New Thoughts (8/31/06-9/2/06)
It seems almost shocking that Jesus, having just given us such a concise model for prayer, goes on to immediately encourage us to persistence and more in our prayer. Persistence doesn’t even begin to address the nature of prayer that He is advocating. His call is to a life of reckless abandon in prayer, an audacious, shameless approach to the Father’s throne. This is not to say that we should come before God without giving any thought to Who He is. Remember that this is exactly where He starts us in prayer. Think first upon Him to Whom you have come, and upon His purposes. Then, and only then, are you properly conditioned to present your needs.
The thing is that we have trained ourselves to be fearful in approaching our superiors. Whether we are talking to the boss about a raise or a president about his governance, our tendency is to go right past what respect demands, and push ourselves into a certain apprehension. Jesus has taught us how to attune ourselves to God’s ways and purposes as a first matter in prayer. Because we have attuned ourselves, He is now telling us we can come to our Father in reckless abandon, having no concern whatsoever for our safety in His presence. As we come to Him, all other considerations should fade from thought. It is Daddy God we are approaching. Though He is our mighty King, and worthy of all respect and awe, He is our Father, who loves us beyond any love we could imagine.
The world trains us, if it trains us in godly matters at all, to be afraid of God. It’s in the nature of the idolater to come before his god as before an enemy that needs to be appeased. Jesus introduces us into a better relationship. It is not an angry foe that we approach. We aren’t to come to Him saying, “Please, God, don’t kill me, but if You wouldn’t mind too terribly much, could You maybe, just possibly, consider this little request of mine?” That’s not the thing at all! He calls for us to be bold in approaching, knowing that by His deliverance we have been removed from all cause for fear in God’s presence. Come with boldness and with persistence.
Persistence is not to suggest, however, that we somehow think He didn’t hear us the first time, or that we can really badger God into answering as we please. Persistence of that sort would not be of faith, and the message is loud and clear: it is the prayer given in belief that the answer is already in the works that God honors.
The example Jesus gives us of bothering our friend until he helps us just to shut us up might easily lead us into some impropriety in our prayer life were it taken in isolation. Yet, even here, I would note that we would not be nearly so persistent in seeking a favor from our neighbor if he were not a friend. We would not keep pestering him to help us if we didn’t know deep down that he would help. We would be off to bother somebody else we figure will help us. It is no stranger, no mercenary shop keeper that Jesus puts before our eyes, but a friend well known to us. Of course he will help us out if we can just get him past thinking about the inconvenience. It is, if you will, a pestering of faith.
We need to see the sweep of this thing. First, there is that model of prayer: concise, not long, empty repetitions of the same thing as though God were slow in understanding what we’re driving at. Then, there is this lesson on persistence, but persistence borne of certainty that you will win through. Now, on the heals of this, comes a message to bring confidence. If you ask, it will be given. If you are striving to gain this thing, you will surely find it. If you are requesting access, you shall have access. Be confident. You are not in the position of those Baal worshipers that Elijah confronted. Your God is not deaf or sleeping. You are addressing the Living God, Who never slumbers nor sleeps. Be confident. Be persistent in your confidence. The persistence is in the confident expectation that He will surely answer you and answer you well.
Having come to the topic of asking, I want to take a moment to consider some of the debate that appears in the lexicons in regard to this word. There are, apparently, a number of Greek terms that indicate different aspects or modes of asking. So, I see that there is a more or less traditional distinction by which the particular word here is thought to indicate that sort of asking that one does when approaching a superior. Again, I am put in mind of the example of asking the boss for a raise, or for some time off. By way of contrast, there is that other word which, it is suggested, is more a matter of asking one’s equal, far more in keeping with the idea of asking a friend for a favor, like the loan of some bread in Jesus’ example.
Thayer’s Lexicon points out some other theories that have arisen regarding the distinction between these two words. One such theory suggests that Jesus is teaching us about how to ask for things in this case, whereas the use of the other word would indicate an asking for something to be done. Yet, this would not seem to fit the circumstance. If I am asking for a door to be opened, is it a thing I seek or an action? Granted, the particulars are that if you ask, then it shall be given, not done. But, that idea of knocking and opening is there at the same time, and must, I think, be understood as a parallel thought of similar meaning.
