ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING
Matthew 7:7-11
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are 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!
INTRODUCTION
I think it is only appropriate that we walk through this section of Scripture again. If there is one realm of my life in which I probably could use the most encouragement it is likely in regard to my prayer life. I assume the same could be said for you.
And I don’t think we could ever get enough gentle nudges or teaching in regards to prayer. Historically, Reformed theologians have said that prayer is the chief expression of our faith. As a matter of fact, as we progress through the Heidelberg Catechism, we will eventually see that it is in agreement with this assessment. In question 116 it says:
116.Q. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?
A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us.
Maybe you were like me when I first heard this. I personally thought that it would say that Bible reading or listening to preaching is the most important thing. It was kind of revolutionary for me to think about prayer as having this kind of rank.
Some of you might also be surprised to know that John Calvin’s longest the section in his seminal work “The Institutes of the Christian Religion” is on Prayer. You would probably have thought that he would have devoted more material to predestination or some heavy theological doctrine. But that is not the case at all. Prayer was seen to be so important that he slows down and is sure to cover all the ground necessary to help us in this area of our lives.
But the more I think about it, the more I find it to be true. Prayer is the highest form of personal faith. It is through prayer that we express in the most significant way our dependence upon God. It is through prayer that we get honest before God. That is to say, we can never be more humble before God. There is a sense in which prayer strips us of all glory and focuses our hearts on the Lord in the most proper and fitting way.
There’s certainly much that could be said about how important prayer is. And it is only fitting that we would come again to this passage and find some more instruction about it. If there is ever an area of our lives which we need more reminders, more encouragement, and more help, it is with regard to our prayer life.
And in these five verses Jesus gives us a rather comprehensive education on the dynamics of prayer. As a matter of fact, there are 5 things that he wants us to learn which should help us with our prayer life. (And mind you, that is five things on top of what we looked at last November).
But you can’t get past the fact that Jesus wants us to pray. He wants to encourage the people of his kingdom to be in prayer and to be praying as often as they can.
And to help us pray, he wants us to think, first, about the motive we have for prayer.
I. The motive
We need to pray because our sin is so prevalent. There is a world of evil in us that makes it absolutely necessary to pray.
I want you to zoom out a little and look at where these verses fall in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Look back to chapter 6. Look at verse 5. What do you see there? It says, “When you pray.” And then Jesus devotes the next 10 verses to instructing his disciples on prayer. And of course part of that is the pattern of prayer: the Lord’s Prayer.
So Jesus has already devoted quite a bit of content to prayer. And when we come to chapter 7 we recognize that this is the second time he deals with prayer. Twice in the same sermon he speaks on prayer. You have to ask, “Why is that?” Why would Jesus circle back and hit it again?
Well, you could say that prayer is a topic that needs to be repeated and there is a lot to consider when dealing with prayer. But I think there’s another reason. I think that the things he’s been dealing with are so significant that he has to say, “Hey guys, you got to pray.”
For the last several weeks we’ve been talking about judging people. Now let me ask you: How many of you have stopped being critical of people and harsh in the way you judge them? How many of you have been really good about taking the plank out of your eye before you correct someone else?
I know one thing, having studied those passages and spoken on them, I’ve had more opportunities to apply them. Boy, I’ve only just begun to see how critical I am.
You could also back up to chapter six and remember how we talked about money and worry. How many of you have conquered your anxiety? How many of you have found that money is no longer something you fret over or idolize?
I would bet that you’ve found that these areas of your life have hardly been subdued. Rather they’ve only been highlighted and you are finding that you are having a real difficult time. You’re only coming to realize just how sinful you are.
And I believe it is because of how prevalent your sin is that Jesus says, “Ask, seek, knock.” He says, your inability to bring about this new righteousness and obedience is the exact reason why you need to fall on your needs and beg for help.
And guess what, when you ask, you will receive. When you seek, you will find. When you knock, it will be opened to you. In other words, the Lord will send you more and more grace. He will cause you to grow and mature. As you ask him to sanctify you, he will stir you up by his powerful Spirit and you will find yourself becoming more tender, less judgmental, more tactful, less fearful.
This is why the Reformed have often said that prayer is a means of grace. As we call out to God for his mercy and help He responds by building us up in love and new obedience.
So remember the context here. And understand the real motive for your asking, seeking, and knocking. And when you find your sin to be too much, make much of prayer.
The second thing we should see in regards to prayer, besides its motive, is its method.
II. The method
I would like to suggest to you that one of the reasons we do not likely see much victory over sin or many answered prayers is because we probably don’t pray the way God wants us to.
That might sound odd to you. You might not have ever thought that there was a right and wrong way to pray. I don’t know that any prayer is useless (as long as you are praying to the right God), but there are prayers that may be more effective. And a lot of it has to do with one’s methodology.
Look at verse 7 again. In our English translations it says, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.” What I want you to understand that Jesus isn’t just telling us that we should pray. He’s telling us how to pray. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come out very well in the English Bibles very well. What you have to do is understand something about the Greek language.
When we read this in the English it sounds like you are only supposed to ask once or knock once. But in the Greek the verb tense presents it as an ongoing action.
Let me explain: These verbs are present, active, imperatives. They are in the present tense, active voice, and they are in the imperative form (i.e. they are commands). And in the Greek “present Active Imperatives are commands that are expected to be followed not once, but as an ongoing process.”
So you can think of the present tense as always being in the now. When is the present? It is now. No, it’s now. Now, no now. You see, the present is always progressing, so to speak.
Think of it this way: You may go to the doctor and he might tell you “Eat less food.” Now does he mean that just today you are to eat less food? No, he is basically saying you need to continue to eat less food. So the idea is that it is an ongoing process. You are to keep on eating less and maintain this diet over the course of your life.
That’s how you need to think of these commands. Jesus isn’t just telling you to ask once or knock once. He’s telling you to keep on asking. You are to keep on seeking. You are to keep on knocking. Once you’ve asked, ask again. After you’ve done that, then you need to go on to ask again. Don’t just ask today, but ask tomorrow. Don’t just ask once, but keep on asking.
I would suggest to you that most prayers fail because they do not have enough heart. There isn’t enough zeal in them. A lot of prayers merely fizzle out. But the kind of prayer that you are to engage in is not merely a static prayer where you ask and then forget about it. He’s urging you to steady persistence in your prayer life. Think of it as continually bombarding heaven with your prayers and supplications. Your heart is on fire so you can’t stop asking.
And the rationale goes like this: Your sin isn’t giving up, why should your prayers? The way we gain victory over sin is concentrated, continual striving against it. Sanctification it is a process that requires ongoing attention. It’s like hammering a nail. You don’t just hit a nail once. You usually have to hammer it again and again. Each time you hit it the nail sinks a little deeper and the stem becomes a little smaller.
That’s the way we gain victory over our sin. The more prayer we concentrate on it, the more grace God will provide. And, subsequently, we will see it diminish more and more over time.
And I thought about this this week. I tried to delve into why the Lord would require a long game approach. Why wouldn’t he simply take the one prayer? Why would he require us to keep on asking?
We know that we can’t wear God down with our praying, right? We know that there is that parable he gives about the woman who comes to the evil judge time and again and eventually wears him down with her asking. But we know God isn’t like that. God cannot be worn down.
And we know that we can’t change God’s mind. God is unchangeable. It’s not like he’s going to say, “Oh, okay. You persuaded me. I haven’t been wanting to, but I see you have a point. I’ll do this for you now.”
So why is it that the Lord requires persistence in prayer? I believe it is because persistent prayer comes out of persistent faith. It is an expression of the heart and shows the depth of dependence upon the Lord. I need you; I desperately need you; you are my only hope for this situation. My deliverance is bound up in you.
So this methodology is more than merely a formula to get what you want. It’s a means of communion. It’s a constant expression of your faith. And if we are saved by grace through faith, it should be obvious why prayer is so vital. You grow and gain greater grace because you are opening up the channel for it to be received.
So, as I said earlier, we may not be growing because we may not be praying in the way Jesus wants us to. And while we don’t want to be formalistic or formulaic in our prayers, we should remember that the way we pray does play a significant role in our prayer life.
Thirdly, it is necessary to understand the movement of this prayer.
III. The movement
You’ll notice that Jesus words have a progression to them. First you ask, then you seek, then you knock. Each of these words builds on the other. There’s more energy. Asking is something you do while in one place. Seeking involves movement and shifting from place to place. Knocking is something you do when you are frantic. Your need is so great that you have to now bother someone else. You’ve now disturb your neighbor and use your energy to rouse them to get them involved them in the problem.
