Week of Prayer: Day 7

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is credited with saying, “Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” This quote aligns closely with the anecdote the gospel writer Luke shared just before verse 9 regarding the account of the persistent host who needed a loaf of bread from a neighbor to feed a guest. He kept pleading and knocking until the neighbor finally got up in the night and gave him what he needed.

Getting an answer from God isn’t always instantaneous; in fact, it rarely is. The “ask, seek, knock” process Luke outlines pertains to a perseverance and persistence in prayer that is often necessary. There may be times when God chooses to see how earnest and sincere we are about our petitions. Perhaps God causes us to wait as an issue of trust or timing. Matters of obedience to God’s Word and will can also influence God’s response. Furthermore, answers can be delayed due to opposition from Satan and his forces that hinder the answer from coming through.

In any case, we are instructed to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking till the answer comes. Persistence does pay in both the temporal and spiritual realms. The important issue is to pray and not give up.

John T. Maempa