If there is a distinction to be drawn, based on Jesus’ choice of this particular word for this particular example, it would seem to me that understanding it as a matter of the approach to asking rather than the particulars of what is asked makes more sense. If we are discussing the subject of prayer, why would there be concern as to whether one asks for things or actions? Indeed, His model prayer seems to cover both. Give us our daily things and perform these actions on our behalf, please. Rather, as so much has to do with attitude and motivation, it would seem reasonable to think that He is keeping us mindful that however boldly we are able to come before our Father, we should not lose sight of the fact that we are indeed approaching our superior.
Jesus teaches that everyone who asks receives. The temptation is to take that as some sort of absolute guarantee that whatever I ask God for, He will give me, for better or for worse. Yet, experience requires that I reject that understanding, even if good sense does not. For one thing, the promise given us in this passage is not that He will grant what I ask, but that I shall receive. More often than not, God’s giving comes in a form far different than what we had asked, always for the better. In other cases, the request may go apparently unanswered. If I ask for a sunny day tomorrow, He may or may not choose to comply with my desire. Of course, there’s the conundrum of what He will do if I ask for sun and another believer asks for rain. What if I seek for snow in mid-July? Is He really going to provide this just to satisfy my odd desire? Of course not! God is not frivolous.
Keep the connection with that model prayer. When our thoughts have first been turned to considering the God Who Is, it will do wonders for focusing our prayers on things that matter to Him. That asking which is always answered is the asking after those things that further kingdom purposes. The seeking that always finds is the seeking after Him and after His ways. The door that always opens to us is the door that leads to Him. These things should be obvious to us, and yet we so often make our prayer life something more akin to the prayers of children, or worse yet, to the incantations of witches. It gets to be all about coercing God into doing what we want, when our whole attention should be on doing what He wants.
If we would be effective in prayer, we must have His kingdom foremost in our thoughts, not only when we pray, but likewise when we stop praying and start doing.
So, having encouraged us as to the effectiveness of prayer, Jesus also gives us to understand that when God’s answer doesn’t seem to quite line up with our request, it is still good. What else is meant by this comparison to our own example as fathers? If my child comes asking for bread, I surely will not give her a rock instead. That is not the same as saying that I will definitely give her the bread she asks for. I may insist that she have something like a piece of fruit instead. If she comes asking for fish, I shall first have to recover from the shock, but still, I will not be likely to hand her something poisonous to eat instead of what she has asked for. That said, it may be that there’s chicken prepared, and that’s what she shall have, however much she may be hankering after fish.
See, the point Jesus is making is absolutely not that God grants every least desire we might express. The point is that if His answers don’t happen to align perfectly with desire, they are always good. In fact, they are always better. Otherwise, there is no reason for this message to be delivered. If He’s simply going to give me whatever I ask for, then there’s no cause to explain the goodness of His giving. The fact that His answers so often differ from my requests makes the explanation necessary.
Then, He has the audacity to call me evil! Yes, and I must acknowledge that this is indeed my nature. But, there is something in that word that really describes condition more than nature. I am one who is full of annoyances and hardships. I am harassed by hard labors, constantly toiling and in peril, and having no results for all that effort. That is evil, by this word’s definition. Today, like other days, I shall go to work. It will doubtless be a source of some annoyance, and it will be hard in its ways. There will be the sense of futility. Some folks reading this will be utterly offended that I will even speak this way, as if I were prophesying over my day. I am not. I am merely acknowledging the reality of what God says about it. If it were not full of annoyances and hardships, it would not be work. If it were not futile, it would be God’s work. Face it. Any labor not done for the kingdom is ultimately futile, for it changes nothing, accomplishes nothing. But, as a child of God, even in this labor, I know I am working for the kingdom, however indirectly. From the proceeds of these labors, God’s work is supported. But, I digress here.
Jesus is hereby declaring the truth about us. We are evil. We are evil in nature as we share in the common condition of fallen humanity. We are evil in that we, like our labors, are full of annoyances. We, too, require unremitting toil from Him who would transform us. Thanks be to God that it is not without results, though! It is just so slow in coming, as we perceive it.