There’s a sense in which there’s a fervency or fervor.
But I like the point that Adam Clark makes in his commentary. He says, “These three words include the ideas of want, loss, and earnestness.”
Asking involves the idea of want. You are asking because you are a beggar. You are asking because you are at the mercy of God. He has what you need and you have no other claim on it. Only He can grant you what you long for.
Seeking carries the idea of loss. You know how it is when you can’t find your keys or your wallet. You typically are not looking for it until you are ready to go out the door to your appointment. Now you have this sense of urgency. You begin to frantically race through the house looking for it.
That’s the idea behind this prayer. You sense the urgency of the matter. There’s a sense in which you are lost. Your soul is lost. You need to find restoration. And so with a sense of desperation you cry out to God, knowing only he can grant it.
Then you add to that the idea of knocking, which again is the idea of intense earnestness and desperation. Remember it is not just a simple knock which you do once or twice. It is a steady rapping. You knock on the door repeatedly house because you desperately need assistance. You cannot get the job done on your own and so now you, in a sense, become an annoyance to your neighbor by trying to get them involved.
And so Adam Clarke sums up this teaching like this. He says, “Ask with confidence and humility. Seek with care and application. Knock with earnestness and perseverance.”
And I might echo what Matthew Henry says in this regard. After analyzing these words Matthew Henry says, “Sometimes we must wrestle with God.”
I don’t want to make it sound like we have to squeeze something out of God, as if to make him into a miser who will not let go of his grace. We know that our God is liberal in his dealings with us. But we should also recognize that we can tend to be lethargic, especially when it comes to prayer. We would like to think of prayer as a magic wand that we simply wave and--poof-- we get what we want. If we just say the words then God should grant it like the genie in the lamp. He’s granted us an unlimited number of wishes and all we need to do is say the words, right?
Prayer is much more involved than that. We need to remember that it is a relationship that is at the basis. It is our hearts that God wants, not our wishes. He wants us to abide in him and dwell in union with him. It’s not robotic. It should be thought of as more organic. It should involve feeling and emotion. It should not be like putting a quarter into the machine and out pops the gumball. It should instead be like a relationship we would have with anyone else where it involves our whole being: Our emotions, our will, our heart, our strength.
Above all it should express that we are beggars who realize that God alone has what we need. Our prayer will have movement when it is the real expression of our heart’s desire and longing. And I’d say that’s what the Lord really wants of us.
We’ve seen the motive of prayer. We’ve seen the method and the movement of prayer. The last thing I want you to see is the miracle of prayer.
IV. The miracle
You know what the miracle is? The miracle is that God answers prayer. When we went over this passage previously we noted that our prayers will be answered. And every bit of this passage beats that message home.
Look at verse 7. We see that God promises to answer our prayers. If you ask, it will be given to you. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, it will be opened to you. There’s a promise here that your supplications will not be in vain.
And if you were here back in November you may remember how we expounded the rest of these verses. But not only do you have God’s promises, you have his character. It says that if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask. You know why you will be answered? Because God is good.
Added to God’s character and his promises is God’s fatherhood. Here you have the trifecta of answered prayer. God is not our judge. He is not even just our king. He is the one who has adopted into his family.
So Jesus is saying, when you pray--when you pray about your sin and you pray with the intesity of someone knocking repeatedly at God’s door--when you pray with all your heart and earnestness, be prepared! Because you are going to see something radical happen. God’s going to answer you. The hand of God will not sit idly by. God will be moved to act.
And in that sense you will witness a miracle. You probably will not see someone rise from the dead. You might not get the cure from that medical condition you were hoping for, but there will be an act of heaven. When you seriously pray about your sinful worry and ask God to amputate it, you can be sure that it will happen.
I’m not talking about praying that your bills will be paid or about your children to be kept safe. You can pray for those things, to be sure. God will take care of those too. But when you bow your head and say before God, “Lord, I am anxious over these things and I know my heart is not in a right place. I need you to forgive me and cleanse me of this sinful activity,” then there is a miracle that takes place. Because God acts in a way only God himself can act. He answers that prayer by going deep into your soul and causing a transformation that only He can bring about.
