And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee? I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask (and keep on asking is the literal meaning; the verb tense in the Greek indicates a continuation of the action), and it shall be given you; seek (and keep on seeking), and ye shall find; knock (and keep on knocking), and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Luke 11:1–13.
The example of Jesus’ prayer life provoked the disciples to say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In giving them the Lord’s Prayer He showed them first of all what to pray. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is no greater prayer that anyone could pray—at this hour especially—than to believe for the Kingdom to come forth and the will of God to be done in the earth as it is in heaven.
We do not know what is best for our own welfare or our own interest; consequently, we do not know how to pray for ourselves, or for our loved ones. Everything is in a state of change. Old institutions are crumbling; new things are coming forth. That which was the will of God and the moving of God yesterday is not so today. When I was very young we could point to denominational churches filled with fire and zeal. Now many of them have gone the way of modernism. “Ichabod” seems to be written on their doors. Who knows what to support and how to pray? Therefore, we pray this prayer for the Kingdom of God to come forth.
We pray also that God would forgive us our sins. We know that a right spirit is essential, that God responds when our spirits are open to the right thing. When we forgive, we know we will be forgiven. The dealings of God upon a person of a broken and a contrite heart are always generous and full of grace. “With the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.” (II Samuel 22:27). God exacts the uttermost farthing in debt from the man who is himself exacting with others. The man full of grace and mercy discovers the truth of Jesus’ promise, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy”; he forgives and he in turn is forgiven.
The Lord’s Prayer is the perfect pattern in showing us what to pray. It is all-inclusive, reaching out and embracing the broadest scope of God’s will as well as the most minute details of His will for your life personally.
The next verses reveal the way to pray and the promises accompanying that kind of prayer. The teaching on prayer is incomplete if you are only given the words to pray. How many people mumble the Lord’s Prayer in a church service every Sunday morning: “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” Remember what Jesus said about those who pray, using vain repetitions; they will not be heard (Matthew 6:7). Not only are the right words important, but there is also a way of prayer that is essential.
Jesus explains the right way to pray with the illustration of the man who comes at midnight to borrow some bread. His friend refuses to help him because he does not want to disturb the children who are in bed with him. But finally he rises and gives his friend the bread because of his persistence. It is important to remember also that the Greek tense of the verbs “ask, seek, knock” includes much more than the simple present tense in English; it speaks of action continued into the future. When He says “ask,” the meaning literally is “ask and keep on asking”; there is a continuation of action. The New American Standard Version indicates this verb tense in the margin.
What a beautiful promise: “Ask and keep on asking and you shall receive. Seek and keep on seeking and you shall find.” I stand on that promise, whether it happens next week or just prior to the millennium. God promises that every man who so seeks, every man who so knocks and persists in his effort will receive; God will not fail him.
You may be thinking, “What about my worthiness? What about all the things God is trying to work out in my life?” That is God’s problem. He should not have given this promise if He is going to make the answer conditional upon your worthiness. He made the answer conditional only upon your persistence, didn’t He?
Knowing the one to whom we pray is as essential as knowing what to pray, the way to pray and the promise for that manner of prayer. You must know the One to whom you pray and have confidence in Him—and that is the biggest problem of all. We can know what to pray, the way we are to go at it with persistence, the promise that God gives to someone who is so persistent in prayer; but when we come to the last condition, we are inclined to wonder if He is really interested in doing it. With our hesitancy and doubt we nullify it all.
Is that your problem? Are you saying in your heart, “I don’t know if God wants to do it”? The assurance you need is tucked away in the next few verses. Jesus said, “If any of you who is a father has a son who asks for a loaf of bread will you give him a stone? If he asks for a fish will you give him a serpent? If he asks for an egg will you give him a scorpion?” Evil is inherent in us, and yet we would still give good things to our children; “therefore,” the Word continues with the logical conclusion, “how much more shall the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” In the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew, we find it expressed this way: “How much more will your Father give good things to them that ask Him?” (7:11) The answer is always good: the Holy Spirit and all good things. There is no doubt or question about God’s willingness to give you good things.
He has told you what to pray for and the manner in which you should pray; He has given you the promise that it will be yours; everyone who seeks God in that manner shall receive. Ask, seek, knock; and you will receive, find, and have it opened to you. That covers every phase of all experiences. Any hindrance, any barrier will be broken; by persistence it will come down.
One thing you have to know: the heart of Him whom ye seek and His willingness to give to you. We must not fail to see the two different concepts here. That persistence, that continuous seeking is necessary—not because of a reluctance on God’s part, for God is far more willing to give to you than you are to give, even to your own children. God is far more compassionate with you than you are with one another, even those whom you love most dearly in this world. When you love someone very much—especially your own flesh and blood—you will do anything for them. He is assuring you that all of this persistence is required for another reason than to overcome God’s reluctance.
Then why the persistence? God in His integrity and omnipotence has caused everything—even the most minute atom—to be held together by certain consistent irrevocable laws. Man is continually occupied, trying to find how these principles and laws operate—from the lowest form of matter up to the vast galaxies of space. Because these laws—physical, moral and psychic—were set in action, they tend to operate in a set pattern. However, through the sincerity and insistence of an individual and his supreme faith in the Father and His willingness to answer, he enters a certain level where another law operates that is superior to all other laws. Remember—God is not reluctant. Through the earnest and persistent prayer of faith, a believer can move into a realm where God will open His grace to him, and he will find principles operating that supersede all the other laws of the universe.
Prayer is the setting aside of a fixed and determined law. When water is poured out of a vessel it comes out as water—unless a miracle touch has turned it into wine. Any one who steps into a lake had better wear a bathing suit because he will sink—unless prayer enables him to walk on that water. All water tends to seek its own level and therefore it flows, running in rivers down toward the sea. But God can make the waters of the Jordan River pile up so they can be seen from afar. He can make the water of the Red Sea stand like a wall, enabling His people to pass through on dry ground. He can make fire that burns and yet does not burn: it burns the ropes and fetters off without a smell of smoke and enables His children to walk on the bed of a fiery furnace. He can so change the nature of ferocious lions that they sleep peaceably with His prophet all night long, yet the next morning they jump up to devour scores of his enemies before they reach the floor of the den.
Prayer changes things. It takes a rotting corpse at Bethany and turns it again into a living Lazarus. Prayer overcomes all the laws of decay, of degeneration and decomposition, all the laws of physics as we know them. It can make the sun stand still and freeze a universe in its course, until a man of God can finish the job he has to do that day. Prayer is a law and it is not easy to bring it into operation. But we are assured that the heavenly Father wants to do it on our behalf. You can rise to it. Just stay with it; ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. You will not get a rock; you will get a loaf of bread. He will not give you a scorpion or a serpent; you will receive that piece of fish or egg you desire. You will get the thing you really need. Nothing harmful will come to you.
Suppose we ask wrongly, and because of our unworthiness, we would not be prepared for the answer? As you keep on asking, God will change you and make you ready for the miraculous answer He brings.
Stevens, John Robert: Pray Without Ceasing. North Hollywood, CA : Living Word Publications, 1971, S. 84