"Does God Really Answer?" - 20m:07s

Scott McFarland
05/14/17 - Sun AM Worship

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:7-11

Asking, Seeking, Knocking

When I was a kid, my sister and I played two different roles in our family. I was the older,  compliant child that pretty much went along with whatever my parents decided. My sister was  the proverbial younger, stubborn child who wouldn't’t let a subject drop. I can remember her  wearing my parents out asking for something, then getting punished for bugging them because  she wouldn't’t take no for an answer. At the time, I remember thinking how wrong it was that my  sister was clearly ignoring my parents’ responses. In the years since, however, while I still  wouldn't’t agree with the behavior, I have admired her persistence.

Although my sister’s stubbornness would cause my parents a lot of grief over the years, and led  my sister to spend many evenings in her room or standing in a comer, her refusal to let  something drop has paid off. She just graduated with her doctorate in psychology last weekend  from Regent University. Regent’s doctoral program in psychology is. a Masters and Doctoral  degree rolled into one: 5 years of graduate/doctoral education after already being in school 4  years for a bachelor’s degree. My sister has been in school for the last 9 years post-high school.  She moved across the country last year to begin her residency at New Mexico State University  in their counseling center. She moved by herself, away from any family‘ or friends, and has  spent the last year apart from her husband while completing this last phase of her doctoral work.  Her and her husband, whom she met in her program at Regent, will move in a few months to the  Air Force base in Columbus, Mississippi where he will be working as an Air Force  psychologist. She will likely be working in the area, or for the Air Force as a civilian.

As you can tell, when my sister wants something, she goes after it. Her persistence has served  her well in her life. In our text this morning, Jesus has something to say about persistence in  prayer. Asking, seeking, and knocking are all different ways to say the same thing: pray like  your life depended on it. Your persistence will pay off. Elsewhere in the Gospels, we see Jesus  making references to individuals who bugged friends and lawyers to death until they got what  they were asking. While I don’t think we can force God to give us the answer we want, I do  believe our persistence plays a big part in having a successful prayer life. Let’s learn together  this morning what Jesus says about asking, seeking, and knocking, and how his disciples should  approach their prayer lives

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