I think it is only appropriate that we walk through this section of Scripture again. If there is one realm of my life in which I probably could use the most encouragement it is likely in regard to my prayer life. I assume the same could be said for you.
And I don’t think we could ever get enough gentle nudges or teaching in regards to prayer. Historically, Reformed theologians have said that prayer is the chief expression of our faith. As a matter of fact, as we progress through the Heidelberg Catechism, we will eventually see that it is in agreement with this assessment. In question 116 it says:
116.Q. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?
A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us.
Maybe you were like me when I first heard this. I personally thought that it would say that Bible reading or listening to preaching is the most important thing. It was kind of revolutionary for me to think about prayer as having this kind of rank.
Some of you might also be surprised to know that John Calvin’s longest the section in his seminal work “The Institutes of the Christian Religion” is on Prayer. You would probably have thought that he would have devoted more material to predestination or some heavy theological doctrine. But that is not the case at all. Prayer was seen to be so important that he slows down and is sure to cover all the ground necessary to help us in this area of our lives.
But the more I think about it, the more I find it to be true. Prayer is the highest form of personal faith. It is through prayer that we express in the most significant way our dependence upon God. It is through prayer that we get honest before God. That is to say, we can never be more humble before God. There is a sense in which prayer strips us of all glory and focuses our hearts on the Lord in the most proper and fitting way.
There’s certainly much that could be said about how important prayer is. And it is only fitting that we would come again to this passage and find some more instruction about it. If there is ever an area of our lives which we need more reminders, more encouragement, and more help, it is with regard to our prayer life.
And in these five verses Jesus gives us a rather comprehensive education on the dynamics of prayer. As a matter of fact, there are 5 things that he wants us to learn which should help us with our prayer life. (And mind you, that is five things on top of what we looked at last November).
But you can’t get past the fact that Jesus wants us to pray. He wants to encourage the people of his kingdom to be in prayer and to be praying as often as they can.
And to help us pray, he wants us to think, first, about the motive we have for prayer.
I. The motive
We need to pray because our sin is so prevalent. There is a world of evil in us that makes it absolutely necessary to pray.
I want you to zoom out a little and look at where these verses fall in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Look back to chapter 6. Look at verse 5. What do you see there? It says, “When you pray.” And then Jesus devotes the next 10 verses to instructing his disciples on prayer. And of course part of that is the pattern of prayer: the Lord’s Prayer.
So Jesus has already devoted quite a bit of content to prayer. And when we come to chapter 7 we recognize that this is the second time he deals with prayer. Twice in the same sermon he speaks on prayer. You have to ask, “Why is that?” Why would Jesus circle back and hit it again?
Well, you could say that prayer is a topic that needs to be repeated and there is a lot to consider when dealing with prayer. But I think there’s another reason. I think that the things he’s been dealing with are so significant that he has to say, “Hey guys, you got to pray.”
For the last several weeks we’ve been talking about judging people. Now let me ask you: How many of you have stopped being critical of people and harsh in the way you judge them? How many of you have been really good about taking the plank out of your eye before you correct someone else?
I know one thing, having studied those passages and spoken on them, I’ve had more opportunities to apply them. Boy, I’ve only just begun to see how critical I am.
You could also back up to chapter six and remember how we talked about money and worry. How many of you have conquered your anxiety? How many of you have found that money is no longer something you fret over or idolize?
I would bet that you’ve found that these areas of your life have hardly been subdued. Rather they’ve only been highlighted and you are finding that you are having a real difficult time. You’re only coming to realize just how sinful you are.
And I believe it is because of how prevalent your sin is that Jesus says, “Ask, seek, knock.” He says, your inability to bring about this new righteousness and obedience is the exact reason why you need to fall on your needs and beg for help.
And guess what, when you ask, you will receive. When you seek, you will find. When you knock, it will be opened to you. In other words, the Lord will send you more and more grace. He will cause you to grow and mature. As you ask him to sanctify you, he will stir you up by his powerful Spirit and you will find yourself becoming more tender, less judgmental, more tactful, less fearful.
This is why the Reformed have often said that prayer is a means of grace. As we call out to God for his mercy and help He responds by building us up in love and new obedience.
