Nothing will bring you to your knees in prayer like having children; it also gives us a clearer picture of how God the Father provides for His children if only they would ask. In Matthew 7, Jesus shows us not only how to pray, but what happens when parents pray.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

First, when we ask, we are expressing our desire.
There is no substitute for prayer; unoffered prayer is not only a tragedy, but also a sin. Our Lord has not merely invited us to ask and pray; He has commanded us to ask and pray. Prayer initiates fellowship with God; our faith develops as we wait for Him to answer. If God gave us what we needed without our asking, we would cease to be dependent upon Him.

Second, when we seek, we explore our direction.
When we go to God, we are seeking His purposes, His presence, or His power. Adrian Rogers says, “Prayer is not bending God’s will to fit our will; prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it.”

Third, when we knock, we are exerting determination.
“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” (Matthew 7:11)!

Sometimes, prayers are very direct: we ask, and God gives. Other times, we ask, and God gives us something better than what we’ve requested. Other times, the answer is denied; if we are not asking according to God’s will, He will say no. God will not give us something that will harm us or hinder our walk with Him.

But sometimes, the answer isn’t denied, just delayed. This is the time we should continue knocking—keep bringing the request to God in Jesus’ name. We must remember that God is good, wise, and able to do exceedingly more than we could ever ask Him to do. (See Ephesians 3:20.)

Apply it to your life
Adrian Rogers says, “Learn to pray. Ask. Seek. Knock. When you ask, that’s desire. When you seek, that’s direction. When you knock, that is determination.”

