The kids in church met on Zoom, as part of our week of prayer, to read from Matthew 7:7-11:
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Here’s what we discovered…
1.We can talk with God and pray to him.
Jesus taught that we can ask for ANYTHING. So, does that mean we can ask for a Ferrari!? Well not exactly. We can certainly ask and as we look around us it’s clear he does give good gifts. However, always asking for material things would reveal more of what’s going on in ours hearts.
In the previous chapter it says, ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy…’ with v33 saying, ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.’
If we are friends with God, our prayer requests will be shaped by what we have understood about the Gospel. We are sinners, in need of forgiveness which is given as a free gift through God’s perfect son- Jesus Christ.
That will shape our prayers.
2. He is our Father and knows what is best for us.
The passage points to our relationship with the living God. Not a distant God. Look how he is described in v 11; as a Heavenly Father knowing what we need. Would a parent give their child a stone, if he asks for bread? of course not! So… ‘how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’
John Piper says, ‘Father was not a throw away label for Jesus. It is one of the greatest of all truths. God is our Father. The implications is that he will never, never give us what is bad for us. Never. He is our Father.’
What a joy it is to ‘ask, seek and knock’ about anything, knowing that the creator of the universe will answer. Not always in the way we might like, but for our good. Romans 8:28 says ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’
The more we find out how much God has loved us, the more we will want to pray! Why not pray to him now using the prayer Jesus taught us?
Watch the All-age part of our online service on this passage:
