my life. But even then, there is nothing to take pride in or glory in, as it all comes from Him.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Judging is a hard thing to avoid. Sure you have to judge choices, but all to often we judge people. We judge them on:
ReplyDelete1. The outside
2. What others say about them
3. Our biases
4. Who they actually are (least commonly used)
Is this how we should interact with others? God wants us to love, not judge.