the great tragedy in life mothers and Dads is not unanswered prayer. It is unknown offered prayer. Now let me tell you something. Listen very carefully. The devil cannot keep God from answering. So what he will endeavor to do is to keep you from asking. To keep you from asking, jesus said ask. And it shall be given you thanks for joining us for this special Mother’s Day program. Adrian Rogers said parents of faith are the most influential powerful people on earth today on love with finding we’ll be exploring what can happen when parents pray have your bibles ready and join us for this timeless message. And as always you can stream this message again and download many other resources related to today’s message. All at L WF dot org. Now let’s join Adrian Rogers, Would you find please? Matthew chapter seven And in a moment we’re going to commence our reading in verse seven but let me talk to you a little bit before we read the scripture. We’re going to be talking about when mothers pray but we’re not going to exclude dads and maybe we could just call this message when parents pray Children are a great incentive prayer, nothing will put you on your knees like having Children. Somebody asked how far apart should Children be spaced? The answer is about a mile and a half, but they’re wonderful. Thank God for them. But be apparent means that you’re going to go to your knees in prayer. Let’s see what our Lord has to say about it. Matthew chapter seven verse 7 jesus says ask and it shall be given you see and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asks receives and he that seeks finds and to him that knocks, it shall be open or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if you ask a fish, would he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your Children. How much more shall your father, which is in heaven give good things to them that asked him. Now there are three key words in the passage that I read before you. They are asked see and not ask Seek and knock. They’re all found in verse seven. Look at it, ask. And it shall be given you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you. Now, these are three little words, but I want to tell you a big dork and swing on little hinges and open up into a vast room where there are multiplied treasures. So I want to think about these three key words in getting prayer answered. Now remember this is not some theoreticians speaking, this is jesus and this is a rock rib, ironclad promise from the word of God ask and you shall receive seek and you shall find knock and it shall be open unto you and I submit to you. That’s either true, it’s not true, It is true And therefore we need to learn about prayer today and especially if we’re parents, but not only if we’re parents. Now three things I want to lay on your heart today. # one, when we ask desire is expressed, when we’re asking there are things that we want we desire. Now, may I tell you that the greatest problem that we face is not unanswered prayer. It is a non offered prayers. Jesus said that we are to ask Now there’s a there’s an ancillary scripture that you might jot in your margin. Let me share it with you. It’s from James Chapter four. James was very practical and he picked up on what Jesus said here and James asked this question in James Chapter four vs. One and two from whence come wars and fightings among you come they not. Hence even if your lust, which war in your members? The reason why we can’t get along with one another is we just can’t get along with ourselves. That’s what he’s saying the last and have not ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. And then here is the plain statement ye fight and war yet you have not because he asked not God alone knows how many blessings we could have had had. We only asked, I suppose that unauthorized prayer is not only a tragedy, it is a sin. Our Lord has commanded us to ask, our Lord has commanded us to pray. I’ve just listed a few scriptures where God not only has invited us to pray, but has commanded us to pray luke 18 1 says, and he spake a parable unto them to this end that men ought always to pray and not to faint. That is not to give up, not to quit praying. And jesus commanded in Mark chapter 14 and verse 38 watch ye and pray lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak now, jesus commanded to watch and pray. I said, you’re going to go down and again. The apostle paul, writing from prison in Philippians chapter four and verse six says. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God. Have you ever thought about it? Why God wants us to ask? Let me give you three reasons why we need to learn to ask God. First of all, the fellowship factor, you see, prayer is a way of having fellowship with God. It is working with God a good scripture that would back that up. And the second Corinthians chapter six and verse one, it says, We then as workers together with him. Beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain. We are workers together with him. And so when I am praying, I’m having fellowship with God. I am working with God. And so God could do it without me, but he loves me too much to leave me out. But not only is there the fellowship factor when we asked, there is the development factor I grow when I pray God wants me to grow and prayer helps me to grow. Ah John 15: verse seven, Jesus said if you abide in me and my words abide in you, then you shall ask what you will and should be done unto you. So God wants me to abide in him and receive strength from him to help me to grow. Ah you see this word asked, this word seek and this word knock is in the greek language in the present tense and what it literally means is keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking because that’s when we grow, when we keep on doing these things, why do we have to keep asking? Sometimes we ask God for something and he doesn’t give it to us right away. Well, the greek actually says just keep on asking, keep on asking. The boy wants a girl to go out with him. He says ah Julia, will you go out with me on a date? She looks him up and then she says well you know I’ve been very busy lately and she gives him some excuse later on he says, I wonder why she wouldn’t go with me was that she really didn’t like me or is there some other reason. So again he calls up and says Julia, do you think we could do this and such? She says, well I I’m busy, thank you. And then he asked again, he gets to thinking, I wonder what it is. I wonder and what if I’ve been using the right manners? One of my fingernails are dirty. I wonder if I have body over. I wonder, I wonder I wonder I wonder if I have shown her proper respect. And so it begins to work on himself. One day he’s kind of transformed and he says Julia, would you do this and such? She looks up and down and says, yeah, I believe I will. I believe I will. Well what in asking? Just asking her and being refused or having to wait causes him to examine