The Set Up: We live in an instant society – and I love it. When I am hungry, I don’t have to go out and grow my food or raise my food, or even shop for my food. I don’t even have to get out of my car. I can pull up to a screen, tell it what I want, and then about 30 feet later, someone hands me a bag of food! If I want to read a new book, I can download it to my Kindle app in about five seconds, no trip to a bookstore or waiting for two-day Amazon shipping for me. When my truck is dirty, a quick drive through the car wash solves that problem. Want popcorn while I binge watch Netflix? Three minutes in a microwave will do it (even when I stare at the microwave mumbling, “C’mon, hurry up…”)
My guess is that you like a lot of things about the “instant” world too. We don’t like to wait, always feel like we’re in a hurry, and instant gratification appeals to all of us. So when something takes time, when it doesn’t happen instantly, we tend to complain, push back, or even give up.
I think Jesus knew that when he taught his closest followers about prayer. They had come to him with a simple request, “Teach us to pray.” “Pray like this…” Jesus responded, and then proceeded to teach them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. It was not really a mantra to recite, it was a model to follow. But that was only part one of Jesus’ teaching on prayer. That was about content. Jesus went on to teach them about another important aspect of prayer, attitude. Jesus knew all prayers are not answered immediately or in the way we want them to be. So we pray for a day or two, don’t get the answer we hoped for, and we give up or we decide that it’s up to us to take care of the problem ourselves.
So Jesus told his disciples to ask, seek, and knock. “Ask,” Jesus said, “and it will be given to you.” “Seek, and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” And to make sure he was as clear as possible he says, “So keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.”
As we come to the last couple week of Lent, you have been fasting and praying for God to work in your life and possibly certain situations in your life or others. Maybe you haven’t seen an answer yet and you’re about done. I want to encourage you to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. That’s the power of these forty days of Lent. Don’t stop now, God wants you to receive. He wants you to find what you are looking for. He wants to open the right doors for you.
Biblical Passage to Read: Luke 11:1-13
Reflection Questions:
• Have you ever lost something and made an all-out search for it? How did you feel? Did you find it?
• What do you think Jesus meant by teaching us to ask, seek, and knock in prayer?
• What has God taught you so far this Lenten season?
Prayer Focus: Jesus, you said we should ask, seek, and knock when we pray. During this Lenten season my desire is that you change me from the inside out. When I don’t feel that change, or when I don’t see it in my life overnight, help me to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. In your name, amen.