So remember the context here. And understand the real motive for your asking, seeking, and knocking. And when you find your sin to be too much, make much of prayer.
The second thing we should see in regards to prayer, besides its motive, is its method.
II. The method
I would like to suggest to you that one of the reasons we do not likely see much victory over sin or many answered prayers is because we probably don’t pray the way God wants us to.
That might sound odd to you. You might not have ever thought that there was a right and wrong way to pray. I don’t know that any prayer is useless (as long as you are praying to the right God), but there are prayers that may be more effective. And a lot of it has to do with one’s methodology.
Look at verse 7 again. In our English translations it says, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.” What I want you to understand that Jesus isn’t just telling us that we should pray. He’s telling us how to pray. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come out very well in the English Bibles very well. What you have to do is understand something about the Greek language.
When we read this in the English it sounds like you are only supposed to ask once or knock once. But in the Greek the verb tense presents it as an ongoing action.
Let me explain: These verbs are present, active, imperatives. They are in the present tense, active voice, and they are in the imperative form (i.e. they are commands). And in the Greek “present Active Imperatives are commands that are expected to be followed not once, but as an ongoing process.”
So you can think of the present tense as always being in the now. When is the present? It is now. No, it’s now. Now, no now. You see, the present is always progressing, so to speak.
Think of it this way: You may go to the doctor and he might tell you “Eat less food.” Now does he mean that just today you are to eat less food? No, he is basically saying you need to continue to eat less food. So the idea is that it is an ongoing process. You are to keep on eating less and maintain this diet over the course of your life.
That’s how you need to think of these commands. Jesus isn’t just telling you to ask once or knock once. He’s telling you to keep on asking. You are to keep on seeking. You are to keep on knocking. Once you’ve asked, ask again. After you’ve done that, then you need to go on to ask again. Don’t just ask today, but ask tomorrow. Don’t just ask once, but keep on asking.
I would suggest to you that most prayers fail because they do not have enough heart. There isn’t enough zeal in them. A lot of prayers merely fizzle out. But the kind of prayer that you are to engage in is not merely a static prayer where you ask and then forget about it. He’s urging you to steady persistence in your prayer life. Think of it as continually bombarding heaven with your prayers and supplications. Your heart is on fire so you can’t stop asking.
And the rationale goes like this: Your sin isn’t giving up, why should your prayers? The way we gain victory over sin is concentrated, continual striving against it. Sanctification it is a process that requires ongoing attention. It’s like hammering a nail. You don’t just hit a nail once. You usually have to hammer it again and again. Each time you hit it the nail sinks a little deeper and the stem becomes a little smaller.
That’s the way we gain victory over our sin. The more prayer we concentrate on it, the more grace God will provide. And, subsequently, we will see it diminish more and more over time.
And I thought about this this week. I tried to delve into why the Lord would require a long game approach. Why wouldn’t he simply take the one prayer? Why would he require us to keep on asking?
We know that we can’t wear God down with our praying, right? We know that there is that parable he gives about the woman who comes to the evil judge time and again and eventually wears him down with her asking. But we know God isn’t like that. God cannot be worn down.
And we know that we can’t change God’s mind. God is unchangeable. It’s not like he’s going to say, “Oh, okay. You persuaded me. I haven’t been wanting to, but I see you have a point. I’ll do this for you now.”
So why is it that the Lord requires persistence in prayer? I believe it is because persistent prayer comes out of persistent faith. It is an expression of the heart and shows the depth of dependence upon the Lord. I need you; I desperately need you; you are my only hope for this situation. My deliverance is bound up in you.
So this methodology is more than merely a formula to get what you want. It’s a means of communion. It’s a constant expression of your faith. And if we are saved by grace through faith, it should be obvious why prayer is so vital. You grow and gain greater grace because you are opening up the channel for it to be received.
So, as I said earlier, we may not be growing because we may not be praying in the way Jesus wants us to. And while we don’t want to be formalistic or formulaic in our prayers, we should remember that the way we pray does play a significant role in our prayer life.
Thirdly, it is necessary to understand the movement of this prayer.
III. The movement
You’ll notice that Jesus words have a progression to them. First you ask, then you seek, then you knock. Each of these words builds on the other. There’s more energy. Asking is something you do while in one place. Seeking involves movement and shifting from place to place. Knocking is something you do when you are frantic. Your need is so great that you have to now bother someone else. You’ve now disturb your neighbor and use your energy to rouse them to get them involved them in the problem.