his life and to grow prayer is very much the same way. Well we we have fellowship with God when we pray, when we ask God is growing us when we ask. And if God doesn’t give us what we ask, we wonder why did God not answer my prayer. And we examine our hearts a little bit more. Prayer is also God’s way of causing us to be dependent upon him. You know, if God just gave us what we needed without our asking, we would cease to be dependent upon him. It’s it’s a way of binding us to him. And so we are to ask and and asking God for what we need ought to be just as natural as breathing. We say pastor, what can I ask God for? Well, a good test of whether you have any right to want anything as this, can you ask God for? And if you can’t ask God for it, then you have no right to want it. Don’t get the idea, you just ask God for the spiritual things and you take care of the secular things. Can you imagine jesus dividing his life into the secular and the sacred, everything is important to God. You say well this is beyond God or this is too small for God to deal with. No. Can you think of anything too big for God or too small for God to notice ask him for any desire of your heart. If you cannot pray and ask God for it, you have no business wanting it, you say well pastor, what if I want something, I can’t pray about. No, you can pray about it, you can pray about it, tell him God I want something you don’t want fix my water. You pray about everything and everything by prayer and supplication just come to God and ask him and I’m telling you there will be that fellowship factor. There will be that growth factor. There will be that dependency factor. Just simply ask God and I want to say again, jesus says ask and it shall be given you. That is so true, I want to tell you again the great tragedy in life, mothers and dads is not unanswered prayer. It is unknown, offered prayer. Now let me tell you something. Listen very carefully. The devil cannot keep God from answering. So what he will endeavor to do is to keep you from asking. To keep you from asking, Jesus said ask. And it shall be given you. Well you say I’ve asked and I haven’t received. Well, he’s not finished yet. Read the whole verse first of all, when we asked our desires express. But now secondly, when we see, when we see direct direction is explored. Now sometimes we don’t know what to ask for and sometimes we ask for the wrong thing. And so we have to find direction in our prayers we have to see and asking is always linked with seeking ask. And you shall find ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find the idea of seeking is that there’s something that’s lost and we need to find or there’s something unknown and we need to understand it. And so, what is it that we seek when we pray? Well, first of all, we may be seeking the purpose of God, we may be seeking the will of God go back to the passage in James, remember what James says, you have not because you ask not, and then he also said, and you ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you might consume it upon your lusts. You might be asking God for the wrong thing. Now God is not going to give you the wrong thing. No matter how many times you ask him, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, You ask wrongly that you might consume it upon your lusts. Now we can ask for personal needs, but we cannot ask for selfish needs. And so it may be that when we seek, we’re trying to find the will of God about the matter. I can’t, God is not just some glorified bellhop that I say, now God do this or do that. No, no, no. I can ask and will be given me. But that asking is linked to seek seeking. That I may find it might be the purpose of God that I’m trying to seek for. It might be the presence of God that I’m seeking. When I pray James in this same fourth chapter goes on, he’s talking about prayer, He says in James 4: verse eight, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you, Cleanse your hands. Ye centers and purify your hearts. Ye double minded be afflicted and mourn. And we let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. It just might be that God’s very presence is what you need to see. You know, the gift without the giver is bare or it might be that it’s the power of God that you need to see. James goes on to say in James five verse 16 confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man vale it much. So when I pray, I asked, I asked, I said, here God, here’s what I need, here’s what I want. The answer doesn’t come. Then I began to see Lord, What is your purpose? Lord? Where is your presence? Lord? What about your power? And I began to seek these things with all of my heart. Now, first of all I asked that’s a desire express. And then I see that is direction explored. I’m trying to find the will of God. Prayer is not bending gods to will to fit our will. Prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it. And so that’s the reason we must seek God in prayer. But then thirdly, 3rdly, look, first of all asking, his desire expressed seeking is direction explored. But then thirdly, when we knock determination is exerted out. What is the idea now is not just saying, Lord, here’s what I want. Our Lord showed me away you’re saying, oh God, oh God, I need this door opened and remember it’s present tense. It is knocking and keeping on knocking. Now. Elijah was praying for rain. You could read about it in in the first kings 18 I believe and he’s praying for rain. There’s been a drought in the land 3.5 years and he goes, he sits down, he puts his head between his knees and begins to pray. And he says to his servant, go look and see if there’s any rain. See if you see a rain cloud. He went and said, nope, no rain cloud. Elijah prays some more. Said, go look again, no rain clouds, pray some more. Said, go look again, no rain cloud, pray some more good looking. Seven times. He sent a servant on the seventh time the servant said, I see a little cloud, a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand, allow yourself all right, get up. I hear the sound of abundance of rain. You just keep on asking, keep on seeking. Keep on knocking, whether you understand it or not, whether you agree with it or not. There is a principle and it is a wonderful principle that even though it seems that God is delaying, he is not denying. Well, that brings a real question. When should you stop asking? When should you stop seeking? When should you stop knocking in a particular matter? Three times, Number one, you stop asking when you have what you asked for God gives it to. You don’t have to keep on asking number two, You stop asking window, you don’t have the answer in your hand, you have the answer in your heart. I didn’t have it in my hand, but I had it. And time has shown me that I did have it. That that is you just stop asking. You said, thank you Lord. That’s it. Thank you. Now, when when you already have it in your hand or else when you have it in