The Prayer of Asking

We have been learning about the various skills that go into effective prayer.


The meaning of the word "pray" means “to ask.” This aspect of prayer is also called petition.

Jesus said this.

Matt 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 for everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 18:6-8 and will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

John 14:13-14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus wants us to ask, so he can give. Yet we act as if it is an imposition!

re are dangers in petition, of course. Here are a few examples of prayer that God will not answer.

“God, I want to die!”

“God, punish him!”

“God, help me win this game!”

“God, let me win the lottery!”

“God, let me live forever!”

“God, take away this test!”

I confess that there is much about prier I do not understand. But one thing I do not, God desires us to be utterly dependent upon Him in all things. He wants us to uphold us, because He loves us. There is no good logical reason for this. It is an emotional desire of God to be loved. Just as worldly parents desire to care for their children, so our heavenly father desires to take care of His.

But how do we petition God? What do we ask for? How do we know what He wants us to ask? God has given us a pattern for effective petition in the Lord’s Prayer.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to prayer. Other rabbis often gave his disciples prayers to pray. But there is nothing in the passage to suggest that Jesus was giving them the Lord’s Prayer simply to repeat. This was a pattern prayer—an example that still applies today.

The Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6: 9-13.

The Lord’s Prayer is not some kind of mantra to be repeated by rote. It is a pattern for our prayer life, and a revealer of God’s desire. It shows us both in what order we should pray for things, and how we should pray or hem. It is a brilliant piece of work.

Let’s see it piece by piece.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed is Thy Name.”

The first lesson we learn from the Lord’s Prayer is that God cares more about the “who” in our relationship than the “what.” God doesn’t care what your prayers sound like, or if you get the words right. All he cares about is that first and foremost we acknowledge Him to be our holy Lord as well as our divine Father. Our relationship matters to Him.

In New York they have automats. It is a mechanical restaurant, without waitresses or cooks. Everything is prepackaged. You just stick your coins in the appropriate slots and out comes fruit, apple pies, sandwiches, and soups, whatever. You never have to talk to a real person at all.

This might be an efficient way of distributing food, but it is not very appealing. People like to receive their meals from people, not from slots. We like to have waitresses take our order. We enjoy the touch of a human hand. It’s nice to know the person giving us the food.

God is not an automat. Our spiritual nourishment comes from a relationship with Him. Prayer begins with an acknowledgement of that relationship. If we cannot say that God is our Father and our Lord, then don’t ask for anything until we get our relationship straight. He is our Father, and He is holy. This is praise—the acknowledgement of who God is and what He has done for us.

“Our Father” he says--not just “My Father“ but ours. There is a second relationship at play here. We are not just related to God, but to all who stand praying beside us. Our prayers are not just something we do as individuals, but we also are part of a praying and loving group of people. We are first part of an “our” and secondarily a “my.” God wants us to pray for our group needs first before e pray for our personal ones.

“Thy Kingdom Come.” This is a call to join in God’s battle against global darkness. Darkness. Before we pray for anything else, remember that the needs of the world are greater than our own little circle. It is a desire to see God’s kingdom grow.

Imagine we were praying for our country. “Lord, let America grow.” What would that prayer imply? It would imply that America was to perfect, that it was not yet big enough. We would be saying that we want America to encompass more land and more people. We would be praying that the government we enjoy would be expanded to include others.

That’s the problem with most of our prayers. We really don’t want God’s kingdom to grow. Can we truthfully say we want the people around us in the church? Do we want all races, all classes to be represented in the church? Or would we rather see only our faithful few people our own race, our own culture, our own music.

Culture is defined by the externals—language, clothing, music, customs. When we want the church to look like it always did and sound like it always did, and when we resent others who might make it different, then we are saying essentially that we are only interested in the Kingdom of God coming to those who are already much like ourselves. We would rather see the kingdom isolated. Therefore, we cannot pray with all sincerity “Thy kingdom come.” We only want the kingdom to come to our own little place and group.

