“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being 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!”
7:9
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
At the human level, people do not give the opposite of what others ask.
7:10
Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
It is not natural for people to give something that might hurt in response to a simple request. The Greek answers this and the previous question with “no.” This is absurd. Parents do not mock their children’s requests. This is an argument from the ridiculous.
7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
The entire human race is evil through sinfulness.
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
This is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If the lesser is true, how much more the greater. Human fathers are evil but they give good things to their children. The Father “much more” gives to His children. Answer to prayer rests on the character of God.
PRINCIPLE:
When we meet the conditions for prayer, God will faithfully answer our prayers.
APPLICATION:
We can rely on God to do what is best for His children. God will always answer our prayers in love and for our benefit. He is faithful to His children’s requests.
Our picture of God is at stake when it comes to answered prayer. Do we view Him as a grudging giver or as someone who eagerly gives to His children?
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Jas 1:5
Dr. Richison, My question is in another passage i understood that we were not suppose to pray in vain repetition but here i am understanding that you are saying that Jesus wants us to pray continuous for what we desire. Can you clarify this for me . Thank you
John, Continuous praying and vain repetition are two different things. Vain repetition is to pray the same prayer over and over without introducing anything new.
You mentioned meeting the “conditions” for prayer. Other than to ask, seek, and knock, what are the others? Additionally, aren’t “no” and “wait” answers just as legitimate and faithful to the promises made here as the answer “yes?”
Tom, yes, those are legitimate answers to prayer as well.