Even so, He says, you don’t give bad things to your loved ones. You may not give them what they ask for, but you will not give them things that would harm them. In spite of what you are like, you know enough to do well by your children. How much more, then, is your Father able to respond to you with good things? This is the key to life in the kingdom! If we really and truly believe what God says of Himself, we must really and truly believe and understand that whatever God may choose to give us is good. Even if His answers aren’t what we wanted, they are good. Yes, and we can be sure His answers will still be in line with what we were asking for. He just has a greater knowledge and wisdom. Knowing the end from the beginning, He can provide perfectly for our need, where we can only see the need and come up with whatever we can think up. But, God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever think or even imagine! That’s the reality of God. We can only think so far as our limited abilities can take us, and therefore are often wrapped up in futility – vanity of vanities! God, on the other hand, is infinitely wise, and sees the whole scope of history and future as He determines His provision for our moment. Be very glad, then, that He does not simply give us what we want. He gives us what will suit our need and His to perfection. Knowing this, when the answer comes, rejoice! Whatever the answer is, rejoice! Recall that He is Good and His mercies toward us endure. Recall that He is your loving Father in heaven, the giver of every good and perfect gift. Then, look upon the answer and seek wisdom to know why this gift is good and perfect, and how you may put it to use to best advantage.
Having read the Amplified Bible for these texts today, I want to step back to the earlier part of the passage for just a moment. There is indeed a sense of persistence in the way we are told to ask, seek and knock. It is non-obvious in the more literal translations, but the underlying Greek indicates the continuity of action. This is in keeping with that fairly recent addition to Christianese: ‘Pray until something happens.’ You know, that’s really a pretty accurate presentation of what Jesus is saying here. Notice that it is not suggested that we should pray until we get what we want. That’s not praying, that’s whining. But, persistent prayer is indeed a hallmark of the faith. It is not the length of the prayer necessarily. Again, I am put in mind of the admonition against meaningless, windy repetitions. But, there is a call to persist. Daniel kept at it for over a month until the angel of God came. Why? Didn’t he trust God? Yes, he did. That is evident from the course of his life. But, he had not seen the answer come yet, and so he kept on praying and he kept his eyes open.
That has been a message to our church of late: to keep our eyes open. We have to. And, we have to understand that keeping our eyes open requires keeping our mind open to God’s answer, too. If we have decided in advance just exactly what His answer will be, then we will most likely miss His answer when it comes however wide open our eyes might be. He may not give us the bread we asked for, but whatever answer He provides, we can rest assured it will be good. We can rest assured that it will be even better than we had dared to hope. That’s what Daniel discovered when the answer finally came. Not only had God heard him from the start. He knew that full well. But, God had sent an answer beyond even Daniel’s expectations.
I am back at the latter point. We must learn to recognize God’s answers when they come, even if they don’t look like what we asked for. We must learn to recognize how His answer meets our request, and we must come to understand why it is a better answer. We must learn to apply what He provides to the need for which we asked, because He provides in good and perfect ways. Whatever it was we wanted or expected, we must rest in the assurance that His answer is not only good; it is perfect. Even if the answer is, ‘No,’ it is good. It is perfect, and we need to accept that ‘no’ just as we wish our own children would accept ours. We need not ask why. We need to not insist on explanation. We must come to the place of accepting His wisdom and His concern for us, and looking instead to what we ought to do with this ‘no’ He has given us.
With that, I want to move on to considering the confluence of parallel verses that come to comment on this section of the teaching of Jesus. Let me first offer the parallels as one thought. If two of you agree about what you are asking it shall be done. You will receive everything you ask for, if you ask for it in believing prayer. So, believe that you have received what you asked for and it will be given to you. Indeed, whatever you ask for in My name, with full consideration of Who I AM and what I stand for, that I will do, for this will cause the Father to be glorified in the Son. In this you can have confidence: If you ask what is in accord with His will, He hears you, and you can know with assurance that you shall have what you requested from Him. (Mt 18:19, Mt 21:22, Mk 11:24, Jn 14:13, 1Jn 5:14-15).
