Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to you, 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.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

            The topic of persisting in prayer is one that needs to become more popular as the world we live in becomes more and more fast paced. As time moves forward, the concept of persisting in prayer needs to become more of a priority in the Christian life! In our text, Jesus gives us a great promise, he says "for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened." Then he goes on to say you will get what you ask for, if you ask for an egg you will not get a scorpion etc. etc.

            In John chapter 15 verses 7-8, Jesus says "if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciple's." Again we see the promise that you will get what you ask for, and Jesus continues this thought by saying that the Father in heaven wants to be glorified by showing that He is a God who answers prayer! In Luke 11 Jesus draws a comparison of the difference between our heavenly Father and earthly fathers. The concept of fatherhood has drastically been assaulted in recent generations, so it's hard to compare the love of our heavenly Father with many examples of earthly fathers that we see in this generation. Yet Jesus assures us that the intentions of our heavenly Father are pure and good. Our heavenly Father has nothing but good intentions for those that love him.

            Isaiah 55:6 states seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. This implies that we are not always going to be able to find the Lord when we seek after Him, or that there are those who, because of sin in their lives will not be able to seek the Lord of all until they deal with the sin issue. Verse seven of Isaiah 55 says to let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous his thoughts, let him return to the Lord. This makes it pretty clear that unrepentant sin in our lives separates us from being heard by God when we pray. Yet I think for many of us who believe that's not the case. I think a better explanation for hindrance to our prayer is the fact that we are in a spiritual battle.

            In the book of Daniel chapter 10 we see that Daniel was on a 21 day fast seeking the Lord, and as he neared the end of this fast a man appeared to Daniel and said, from the moment you sought God your words were heard but I have been battling the prince of the kingdom of Persia. Michael the Archangel joined this man and they battled the spiritual warfare that was being fought to rob Daniels answer that he was seeking for through fasting and prayer. So you can see that sometimes our prayers need to be offered with persistence, or even as James says in his fifth chapter; "The fervent, effective prayers of a righteous man avails much."

            To sum things up, God promises us that He wants to answer our prayers. Yet sometimes we must persist in seeking after God and don't give up until the fulfillment arrives. There is scriptural evidence that sometimes our prayers go unanswered because they have nothing to do whatsoever with the true and perfect will of God. But, in many cases, it's simply because we need to continue seeking, knocking and pressing in to what God has for us, knowing that there is an enemy who wants to rob us of God's blessing. But the Scripture tells me that greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world! We have been given a promise of victory as born-again children of the most high God. Our God wants to be glorified by showing the rest of the world the good things He intends for us. As well, He wants to be glorified through our faith which is shown by loving Him without regard to our present circumstance.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a reward or of those who diligently seek Him." ~ Hebrews 11:6