Keep on knocking!

You may wonder why Jesus used so many parables to get His point across. I have a better understanding of that now, because of how many times God has used things in my own life to teach me a wonderful lesson about prayer. God wants to show us that is we faithfully prayed each day for the things He put on my heart–for myself and others–He would work wonders as a result. 

“But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, 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.” ~ Luke 11:9-10

I believe that most of the time, the only way we can receive the answers to our prayers is by praying and standing in faith day after day. This is why, when Jesus was teaching on prayer in the above verses, He said we should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. Right before Jesus speaks these verses, He tells the parable of the persistent man who knocks on his friend’s door at midnight to appeal to him for bread. The Master concludes the story by saying, “But I’ll tell you this–though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you everything you want–just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer…” (Luke 11:8-9) It’s then that the Savior instructs us to ask, seek, and knock.

This kind of prayer speaks of urgency and desperation. It’s not a faint-hearted, hit-or-miss kind of prayer. It’s not for quitters or for half-hearted believers. One reason we don’t see God’s people enjoying more answered prayer is that they have a tendency to give up before the receive the answer. By the grace of God, our prayers can bring salvation to the lost, healing to the sick, and deliverance to the oppressed. But only if we persist. What happens when we don’t keep asking, seeking, and knocking? We don’t receive, we don’t find, and the door isn’t opened to us, our prayer life will suffer from neglect, too. Don’t be a quitter. Persist in prayer and receive all the blessings God has in store for you and the ones you love!

This tells us to be persistent in our prayers. Even though we may be on a different timetable than God, we need to be bold and persistent in getting our needs met. We need to expect an answer from God, no matter what obstacles we encounter. When we seek God He promises to answer.  Keep knocking the door will be opened~!