Notice, that there is a condition here. Ask in My name. Remember, this is not about some incantation. It is not, ‘say the magic word Jesus and all your wishes come true’. It is about remembering Who He is. It is about asking as a representative of His kingdom, with His kingdom’s priorities not just first and foremost in our thinking, but fully occupying our thoughts. This is the condition for believing prayer. Simon the magi misunderstood the point. He thought it was just some new and more powerful incantation that he could pay for access to. Not at all! Neither can we. It’s about the kingdom, or it’s about nothing. If we agree on the request, it ought to be because we are both convinced that this is what the kingdom needs done in this moment. It shouldn’t be because we both think a new car would be nice. It should be because we are agreed that this car will actually serve the purposes of the kingdom in some way. In this example, I would have to suggest that the car must be a matter of missionary service, or it has no real business in our prayers anyway. I know that’s an unpopular approach to prayer life in our culture, but I think it’s accurate.
If we ask as He wills, if we ask because we see how it furthers the purposes of the kingdom, if we ask with pretty much no thought for self, this is the prayer that can be offered up in confident belief. If our prayers are truly giving voice to the Holy Spirit’s promptings within us, and not just our current wish list, then we have reason to believe. We cannot possibly think that when Jesus says we have but to ask in such a fashion as believes we will have it, that He means He will honor our delusional thinking. That’s not it. I can believe that the sun will implode tomorrow all I want, and pray that it shall happen, but it shall not unless, by some miracle, that happens to suit God’s plan for salvation. I hope that what I am getting at here is sufficiently clear. Belief must have something upon which to set its foundations, else it is not belief at all, but merely wishful thinking.
Now, I would turn to James, and particularly to his instruction regarding the nature of prayer (Jas 1:5-8). The first admonition he gives us is to ask for wisdom. Pray the prayer of Solomon, if you will. This is, indeed, a marvelous place to start, for wisdom is the most selfless provision we can ask for. There is no great personal glory in wisdom. It is not a get rich quick sort of thing to ask for. Wisdom tends to be to the benefit of others at least as much as it is for ourselves. Indeed, as I have been hinting at throughout this teaching, we need that wisdom so that we can recognize the unexpected answers to our other prayers. James immediately follows this with a reason to have confidence. Know that God gives generously to every man in this regard, and He will in no way reproach you for being so lacking in wisdom as to require such a prayer.
That James makes this point to establish confidence in us as we ask is made evident by what follows. When you ask, he says, ask in faith. If you ask in faith, there cannot be the slightest shred of doubt in you. Faith is confident. Faith knows that God answers. Faith knows that what was asked for is in keeping with God’s plans and purposes. Faith knows that it is pursuing God’s desire. Therefore, there is no cause for doubt, and therefore, whatever doubt there may be can only be unbelief. The one who prays in unbelief should, James tells us, expect nothing from God. God does not honor the double-minded, but the steadfast. He does not honor the unstable, the delusional, or the day-dreamer. He honors the righteous, the persistent, they who persevere.
For such men as God honors (for they honor God), the words of David ring true. The LORD is my sun and my shield. He lights my way, and He protects me in my battle. The LORD gives grace and glory, else there is no grace and glory for me. He withholds no good thing from the righteous and the steadfast (Ps 84:11). Indeed, every good and perfect gift comes down from Him upon those who are in His purposes (Jas 1:17). Notice this: It is every good and perfect gift. He does not withhold a one. That is our confidence. That is our provision. Yes, and all of that is wrapped up in the simple request, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Provide perfectly for the needs of the day, as we confidently know in advance that You always have and always will.
Let me be content in that knowledge, my God. Let me be assured that what You provide is exactly what I need. Therefore, how can I ever be wanting? Yes, You provide perfectly. Every good thing You give to me freely and gladly. Thank You, my Father. Thank You for Your good care for me. Forgive me if I have grumbled and complained. Forgive me if my eyes have hungered after things You are determined I ought not to have. Teach me to be content in Your perfect provision, my dear Father, and let not the lust of this world have my attention.
Yes, Lord, and with the persistence You call for, I come to You. I come seeking that personal boldness and confidence to speak of You to the world around me, for I see that it is still needful in me. Come, then, and fill me with the same boldness Peter knew. Let Your name be magnified in my own life, Lord, that I may come home at the last confident of Your pleasure in me.