When we pray “Thy Kingdom come,” We need to get down to specifics. What part of the world do you want Jesus to come to? Where are the greatest needs? Who needs to be overcome by the Kingdom of God? When do you want to see it? How can we best help in the bringing in of the Kingdom? These specifics make it more real to us.

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Do we pray for social improvement? Are there places in our world that do not conform to God’s will?

Often this petition is misunderstood. It is prayed as a kind of fatalistic acquiescence to the will of God, a kind of excuse for our prayers not being answered. If all “thy will be done” meant was, “God do whatever you wish,” then why pray it at all. Do you think that a sovereign, almighty God needs our approval or encouragement to do His will? This is not necessary, and may even be hindrance to effective prayer. God already knows His will.

This is a call to action, not passivity. We should be praying that His Will be true in all the earth.

Before we pray for ourselves, lift up the needs of others. Pray “God, let Your Will come in my neighbor’s life” before we ask that it come in our own.

Again, this calls us to ask for specifics. What specific circumstances in the world need to change? Where is the world tour of God’s will? Where does it need to be more like heaven?

Think about the Christians who behind the Iron Curtain. They prayed for the Berlin Wall to come down. Then one day it did. Think about the Christians during World War II. They prayed that Hitler would be defeated, and one day he was. Think about the many slaves who prayed for their freedom and then were free. They were praying for the Will of God to come. Prayer was an effective a weapon as tanks, planes, or the atomic bomb.

When you pray for the will of God, pray for specifics. Where in your community, in your world, in your neighborhood does the will of God need to be realized? When we ask specifically we get specific answers.

“Give us this day, our daily bread.”

Pray for our own needs—after we have prayed for others. When we do, we should boldly state them.

“Daily” is a key word. Most of us desire a safe, regular, and predictable life. But a safe, predictable life does not force us to pray. God wants us to seek safety in Him, not in careful planning or worldly security. He is our refuge for the future. Anything else that appears to guarantee us safety forever eventually becomes an idol.

There are three reasons for this. First, because He loves us and wants us to be happy. Second, because he wants us to be effective in our service of Him. Third, because it builds our faith.

Faith is like exercise. The more you stretch, the stronger you become. Start of by asking for little things. Then you can believe for big things.

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Near the end, the Lord’s Prayer includes a petition of confession and forgiveness. Notice that this confession comes after our daily bread. God’s provision for us is not based on our confession or our forgiveness, but upon His love for us, which has no conditions. He gives to us because He wants to give.

Because of His love to us, we owe a debt to him. This is not a legal obligation, but an obligation of love. When we fail God, we need to ask his forgiveness. First, we acknowledge that we have sinned. Then we acknowledge that we have been saved. It is a process that Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ called “spiritual breathing.” We exhale our sins and inhale forgiveness.

Then Jesus connects our forgiveness with the forgiveness of others. God is very serious about us forgiving those who have wronged us, just as He is serious about forgiving us. Our unforgiveness of others is the single greatest sin we commit that comes between us and Him.

Again bring this down to specifics. Who has wronged you that you have not forgiven? What specific thing sod you need forgiveness for? It is up to God to show us what forgiveness really means.

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from The Evil One.” Temptation is inevitable, but yielding is not. We can resist. There is an Evil One. We pray not only for deliverance from temptation but also for deliverance from the Devil.

Anyone who thinks he can defeat Satan by his own power is a fool. Any one of us can defeat Satan, and resist temptation, but only by relying on the power of God.

There is one more portion of the Lord’s Prayer, as we are used to say it. “For Thine are the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.” There is a textual problem in this passage. Some ancient manuscripts include it that others do not. It is possible that these words may have been authentically Jesus’ words, and it was only recorded in some manuscripts. It is also possible that it was a translator’s note that got included later by copying. Whether or not it is authentic, it is true. It is His Kingdom, His Power, and His Glory. He is glorified by giving us what w asks and we ask to glorify Him. Anyone who asks Him will not be ashamed. God will give us what we ask, when we take the time to ask.