Tuesday, January 22: Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount was given by Jesus to help the crowd realize that they could not keep God's law perfectly. They needed help! They needed a Savior! To be right with God could only be achieved by His grace.
7:1-6 relates to judging others. Have you ever had a judgmental attitude toward someone else? How did it affect you? How did it affect the people around you? How would you recommend approaching people wh need help of correction? How would you want someone to approach you?
7:7-12 What does this mean? "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you." Does God promise to answer every prayer?
On what does Jesus base His promise to answer prayers? Does this encourage you in your prayer life?
7:12 is often called the Golden Rule. Has it sometimess been difficult for you to keep this guide for living? How might our world be different if everyone followed this rule?
7:15 Are there any modern false prophets? What kind of bad fruit do they bear? How does their insincerity lead to their rejection?
7:24-27 On what are you building your life? What is your most important goal or priority? Is this thing more like rock or like sand?
7:29 What was it, about Jesus' words, that amazed people? How has Jesus' teaching amazed you?
Please note. To add a comment simply type in the box below. To publish it without creating an account, simply scroll down in the "Comment As" box (below the blank box) until you see "Anonymous." After selecting this, then click "publish."
ReplyDeleteRegarding 7:7-12, I wonder why Jesus did not clarify here that what you ask for will only be given to you if it's in God's will? I feel like, unfortunately, these verses sometimes end up hurting someone's faith when they ask for something with the full faith that they will receive it, and then they don't. My mom's brother died from leukemia as a child, and I know my grandma struggled with feelings that she must not really be saved, otherwise God would have answered her prayers to let her son live.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes it's easy to feel like our prayers are futile. If something is in God's will, it will happen anyway, and if it's not in God's will, my prayer isn't going to change His mind. Or are there some things that are in God's will, but He won't give them to us unless we specifically ask for them?
I think prayer is not so much a magic formula to get what you want from God so much as it is a reflection of the relationship you have with Him. We pray because we love Him. We pray because He's urged us to. We pray because prayer enables us to share burdens and desires and feelings.
ReplyDeleteRemember that there are four ways God can answer a prayer. 1) Yes, as you expected and asked. 2) Yes, but in a different way. 3) Yes, but at a different time. 4) No.
There are numerous examples of God's heart being moved by prayer, such as Hezekiah receiving 15 more years of life ( see 2 Kings 20)or Abraham praying for Sodom (Gen. 17). But when Jesus prayed for God to "remove this cup" it is clear that God's answer was "no." So it is important that we not equate strength of prayer with God's specific choice to answer.
But prayer not only reveals our heart to God in a deliberate and faithful way, but it also helps us to dig into our minds and express our feelings in ways that we might not had God not asked for it.