There’s a sense in which there’s a fervency or fervor.
But I like the point that Adam Clark makes in his commentary. He says, “These three words include the ideas of want, loss, and earnestness.”
Asking involves the idea of want. You are asking because you are a beggar. You are asking because you are at the mercy of God. He has what you need and you have no other claim on it. Only He can grant you what you long for.
Seeking carries the idea of loss. You know how it is when you can’t find your keys or your wallet. You typically are not looking for it until you are ready to go out the door to your appointment. Now you have this sense of urgency. You begin to frantically race through the house looking for it.
That’s the idea behind this prayer. You sense the urgency of the matter. There’s a sense in which you are lost. Your soul is lost. You need to find restoration. And so with a sense of desperation you cry out to God, knowing only he can grant it.
Then you add to that the idea of knocking, which again is the idea of intense earnestness and desperation. Remember it is not just a simple knock which you do once or twice. It is a steady rapping. You knock on the door repeatedly house because you desperately need assistance. You cannot get the job done on your own and so now you, in a sense, become an annoyance to your neighbor by trying to get them involved.
And so Adam Clarke sums up this teaching like this. He says, “Ask with confidence and humility. Seek with care and application. Knock with earnestness and perseverance.”
And I might echo what Matthew Henry says in this regard. After analyzing these words Matthew Henry says, “Sometimes we must wrestle with God.”
I don’t want to make it sound like we have to squeeze something out of God, as if to make him into a miser who will not let go of his grace. We know that our God is liberal in his dealings with us. But we should also recognize that we can tend to be lethargic, especially when it comes to prayer. We would like to think of prayer as a magic wand that we simply wave and--poof-- we get what we want. If we just say the words then God should grant it like the genie in the lamp. He’s granted us an unlimited number of wishes and all we need to do is say the words, right?
Prayer is much more involved than that. We need to remember that it is a relationship that is at the basis. It is our hearts that God wants, not our wishes. He wants us to abide in him and dwell in union with him. It’s not robotic. It should be thought of as more organic. It should involve feeling and emotion. It should not be like putting a quarter into the machine and out pops the gumball. It should instead be like a relationship we would have with anyone else where it involves our whole being: Our emotions, our will, our heart, our strength.
Above all it should express that we are beggars who realize that God alone has what we need. Our prayer will have movement when it is the real expression of our heart’s desire and longing. And I’d say that’s what the Lord really wants of us.
We’ve seen the motive of prayer. We’ve seen the method and the movement of prayer. The last thing I want you to see is the miracle of prayer.
IV. The miracle
You know what the miracle is? The miracle is that God answers prayer. When we went over this passage previously we noted that our prayers will be answered. And every bit of this passage beats that message home.
Look at verse 7. We see that God promises to answer our prayers. If you ask, it will be given to you. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, it will be opened to you. There’s a promise here that your supplications will not be in vain.
And if you were here back in November you may remember how we expounded the rest of these verses. But not only do you have God’s promises, you have his character. It says that if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask. You know why you will be answered? Because God is good.
Added to God’s character and his promises is God’s fatherhood. Here you have the trifecta of answered prayer. God is not our judge. He is not even just our king. He is the one who has adopted into his family.
So Jesus is saying, when you pray--when you pray about your sin and you pray with the intesity of someone knocking repeatedly at God’s door--when you pray with all your heart and earnestness, be prepared! Because you are going to see something radical happen. God’s going to answer you. The hand of God will not sit idly by. God will be moved to act.
And in that sense you will witness a miracle. You probably will not see someone rise from the dead. You might not get the cure from that medical condition you were hoping for, but there will be an act of heaven. When you seriously pray about your sinful worry and ask God to amputate it, you can be sure that it will happen.
I’m not talking about praying that your bills will be paid or about your children to be kept safe. You can pray for those things, to be sure. God will take care of those too. But when you bow your head and say before God, “Lord, I am anxious over these things and I know my heart is not in a right place. I need you to forgive me and cleanse me of this sinful activity,” then there is a miracle that takes place. Because God acts in a way only God himself can act. He answers that prayer by going deep into your soul and causing a transformation that only He can bring about.