Knock Knock Knockin’ on Heaven’s Do-o-or.

Did you catch my Guns N’ Roses* song lyric there? 🎶

Yes. I’m an 80s baby. Yes. I love me some hard rock/heavy metal/hair band ballads. 

Yes. I still wish my bangs could be teased so high they reach the firmament of heaven.

But that’s for another email. 

Today, we are going to chat about a subject that brings up a lot of debate in certain circles.

Are you ready? 

Let’s talk about prayer!

Why is this so debatable? Did you seriously just ask me that?  😁

I’m feeling feisty today. Obviously. Hang with me, and I’ll show you what I mean. 

Here’s verse #1:

Matthew 6:7-8 says,

‘”And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.'”

Now let’s look at verse #2: 

Matthew 7:7-12 says, 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Along these lines, it says here in Luke 18:1-8:

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”‘  And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. ‘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? ‘ ‘I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” 

I’ve heard people question lately whether we should ask God for what we need because Matthew 6: 8 says our “Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

But as you can see, Jesus tells us in His own words to keep asking, seeking and knocking (Matthew 7: 7-8) and in His parable of the persistent widow makes it clear for us: 

Bring our requests to God. It’s okay. God wants us to. 

Philippians 4:6-7 shows us: 

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ‘

In every situation, God wants to hear from us. 

But you may be asking yourself: If God knows our every need, why do I have to ask Him? 

And my answer to this is: 

I don’t know. 

Seriously. I don’t. But it’s on my lengthy list of things I want to ask Jesus, our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost when I get there. (But, according to His word, I could be asking Him now, right?) 🤔

Although I haven’t been given some great big revelation from heaven YET, I do have an idea of why we are asked to bring our requests to God and continue with our prayers. 

Because God wants a relationship with each of us. 

And what better way to have a relationship than to TALK. 

We know in Matthew 6 that God knows our every need. And if we embraced that, it sure would be quiet in our prayer room wouldn’t it?  Would we ask Him how is day is going or check in with what He’s doing with our kids? Would we even talk with God at all?

What are your thoughts? Do you feel God knows your every need before you ask Him? Do you still want to chat with Him and share everything going on in your life too? 

Let me know. Because I want us both to grow closer with God. 

What do I think? I think God wants a relationship with us. All of us. And even though He knows our deep-down thoughts and feelings, He still wants us to talk with Him about our wants, our dream and our purpose for our lives. He wants to sit with us like a friend over coffee (or your fave beverage).

James 2:23 shares, 

…and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ‘

James 2:23 references this verse found in Isaiah 41:8 where it says,

‘But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;…‘

It continues:

‘…you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ‘ (Isaiah 41:9-10)

That 👏 Is👏  So👏 Good. 

I would love to be a considered a true friend of God just like Abraham. Could you imagine? I mean think about it. God wants that for you. A calm, relaxed, content relationship where you can depend on each other and do all the things BFFs do. Shopping spree with coffee after? I’m in!  

So today, what is something you would do to draw closer to our Father? DO. IT. And I’m here if you’d like to share. Or, if you need ideas on what to do and how to start I’ll introduce you two. He’s fabulous btw. 

Until next time. Stay blessed and highly favored (like you already are).

👉If you’d like to receive content like this on the regular, feel free to sign up for my Email Fam. I’ll email you an inspirational scripture each Monday and other thoughts, scriptures, updates, BTS stuff and other randomness throughout your week. Don’t worry. I won’t bug ya. And I won’t sell your info. Promise. Here’s your link. –> https://tinyurl.com/EmailFam

*Rock-n-Roll DISCLAIMER: I know that GNR did not write this song and it was originally written and performed by Bob Dylan. But, like I said, I’m an 80s baby, and this is the version I grew up with blaring on the radio. P.S. I even had the CD. 🤣

Here’s that link again to get my emails if you want it. https://www.tinyurl.com/EmailFam

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does the Bible say about prayer?

Jesus says many things about prayer in the Bible.

In Luke 18:1, Jesus tells us we “should always pray and not give up.” And in Matthew 7:7, He says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” While in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” These scriptures show us that God wants a relationship with us and wants to supply our every need.

Should we ask God for the things we need?

Yes. Always. God wants to have a relationship with us and the way to have a relationship with anyone is to TALK. Praying to God opens up a two way conversation with our Heavenly Father. Chat with Him today. He wants to hear your every need.

If God knows our needs before we need them (Matthew 6:8) why do I have to pray?

You technically don’t. God does know our needs before we do. It says in Matthew 6:7-8: ‘”And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.'” So in my opinion, you really don’t have to ask Him anything. His will will be done anyway. But I also know that Jesus tells us repeatedly as ask, seek and knock and “that the door will be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). So if you want to have a relationship with God, prayer is the best way to know and learn His voice and His yielding. Like a best friend’s voice in a crowd, the Bible says “my sheep hear my voice” John 10:27). The more you spend time with God, the more distinct His voice will become through the clutters of this world.