As a kid, I knew Bible verses like, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it (John 14:14).” And “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:8).” I took these verses as literally as a seven or eight-year-old boy could. I would pray, “Dear Lord, I pray for a grappling hook gun like Batman has in my right hand right now. In Jesus’ name, amen.” I prayed that prayer more than once. I can tell you that was a prayer God said “no” to, and my life has been much longer and more productive thanks to that gracious denial.
It's easy to understand the mismatched expectations of what we pray for and what God gives us when we think about silly childhood requests, but what about when you pray for healing from cancer or chronic pain? What about praying for God to save your spouse or children? Praying with persistent faith is much more challenging when the answer comes slower or different than expected.
There is a humility inherent to prayer that we often don’t consider until our expectations, hopes, and plans are put up against God’s gracious and perfect provision. I want to look at three types of humility we need to cultivate to live as contented and joyful children of the Father.
1) The Humility of Asking
Matthew 7:7 says,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
In Matthew 7, Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, and he is addressing what his disciples’ response should be in light of the mandate he has just given them. A summary of that teaching would be Matthew 5:48,
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I don’t know about you, but perfection is a standard I fall short of daily. Jesus does not turn down the requirements of the law but turns the dial up to 11 and invites us to follow him as the fulfillment of the law. How should we respond in light of this great challenge? Jesus’ answer is we should ask for help.
It is a humble act to ask for help. It is a humble thing to seek a solution outside rather than inside. It is humble to knock on someone else’s door seeking aid. The command to ask, seek, and knock seems simple until you realize that what it takes to obey this command is to admit you can’t do it yourself. The Christian life does not start with how much you bring to the table. It starts with you on your knees begging God to do for you in Christ what you cannot do for yourself.
2) The Humility of Waiting
But asking is just part of the battle. Let’s look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:8,
“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
This is a gracious promise from God that our asking will not go unheard. But in our eagerness to claim this promise, we must be careful not to miss that little word: will. When Jesus says God will answer, that is a promise for the future, which means we are going to have to humbly wait.
And as we wait, sometimes God answers our prayers in unexpected ways. Moses was prepared to lead the people of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years by tending his father-in-law's sheep in the wilderness for 40 years. Joseph was prepared to save his family from disaster by being sold into slavery and waiting forgotten in an Egyptian prison. David was prepared to be King of Israel by hiding in caves and the wild places of Israel, being hunted as a criminal. These men were promised to be a part of God’s saving work and were shaped for that in their waiting.
God might do the most miraculous work before you see the prayer answered. It may be the answer to your prayer will be a sweeter, more robust trust in God’s goodness rather than receiving the thing you thought would make everything better. There is humility in trusting the promises of God and being willing to accept the challenge of persistence in asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer to our God.
3) The Humility of Receiving
Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7-8 aren’t just about asking and waiting. They are a promise that we will be answered by God. That is one of God’s most glorious promises to us. But what God gives isn’t always what we expect.
In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking him to heal her daughter. Jesus responds,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel… it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”
- Matthew 15:24,26.
A hard word. Not how we generally expect Jesus to respond to requests. How do you think you would have reacted to Jesus’ response? This woman could have gotten angry or plunged herself into despair. She could have given up not only the hope of seeing her daughter healed but of trusting this Jewish messiah at all. Her response is remarkable. Matthew 15:27,
“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”
This woman did not presume to receive anything from Jesus. She humbly accepts Jesus’ word to her and continues to ask in faith.
Are you like this woman? Trusting God’s goodness even when the answer is slower or different than you expect? Do you understand your bankruptcy before God in such a way that even the crumbs from his table are a treasure? Do you trust that whatever your heavenly Father gives you is good and perfect, even if it is incomplete on this side of eternity?
Sometimes, having our prayers answered reveals our idolatry. When we get what we have been asking for, it reveals we just wanted God’s gifts, not God himself. In Luke 17, ten lepers come to Jesus asking to be healed. Jesus granted their request as they went to present themselves to the priests. Only one Samaritan man returned to Jesus to say thank you. The other nine were desperate for Jesus’ help until they got what they needed, and then they returned to their lives as if God had not just given them new life by his grace. The one who returned got the real treasure,
“And [Jesus] said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
– Luke 17:19
Neither was the Canaanite woman’s humility lost on Jesus,
“Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.”
– Matthew 15:28
Both of these individuals saw their need for Jesus as deeper than just physical healing. They saw in Christ’s character and holiness and knew that they needed him more than the healing. Both of them committed themselves by faith to whatever Jesus gave them, even as they begged him through tears to answer them. Both of them got far more than healing; they got the gracious gift of God himself.
This is Jesus’ big point in Matthew 7:9-11,
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
The true answer to all your prayers is God Himself. If you see your need for him, ask, seek, and knock for the forgiveness and peace on God himself can offer you in Christ. God will not withhold his glorious self from you. He has already given himself to you in the work of Christ on the cross, the presence of the holy spirit in your heart, and by adopting you into his family as sons. His ears are not deaf to your asking, his place is not hidden to your seeking, and his door is not bolted and locked to your knocking.
I don’t know what you are asking God for right now. I don’t know how long you have been asking, and I don’t know how or when God will answer you. But I encourage you to keep asking, seeking, and knocking. I implore you to keep the character and promises of God close to your heart. Do not grow weary in asking or doing good. The time is coming when all our asking will finally be met with “yes and amen,” and all that will be left will be to enjoy our saviour.
