Study in Prayer

I want to continue to look at some of the other principles in prayer that Jesus taught on during His ministry here on earth. As we move through these next series of teachings, we will see that Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and for laborers to be raised up for the harvest of souls.

We will also see how the Book of Matthew records Jesus’ teaching on the “Prayer of Faith” – which is believing you receive WHEN you pray. 

I Matthew 5:44-45, Jesus tells us for whom to pray. Sometimes, it seems people are in doubt as to who they should actually be praying for (outside, that is, of their own family). But here, we find information that gives us some specific instructions in answer to that question.

“But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and PRAY for them that despitefully use you and persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father, which is in Heaven. For He makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”

Do you want to know who to pray for? Jesus said very clearly hear to “Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you…” Jesus DID NOT SAY to criticize and talk about those who despitefully use you and persecute you. He said to PRAY for them. How many of us are 100% spot on with this verse of scripture?  Probably 100% spot on WRONG…I know I have to raise my hand here. Amen!

Don’t look at me in that tone of voice!  Praise God! I can see AND hear you by the Spirit…

“Well, brother Bob, in this day and time, in this political climate, in this culture we are living in – EVERYBODY hates Christians and EVERYBODY is doing so much evil and EVERYBODY is so spiteful – you just can’t help but criticize the evil we see them doing, promoting and participating in…it is just awful.”

I know. I know. BELIEVE ME – I know! Like I said, I’ve been guilty of this, too. But, as in all things, let’s go to the Word of God for our answer to what we should be doing. Have you ever noticed, sometimes, the “TRUTH” hurts? But it is still the TRUTH. And the truth here is the Word of God. So, let’s look at it again…

“PRAY FOR THEM.”  Do you want to “get even?” Do you want to “punish them” for their ungodly conduct and actions? The best way to do that is to PRAY for them! 

Let’s just look at retribution for political activists and politicians that are doing things contrary to the Word of God. The evil and sin they are promoting, etc. If YOU say or do something, that could backfire on you quickly in the natural. BUT – if you pray for them. If you pray to the Father to intervene – you are putting Spiritual forces to work that are more powerful than you could ever accomplish on your own. Amen!

Notice the next verse, too:  “…so that you may be children of your Father, which is in Heaven. For He makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”

Jesus is inferring here that, IF YOU ARE a Child of God, you WOULD be doing what He said to do in verse 44. Since you are doing that, God WILL BLESS YOU.  But, in blessing you, He will also be blessing the sun to rise on the evil doers. He will bless the evil with rain in due season, etc. But He is not sending it to BLESS THEM. He is sending it to BLESS YOU.

Do you remember the parable where Jesus was in the boat sleeping when a storm bore down on the boat and the disciples were worried they were going to sink?  In Mark 4:35-41 you can read about it. But verse 36 is the part I want to share. It says, “…and there were other boats with Him.”

The boat Jesus was in was not the only one on the lake and in danger when the storm hit. But all of those other boats were blessed when Jesus calmed the sea so HIS BOAT could go to the other shore.

This works the same way. When God blesses YOU because you are trusting in HIM, OTHERS will be blessed too. You may not want them to be blessed – but that is not your decision. You job is to PRAY FOR THEM so YOU can be blessed. If they receive the blessing BECAUSE OF YOU, you can then use it to witness for Jesus and, perhaps, capture their attention and get them BORN AGAIN and THAT will change their attitude. Amen!

I’m way over time for today, so let’s wrap up here.

Let’s Pray!

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Today, I just want to wrap up our study of “Ask and You Shall Receive.” This is such an important part of Christian doctrine, I just feel it is important for me to summarize what we have been studying before we move on to something else.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus refers to serpents and scorpions as being evil spirits. But when we ask God for something good, He does not give us something bad in response to our prayer requests. No. He gives us good things. And He will give the Holy Spirit, which is definitely “a good thing,” to those who ask Him. Amen! We have a loving Heavenly Father. Praise the Lord!

