“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬).

Jesus taught his disciples about persistent prayer and the importance of asking God for what we want. He taught them to ask, seek and knock. Asking is directing our request towards someone and waiting for them to respond. Seeking suggests some additional effort placed into searching for something. Knocking creates an imagery of standing in front of a closed door, knocking and waiting for the door to open so that we can enter. We knock on a door to be allowed into someone’s home and we knock to enter an office or a place of establishment. The knock precedes a response before the door is opened. Jesus told his disciples that everyone who asks receives, those who seek finds and those who knock will have the door opened. He made the comparison to God being like a father whose son requested from him bread or fish. Jesus said that in the same way that earthly fathers would not give their sons a stone instead of a bread or a serpent for a fish, God is also invested in giving us good gifts.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” ‭‭(James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬). James also said earlier in this chapter, that when we pray or ask anything from God, that we should ask in faith, without doubting. He compared a person who doubts as being like a wave of the sea, being tossed and driven. He called this being double minded and said that it is hard to receive from God. The antidote for doubt is faith, which increases by studying the word. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬). We should also pray for God to help us in areas where we have unbelief. James spoke more about prayer in chapter 4, and said that pride, strife and division affected our prayers. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” ‭‭(James‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬). 

Praying amiss relates to praying without a true understanding of the heart and mind of God. We can only know the mind of God through studying His word and then praying according to scripture. Jesus said that before one drop or ounce of any of God’s words pass away or become redundant, heaven and earth would pass away (Matthew 5:18). The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any double edged sword, piercing to the dividing of souls and spirit and discerns the motives and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Anyone who knows the word of God and consistently prays the word of God will receive answers to their prayers. Prayer should also be heartfelt and persistent (James 5:16). The bible says that Elijah was a man like us, who prayed fervently that there would be no rain and it didn’t rain for 3 years. After the three years, he again prayed fervently and the Lord sent rain (James 5:17). 

We have to make sure that when we pray, we do not have any bitterness or unforgiveness towards anyone, because sin will hinder our prayers. Once we have a clear conscience, then we have to focus our prayers on the areas where we need help. A scatter gun approach to prayer does not work, where we just pray and leave it all up to God. He is in control and He can fix every situation, but we have to make our requests known to Him. Don’t assume that because God already knows what we need, that we don’t need to ask. There are prayers which are required for healing, prayers for breakthrough and prayers for warfare. All of the instructions are in the word. The Psalms are a good place to start when it comes to warfare and understanding how God trained David’s hands for war. Jesus’s teachings and his miraculous acts of healing are useful for anyone struggling with their health. 

Moses had to face off with Pharaoh and we saw how God handled the spirit of oppression. Discernment is useful to understand the spirit(s) that we are contending with and then learning about how these spirits were addressed in the bible. Even earthly warfare requires tactical warfare strategies and rules of engagement to win battles successfully. A coach drafts up a game plan before a match to help his team succeed. The Holy Spirit is our helper, so we have to seek wisdom and understanding to know the strategy that the devil is trying to use against us. We also rely on the Spirit to guide us and to provide intelligence about how to pray. “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬).

A.P.-Y. – Anneta Pinto-Young

Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.

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