There are certain obligations that are upon us when we pray. Faith alone in prayer is not enough. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8). We have the obligation of asking, seeking, and knocking. Just the mere desire for certain things to take place is not enough.
In the model prayer Jesus said we should ask God to “give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). This does not mean that God is going to give it to us by prayer alone. We must seek that bread through hard labour and toil, then God will give it to us. God would not answer the prayer of a person who would ask for his daily bread and then do nothing to secure it. God is not going to till the soil, plant the grain, cultivate the soil when the grain comes up, harvest the grain, take it to the mill, and have it made into meal, mix it up with the proper ingredients, put it in the stove, bake it, and then set it on the table ready to eat. This is what man must do. When man does his part God will do His. It would be inconsistent for us to ask God to give us our daily bread and then do nothing toward purchasing it. A sincere Christian would not dare ask God to do such. It is not enough to ask, we must seek, and knock.
But how sincere are our prayers? How sincere is your prayer? We may not ask God to give us our daily bread without working for it, but we are guilty of asking Him to do other things without doing our part. If we are guilty of doing this our prayers are not sincere.
How many times have you asked God to help the church grow in number and in knowledge, and then leave it all up to Him or some of the others in the church? If we are sincere in our prayer we will do all we can to help the church become stronger in number and in knowledge. We will invite, teach, and take every advantage of doing good deeds for others. It would be utterly inconsistent to ask God to help the church to grow in number and knowledge, and then fail to work and study God’s word ourselves.
How sincere is our prayer when we pray for peace? Do we do all we can to keep “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?” (Eph. 4:3). How sincere is our prayer for love? Do we pray that love may everywhere abound, and then manifest the spirit of hate? Really, how sincere is your prayer?
Malcolm L. Hill
Founder, Tennessee Bible College
(January 12, 1934 – June 26, 2012)