We discussed several principles Jesus taught about prayer. We saw that we are to pray, but we are not to pray as the hypocrites do. Or pray as the heathens do. We saw that our prayers to the Heavenly Father will not work with unforgiveness in our heart. If we have the slightest bit of ill will or bitterness or resentment against someone else, our prayers will be hindered until we forgive others.

We discussed that we should not pray selfishly. Certainly, we should pray for our needs to be met. The Word instructs us to pray and ask God for the things we have need of, and we “shall receive” the things we ask for. But we should not pray only for ourselves and our loved ones. We should pray for others as well.

We have also seen that the Bible also declares that we must have our priorities right in order for “all things to be added unto us.” We do that by “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…and all these things shall be added unto you.”  That was in Matthew 6:33.

What Jesus said about prayer and about our prayer life is vitally important for us to understand and obey if we are to have a successful prayer life. I just wanted to take today to quickly provide  you with a summary of what could be called, the most important part about prayer, which is believing your receive what you ask for when you pray.

I want to pray with you right now that you will take what we  have studied and apply it to your prayer life. Take what we have learned and grow deeper in your prayer life, more successful in your prayer life and that you are able to impact and help more people through your prayers. Amen!

Let’s Pray!

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The past couple of days, I’ve been teaching on “Ask and you shall receive” as outlined in Matthew 7:7-11. We ended yesterday’s teaching on the misconception that it is God’s will for us to be poor, sick and destitute in order to keep us humble. We covered what Jesus taught which is totally 100% opposite of that idea. Amen.

It would be like asking God to make our kids sick because that is His will and we want them to be blessed. So the sicker and the poorer He can keep them then the more blessed they will be.

That sounds stupid just saying it, doesn’t it? But yet, if we take the view that many denominations and misguided pastors have taught, which is “prosperity is of the devil,” then the only conclusion you can arrive at is, “poorer is better.” And it just isn’t so. Not according to God. Not according to Jesus and the Bible is very, very clear on the matter.

But, just to show you, Matthew is not the only place this is discussed. You can see the exact same thing in Luke 11:11-13. Jesus said, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

 Notice those words are listed again. “HOW MUCH MORE?” The only difference here is Matthew did not refer to the Holy Spirit. Luke did. He said, “HOW MUCH MORE will your FATHER give GOOD THINGS (notice – not bad things…and WHO is He giving them to?)… TO THEM THAT ASK HIM!”  

 And, as we have discussed in detail in our sessions about the Holy Spirit, He is one of those GOOD THINGS we can have – IF we ask God to send Him to us! Praise God!

 If we ask God for bread, we have His guarantee that He will not give us a stone to naw on for dinner. Amen! If we ask for a fish, He’s not going to send us a snake! If we ask for an egg, He won’t send us a scorpion.

 God does not, will not and just plain WON’T – send us something evil to torment us. That is of the devil. God, our Heavenly Father, gives us GOOD THINGS. Amen!

 And, no matter what good thing you ask of Him, we have the written words of Jesus as a guarantee, that God will provide MUCH MORE than we can ask Him for. MUCH MORE than we can even ask or think! Amen!

 Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

One thing that we, as westerners, have a hard time with is interpreting the Bible into the culture and setting of the day in which the Bible was set. Jesus was talking in terms that the people of His day and time understood. He could use the parables such as the “wheat and the tares” and everyone understood what He was talking about.

The scripture we used yesterday from Matthew 7:7-11 is a very good example of how our educated minds have misinterpreted something that the average Jewish person, 2000 years ago, understood completely! Amen!

Let’s go over this scripture again. “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.  9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?”

The Jewish people living in Jesus time (and even to this day) understand that when you pray to God, the minute you ASKED HIM something is the exact minute He answers your prayer.  They understand that the very next thing out of your mouth should be to PRAISE HIM for the answered prayer!

Our western, “educated” minds, want to SEE the results first. Then praise God. But that is not Faith! We need to BELIEVE WE RECEIVE WHEN WE PRAY just like Mark 11 says. Amen.

