PRAY....READ....BELIEVE!
(Matthew 7:7&8)
I've been wanting to share my experiences regarding the POWER of GOD in my life since May 9th, 2004 for several months. The other day, this being June of 2005, I got to thinking about Matthew 7:7&8. Its a very well known passage of scripture which is written as follows from the King James version:
7. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;"
8. "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
First of all, I'd like to point out the absence of a time-table per se regarding these verses. This scripture doesn't say when one, who asks, seeks, and knocks, will receive, find, and have opened. This passage only says that it will happen. Notice, too, what kind of words "ask, seek, and knock" are; they're verbs or action words and suggest that "an action" must be initiated by the person who wants or needs something to come about or take place. This initiation process begins with faith, and faith is continuous throughout.
What is "faith"? Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is basically a steadfast action to believe something will come about even though there is currently no (worldly or fleshly) reason to believe it will. Now look at Romans 8:24&25, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?......But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." So faith and hope work hand in hand with one another; however, one must be patient and persist is believing. But there is another element which causes faith and hope to produce the desired outcome; Galatians 5:5, "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." The Holy Spirit brings into being that which by faith is hoped for. And how does one get the Holy Spirit to work in their behalf? Romans 10:8,9,13 (v. 8)"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is the word of faith, which we preach; (v. 9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (v. 13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
To sum up, it basically boils down to this; one MUST believe Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and to believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God one must have faith.
Therefore, we ASK God to receive, we SEEK God by studying His Word, and then that which we have asked for and sought after will come to pass. But one cannot ask God for anything based on anything other than faith. Nor will God answer one's prayers without first believing Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. First read Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Secondly, John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him (speaking to Thomas), I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." One believes when they ask, one believes when they seek, and one believes they will or have received. And what is it which empowers us to believe God not only hears our prayers, but will also answer them? (1). Hebrews 6:18, "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:" & (2). Matthew 7:11, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" Did you take note of the part in Hebrews 6:18 where it states, "we might have a strong consolation,". Weak faith will produce either weak results or no results; strong faith will produce the desired results, or the Will of God, in which case you will accept His Will and be glad. I have found when I ask for something He doesn't want me to have I will either stop praying for it, or God will show me through the power of the Holy Spirit why it is not in my best interests to have that for which I have asked. You see, God only wants what is best for us! This is clearly evident in the second verse, Matthew 7:11, "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" THANK YOU, FATHER!!
But that isn't quite how I came to know these truths. Once I had the experience of God pouring out His Spirit upon me in the kitchen of our home, and being filled with a joy so powerful it is hard to fully put into words, I never had any doubt about the "realness" of God nor His love for me. Once I began again to read His Word, I took it for granted that everything I read was true. And I still take it for granted because I have experienced or seen time and again God's hand upon my life and upon the lives of others. That being said, I do not want to mislead anyone into thinking I am this model of faith and purity. I wish I was, but were I to suggest as much, then I would, at the very least, be guilty of self-righteousness. I am nothing without the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in me, and I fail him more often then I would care for other people to know. But I refuse to quit or believe my failures are insurmountable. On the contrary, each and every day I ask Jesus to come into my life and teach me His way. One need only read about Peter in the four gospels to know how much God is more than aware of human weaknesses and still willing to forgive us. If people could just begin to grasp the overwhelming magnitude of God's love towards us as expressed in 2nd Peter 3:9 and simply submit to His will, atheism, paganism, and every other "ism" wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
One of the first memorable experiences (after May 9th, 2004) of the Holy Spirit happened in the church I attend, during a practice which the church as a body participates in on a communion Sabbath. The church I attend has a foot washing ceremony prior to the partaking of communion. It is a humbling experience. The men go together to one part of the church, and the women go to another part. Each person partners with another, washes the feet of the partner, and prays for the person after washing their feet. On my first communion after May 9th, one of the men expressed to me that he was having trouble with bone spurs under his knee caps. After we had all finished the ceremony, I asked the group of men if we could pray for the man before we returned to the sanctuary to receive communion. We all gathered around the gentleman while he stayed seated, laid our hands upon him, and prayed over him. The next time I saw him, I asked him how his knees were feeling. He stated that he had been feeling much improved. Praise God!! Unfortunately, he didn't seem to feel the impetus to tell anyone else, or so I assume, because no one ever seemed to take notice of his much improved state or even make comment on it during times of fellowship.
Many people have expressed verbally, in one way or another, how difficult the bible is to understand. I, too, found the Word of God difficult to understand in the beginning. Again, a whole host of scripture comes to mind, many of which have already been quoted. But I'd like to point out that understanding the bible is much like any other thing one endeavors to understand. If one desires to know, one learns. And how does one learn.....by doing. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding; read God's Word daily, and slowly but surely, God's Word will open up to you so much so that you'll wonder why you ever had trouble understanding His Word in the first place. Ask.....Seek.....Knock. But even more wonderful is when you, by faith, begin to put into practice what God says in His Word to do!!
In the name of Jesus, may the grace and peace of God fill you with all understanding,
Mike
Post Script - Charles Capps has put together a six tape collection entitled "Faith Seminar". I have been blessed by the teaching and highly suggest to those who struggle with their faith from time to time to acquire this teaching. The cost of the collection, including shipping and handling, is nominal (in my opinion). |
