Matthew 7:7-11 A Petition For Goodness
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 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 what is good to those who ask Him!
The Sermon on the Mount is new here in Matthew chapter 7, and He is telling His followers , Ask & it will be given to you. Depending where you are in your walk or relationship with the Lord, as if you can understand what this passage means.This is a prayer what scripture calls a petition; the definition is a request to do something, the religious definition is a deity in the form of prayer or supplication. One of my favorite prayers in the form of a petition is from the book of 1 Samuel. A Hebrew woman named Hannah is like any other woman & loves her husband, wants her husband Elkanah a son. She is very advanced in her age & afraid to conceive a child. So she does what Jesus the Messiah preaches in Matthew 7:11, Hannah asks the Lord for a son.
1 Samuel 1:10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
Just as Jesus said in His great Sermon on the Mount “Ask, and it will be given to you; The Lord heard Hannah petition prayer & answered it.
1 Samuel 1:26 She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Whatever a person for in a petition has to help you reflect God’s glory, it can’t be about ourselves. So when God answered Hannah’s prayer, She had no problem giving her son to God so that the prophet Samuel would reflect the Lord’s glory .Asking for something that will not reflect God’s glory for our desire may not be good for me & you. The world outside God’s generosity wants to rely on luck for granting a petition & it doesn’t always work in our favor, a good example is a short story called Monkey’s Paw. Monkey’s Paw. is a supernatural short story written by W. W. Jacobs, in 1902. In the story the Monkey’s Paw grants 3 wishes of its owner, but the wish is granted with a terrible fate. One story sticks out for me & I remember it very well, a husband & wife named Mr & Mrs White have an adult son named Herbert. One evening a friend of the family visits for dinner, & he gives the family the Monkey’s Paws he has, then tells them, the Monkey’s Paw will grant three wishes, but with a hellish price. He wants to throw the fireplace cause he just brought back luck, but Smith’s beg for it. Hebert tells his parents to ask the Monkey’s Paw for £200, that is enough money to make the final payment so the family would finally own their house. So at Hebert’s request, his mother & father makes the wish, for the money. Then the next day Hebert goes to work, & it doesn’t take long for one of Hebert’s co-workers to come to his parents, that their son was killed by machine from his factory & his death was very painful . So their son’s factory makes a statement & gives the money, the Smith asks the Monkey’s Paws for . The Lord is very happy to answer our petitions & what we truly want is salvation & redemption, to keep enjoying the live Has given us. When we go to our knees & ask them to give us salvation & redemption, have a humble heart, what desire will be given. God bless you all, the Lord Jesus loves you & so do I. Sam H.