your heart? Or thirdly you stop asking when God says no, he just may say no. Paul was asking God to take away a thorn in the flesh And he said three times I asked him and God says, I’m not going to do it, paul, My grace is sufficient for you. And so sometimes God just simply says no mouth. Parents, mothers, we need to pray for our Children. What is the assurance that God will hear our prayers? Notice how jesus concludes this. Look if you will now in verse nine or what man is there of you? Whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your Children. How much more shall your father, which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him, Why do we have the assurance of answered prayer when these couple of verses three Reasons first of all because God is good, You know we’re not good, we’re imperfect. But we love our Children, don’t we? We love our imperfect as we are. If you be evil, know how to give good gifts unto your Children, how much more she your father in heaven, give good things to them that ask him. God is good all the time. And number two, not only is God good, God is wise, God knows what we need. God is not capricious, but I will tell you something else. God is so wise. If you ask a stone, he will not give you a stone and if you ask a serpent, he will not give you a surprise. The Lord thy God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from them that walk up rightly. He is too wise to make a mistake and too good to be cruel. So God is good. God is kind and wise and last of all we know that our prayers are gonna be answered not only because God is good and God is wise, but God is able look, he speaks of your father which is in heaven. Hmm. Now in the 6th chapter of Matthew jesus taught us to pray our father, which art in heaven hallowed, be thy name. And then we he concludes that prayer by saying for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Our father is in heaven? Think about it. Your father is a king, thine is the kingdom, I can say to my heavenly father, Lord you yours is the kingdom. You see when I pray, I have a father who will hear me and I have a king who can answer me Isn’t that great a father who will hear me and the king who will answer me? Do you know what I have together when I pray I have the sympathy of a father and the sovereignty of a cane, thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That’s what jesus is saying, How much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him. No one should ever try to be a mother or father who doesn’t know how to pray, learn to pray, ask. See knock when you ask that desire. When you see that’s direction. When you knock, that is determination, just like that man saying, look, get up and open this door, I need some bread, I’m telling you, God will hear your prayer, you learn how to pray as jesus teaches us to pray and if he doesn’t give you what you ask, he’ll give you something better than you ask. But I all prayer must be in the name of jesus to have heaven’s authority and you cannot pray in the name of jesus without having christ in your heart as your Lord and your savior, you bow your heads in prayer and if you’re not absolutely certain that you’re saved, I want to lead you in a prayer. And in this prayer you can receive jesus christ as your personal Lord and Savior. And when you receive jesus christ as your personal Lord and savior, three things will be true. First of all, every sin will be forgiven and God will give you the gift of righteousness, something you could never earn by your own good works, God will count you righteous. God will put your name in his book and at the moment you received jesus christ, you will become his child forever and ever and ever. Secondly, God will send his Holy spirit into your life to give you peace and power and joy and purpose and guidance, you’ll not be floundering around. Thirdly, he will give you place a home in heaven when you die are when Jesus comes, he will take you directly home to be with him and having when you pray and asked, christ into your heart. Now salvation is a gift. Jesus purchased it for you with his own blood on the cross. But you must receive that gift. Are you ready to do it? Pray this prayer? Dear God, I’m a sinner and I need to be saved, Jesus, You died to save me and you promised to save me. If I would trust you, I do trust you tell him that from your heart. I do trust you jesus right now, this moment in this seat today, I trust you to save me, forgive my sin, cleanse me. Make me your child. Come into my heart. Give me strength and help me never to be ashamed of you. Thank you for saving me. Begin now to make me the person you want me to be in your name. I pray amen. I am so grateful for these in this worship center today who have said an everlasting yes to the Lord jesus christ and now I want to speak a personal word to you what these have done you can do and you can do it right now. Would you pray and ask the Lord jesus to come into your heart to be your personal savior? To give you a new start a new hope and a new home. Would you do that pray this way? Lord jesus come into my heart, forgive my sin and save me. I believe you paid my sin debt with your blood on the cross. I believe it. I believe that the father raised you from the dead. I believe you can save me and will save me and want to save me. If I would trust you save me. Lord jesus pray that for him and we and if you did began to thank him for doing it and write us and let us know so we can rejoice and pray for you and we’ll send you some literature to help you to get started in your christian life. We hope that today’s message has been an encouragement to you. If so, remember you can stream this message again, share it with a friend and download other resources related to this message all at L WF dot org or the my L WF app. You can also subscribe to our daily heartbeat emails. Each heartbeat contains the daily devotional thought from Adrian Rogers as well as a link to our daily radio programs and other resources delivered directly to your computer or mobile device each day. And if you’re looking for some inspiration or encouragement to get you through the week, check us out on social media at L WF ministries and don’t forget you can catch up with our program each week on our facebook page or Youtube channel or on the my L WF app. Thanks for joining us for our program today we’ll see you next time this month. Love Worth finding wants to help you anticipate christ’s return as we live on the edge of eternity. That’s why when you donate to the ministry this month, we want to thank you by sending a copy of tapestry promises and prophecy. This journal explores the meaning and symbolism of the Book of revelation Using Adrian Rogers five Step Process for examining God’s word, request this journal when you call with a gift at 1 806 47 94 100 or give online at L WF dot org, understand the profound truth of revelation in a practical way call or go online today.