"Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you.
Yes, if a person continues asking, that person will receive. If a person continues looking, that person will find. And if a person continues knocking, the door will open for that person.
- Matthew 7:7-8 (ERV)
7 Cereţi, şi vi se va da; căutaţi şi veţi găsi; bateţi, şi vi se va deschide.
8 Căci ori şi cine cere, capătă; cine caută, găseşte; şi celui ce bate, i se deschide.
THOUGHT:
Ask, look, knock. These actions sound so harmless and so easy. But behind these words is the intent of Jesus: "Be persistent! Keep asking! Continue looking! Don't quit knocking!" This is not a cookbook prescription, but the target attitude we should have in our prayers and our lives.
We must be persistent and faithful. But before making that persistence our key to acquiring and achieving for ourselves, let's remember Jesus' example in the model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13: the focus is on God's will -- his Kingdom and his glory, on our most basic needs -- daily bread, and on overcoming sin through forgiveness and deliverance. Jesus is reminding us that if we stay after these, not only will we get what we ask for, but we will also be changed in the process!
PRAYER:
Holy and righteous Father, thank you so much for the many prayers you have answered. Thank you, dear Father, for answering my prayers to be more like Jesus. I confess I am still so very far from his perfection, but when I look at the distance you have brought me in the past, I can view the future only with excitement knowing that you will lead me on to become more like him in the future. In Jesus' name I thank you and ask for your continued grace. Amen.
Related Scriptures:
But if any of you needs wisdom, then you should ask God for it. God is generous. He enjoys giving to all people. So God will give you wisdom. But when you ask God, you must believe.
Don't doubt God. The person who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down. The person who doubts is like that wave. The person who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. - James 1:5-8
5 Dacă vreunuia dintre voi îi lipseşte înţelepciunea, s'o ceară dela Dumnezeu, care dă tuturor cu mînă largă şi fără mustrare, şi ea îi va fi dată.
6 Dar s'o ceară cu credinţă, fără să se îndoiască deloc: pentrucă cine se îndoieşte, seamănă cu valul mării, turburat şi împins de vînt încoace şi încolo.
7 Un astfel de om să nu se aştepte să primească ceva dela Domnul,
8 căci este un om nehotărît şi nestatornic în toate căile sale.
I tell you the truth. The person that believes in me will do the same things I have done. Yes! He will do even greater things than I have done. Why? Because I am going to the Father. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. - John 14:12-13
12 Adevărat, adevărat, vă spun, că cine crede în Mine, va face şi el lucrările pe cari le fac Eu; ba încă va face altele şi mai mari decît acestea; pentrucă Eu mă duc la Tatăl:
13 şi ori ce veţi cere în Numele Meu, voi face, pentruca Tatăl să fie proslăvit în Fiul.
Then Jesus taught the followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. Jesus used this story to teach them: "Once there was a judge in a town. He did not care about God. The judge also did not care what people thought about him. In that same town there was a woman. Her husband was dead. The woman came many times to this judge and said, 'There is a man that is doing bad things to me. Give me my rights!' But the judge did not want to help the woman.
After a long time, the judge thought to himself, 'I don't care about God. And I don't care about what people think. But this woman is bothering me. If I give her what she wants, then she will leave me alone. But if I don't give her what she wants, she will bother me until I am sick!'"
The Lord (Jesus) said, "Listen! {There is meaning} in what the bad judge said. God's people shout to him night and day. God will always give his people what is right. God will not be slow to answer his people. I tell you, God will help his people quickly! But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find people on earth who believe in him?" - Luke 18:1-8
1 Isus le -a spus o pildă, ca să le arate că trebuie să se roage necurmat, şi să nu se lase.
2 El le -a zis: ,,Într'o cetate era un judecător, care de Dumnezeu nu se temea şi de oameni nu se ruşina.
3 În cetatea aceea era şi o văduvă, care venea des la el, şi -i zicea: ,Fă-mi dreptate în cearta cu pîrîşul meu.`
4 Multă vreme n'a voit să -i facă dreptate. Dar în urmă, şi -a zis: ,Măcar că de Dumnezeu nu mă tem şi de oameni nu mă ruşinez,
5 totuş, pentru că văduva aceasta mă tot necăjeşte, îi voi face dreptate, ca să nu tot vină să-mi bată capul.`
6 Domnul a adăogat: ,Auziţi ce zice judecătorul nedrept?
7 Şi Dumnezeu nu va face dreptate aleşilor Lui, cari strigă zi şi noapte către El, măcar că zăboveşte faţă de ei?
8 Vă spun că le va face dreptate în curînd. Dar cînd va veni Fiul omului, va găsi El credinţă pe pămînt?``
