February 8—Ask, Seek, Knock
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11, James 4:3

In the Gentile world, the gods were seen as distant and indifferent to the needs of humanity.
Pagan practices of prayer largely centred around a quid pro quo approach to deity
management. The thought was if you said enough words or did the right ritual the gods would
be appeased and compelled to move on your behalf. Jesus has previously said, “do not keep
on babbling like pagans”(6:7-8). But now Jesus is talking again about asking in prayer through
a positive framework. Jesus wants us to imagine our asking in the context of a good Heavenly
Father who desires to give us good things. Our vision of what God is like is really important!
Unlike the pagan gods, our Heavenly Father is near, cares about our needs, and desires to give
us good things. The point of our asking is not to inform or persuade God to do what we think
God should do. Nor is this a formula to get what we want. Prayer is more about cultivating our
relationship with God as God’s own children. We need to learn to pray and ask from the
perspective of children who understand the goodness of God, our Heavenly Father. And once
we understand the goodness of God, we know better to ask for the right things, with the right
heart. (Jam 4:3)
Desired Outcome: To inspire our people towards expanding their vision of God to infinite
love, goodness, and mercy — so that our asking in prayer is formed from a place of trust.