Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matt. 7:7, 8).
It is just as simple as that--ask, seek, knock; and everyone who does so will receive. Find and face an open door. Why do we not ask more, seek more, knock more? It is because of our lack of faith. We do not believe that the answer will come; therefore it does not come. Or it may be that we are self-satisfied. "What is the use of praying?" asked Andrew Carnegie. "I already have everything I want. What more could I ask for?"
Our sins may inhibit the answer to our prayers. Or our prayers may not be answered because we pray a prayerless prayer. In a far--off land G. F. Pentecost met an educated man who was swinging a prayer wheel and repeating monotonous words. "What are you praying for?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing" was the reply.
"To whom are you praying?"
"Oh, nobody."
Let us remember the earnestness of the widow pleading before the judge for justice; of the housewife sweeping the house and seeking by candlelight for her lost coin; of the friend at midnight, pounding on the door, seeking bread for the late traveler.
Before musicians begin to play, they tune up their instruments. You sometimes wish that the operation could be dispensed with, but it cannot. Until the instruments have been tuned, there can by no harmony. So too we must be in tune with the Infinite and in the spirit of prayer if we would pray aright. Read the text again. It is a mighty threefold promise.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified" (Ps. 70:4).
It is just as simple as that--ask, seek, knock; and everyone who does so will receive. Find and face an open door. Why do we not ask more, seek more, knock more? It is because of our lack of faith. We do not believe that the answer will come; therefore it does not come. Or it may be that we are self-satisfied. "What is the use of praying?" asked Andrew Carnegie. "I already have everything I want. What more could I ask for?"
Our sins may inhibit the answer to our prayers. Or our prayers may not be answered because we pray a prayerless prayer. In a far--off land G. F. Pentecost met an educated man who was swinging a prayer wheel and repeating monotonous words. "What are you praying for?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing" was the reply.
"To whom are you praying?"
"Oh, nobody."
Let us remember the earnestness of the widow pleading before the judge for justice; of the housewife sweeping the house and seeking by candlelight for her lost coin; of the friend at midnight, pounding on the door, seeking bread for the late traveler.
Before musicians begin to play, they tune up their instruments. You sometimes wish that the operation could be dispensed with, but it cannot. Until the instruments have been tuned, there can by no harmony. So too we must be in tune with the Infinite and in the spirit of prayer if we would pray aright. Read the text again. It is a mighty threefold promise.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified" (Ps. 70:4).
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