Jesus is Essential
Luke 11:9–13: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
The tenses of the verbs are important here: “Keep on asking … keep on seeking … keep on knocking.” In other words, don’t come to God only in the midnight emergencies, but keep in constant communion with your Father. Jesus called this “abiding.” As we pray, God will either answer or show us why He cannot answer. Then it is up to us to do whatever is necessary in our lives so that the Father can trust us with the answer.
Note that the lesson closes with an emphasis on God as Father. Because He knows us and loves us, we never need to be afraid of the answers that He gives. Again, Jesus argued from the lesser to the greater: if an earthly father gives what is best to his children, surely the Father in heaven will do even more. 1
Walking with Jesus
Explain how you can have an abiding relationship with God, and at the same time be pursuing Him persistently in prayer. Is that a spiritual contradiction? How recently have you asked the Father for the help of the Holy Spirit? How often should you pray this?
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Prayer is God’s invitation to keep asking, seeking, and knocking.
Praying
Lord, thank You for wanting to take care of me, much more that I realize.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