The Jewish person understands that when a person knocks on the door, if he is known to the master of the house, he is immediately let inside. Back in the day, the master of the house would have servants. If you knocked on the door, a servant was sent to answer it. If you were known to the master, if you have come in and gone out before, you were IMMEDIATELY let inside. If you were a stranger, the servant would report who you were to the master and then be told whether to let you inside or not.

That is why Jesus said, “Knock and IT SHALL be opened unto you!” Why? Because you are KNOWN TO GOD if you are in right standing with Jesus Christ! Praise God! Are you getting this?

Oh, wait, it gets better!

When Jesus said, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” He summarized his teaching on “ask and you shall receive” with this very important example…

The part I want to draw your attention to is “HOW MUCH MORE!”  Those three words are put there, by Jesus, for a reason. 

What parent wants their kids to go without? What parent wants their kids to live like beggars their entire life? I mean, if poverty or lack is the blessing so many Christians seem to think it is (when they are offended because someone has more than they do or are believing God for more in their life) – then WHY NOT ask God to keep your kids poor, broke and homeless? Surely, that MUST be a blessing! Right? I mean, if being well off is such an evil thing, surely, not having anything at all must draw you closer to God and that means you are blessed!

And why believe for healing and good health for your kids. Let’s ask God to keep them sick and poor. Talk about being close to God! Is that what you want?

NO!  What Jesus is saying is, “IF YOU, being evil, KNOW how to bless your kids…” Now – get this next part…watch it…read it…listen to me…

HOW MUCH MORE WILL GOD BLESS YOU!

If YOU know how to bless your kids – HOW MUCH MORE DOES GOD KNOW TO BLESS YOU?

The Bible is very clear that sickness, poverty and lack are cursed under the law. But we have been REDEEMED from the curse by JESUS! Praise God! It’s time we start to act like we are blessed. It’s time we start to say we are blessed! It’s time we start to confess we are blessed! AND IT IS TIME FOR US TO BE BLESSED!

ASK and IT (the blessing you are asking for) SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU.

AND HOW MUCH MORE will God give TO YOU because HE IS your Heavenly Father who knows all things.

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

One thing that Jesus taught about, a LOT, was living by Faith. One of the things He focused on was “Ask and you SHALL receive.” Now, before you turn me off, let me explain I’m not talking about “name it and claim it” or “blab it and grab it.”  It is a lot deeper than that, but, because of the bad rap some ministries have given to this subject, many people are hesitant about using this Spiritual concept that Jesus taught.

In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus said, “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.  9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?”

I want you to notice, that this teaching by Jesus has IMMEDIATELY followed the explanation of the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught in response to the question, “Lord, teach us to pray?”  So, we can clearly see that Jesus is still teaching on the thought, “Teach us to pray.” Jesus is teaching on the same subject, not a different subject. 

So this teaching on “ask and you shall receive” is a continuation of what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer,” where Jesus started off by saying, “Our Father, who art in Heaven…” That is WHO we are directing our prayers to. Jesus is painting the picture here of a child coming to their father with a request. AMEN!

I would venture to say that every single person listening to me right now KNOWS these scriptures are in the Bible, but may have been hesitant to use them together. Combining the “Lord’s Prayer” with “Ask and you shall receive” is obvious. But some people just never put the connection together because of some preconceived belief that “it was of the devil.” But we can SEE Jesus is teaching on the one subject of “teach us to pray.”

But, instead of accepting what Jesus is saying (I mean, almost every believer accepts the premise behind the “lord’s prayer” that we taught on for almost a week), these people, maybe you’re one of them, refuse to believe “ask and you shall receive.” 

Which is why you go without. Amen!

That is why, the door you are knocking on is not being opened. That is why you are never finding what you are seeking. That is why you are not receiving ANYTHING your heart desires. Because you are NOT ASKING IN FAITH.

I’ll take it up here again tomorrow. I want you to go and read these verses for yourself. See for yourself that Jesus is continuing with one train of thought here. Amen.

I want to pray for you right now. I want to pray that your mind and your heart and your spirit man are receptive to the teachings of Jesus. I want to pray that the Holy Spirit will give to you a revelation of the Truth contained in the Word – as taught by Jesus. Amen!

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2