Pray Asking

Prayer matters both personally and when the whole church comes together before God. The PRAY pattern keeps prayer from becoming nothing but a list: praise God for who He is, repentance puts hearts in a right relationship with Him, and asking brings real needs before Him. Asking is not bad, but asking is more than saying, “God, here’s my list. Take care of this and this and this.”

God gives confidence because He is the one true God who spoke everything into being from nothing. Matthew’s promise, “Ask and it will be given to you,” does not turn God into a magic genie in a lamp. God can do anything He chooses to do, so believers can come before His throne knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He has power to answer.

Christ’s name qualifies every request. John says that requests made in Jesus’ name are answered so that the Father may be glorified in the Son, and 1 John says that God hears requests according to His will. Good desires, including healing, church growth, safety, and unity, still must be released to God’s wisdom. Human sight is limited, but God sees the outcome, so asking correctly means handing over control and trusting Him to bring about what glorifies His name.

Persistence keeps prayer from becoming a passing wish. Luke’s widow did not return to the unjust judge once or twice and then quit; she came again and again and again. God is not a wish grantor. He is a miracle worker. Consistent prayer shows that a burden is serious, while God may also use that persistence to change a heart that has been praying in the wrong direction.

The harvest brings asking to its culmination. Christ says the harvest is abundant but the workers are few, so the church should ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers. The greater prayer is not merely, “Send somebody else,” but, “God, send me. Use me.” God delights to answer a prayer for opportunities to speak of Jesus, because people moved from a life headed to hell toward a life moving toward heaven bring glory to Him. Prayer finally calls for a response: listening after all the talking, surrendering to what God is asking, and trusting Christ as Lord and Savior.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Ask God with real confidence God’s ability, not human certainty, gives prayer its confidence. The Creator of the universe is never limited by the size, complexity, or hopeless appearance of a need. Confidence does not demand a particular answer; it rests in the fact that God can answer however He chooses. [14:14]
• 2. Release the outcome to God Prayer becomes crooked when a request turns into an attempt to tell God what He must do. God’s wisdom sees what human desire cannot see, including outcomes that remain hidden in the moment. A faithful request names the need honestly and then relinquishes control so that God’s name receives the honor. [22:25]
• 3. Keep praying, and let God redirect Persistence is not pestering God until He gives in. Persistent prayer brings a burden back to God day after day and reveals whether it truly matters. God may answer by changing circumstances, or He may change the heart so that prayer begins moving in the right direction. [34:12]
• 4. Pray, “God, send me” The harvest prayer becomes personal when believers ask God to use them rather than only asking Him to send others. Ordinary places such as work, a grocery line, a ballpark, or a meeting can become opportunities for gospel conversations. God often answers this prayer by opening eyes to people who were already nearby.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:58] - Why the Church Gathers for Prayer
• [03:12] - The PRAY Pattern
• [12:13] - Ask God with Confidence
• [18:41] - Ask According to God’s Will
• [29:15] - Ask with Consistency and Persistence
• [40:47] - Ask for Workers in the Harvest
• [50:16] - Respond to God’s Call

Bible Reading

Matthew 7:7-8
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” [12:33]

Luke 18:1-8
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’” [29:34]

Luke 10:2
“And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” [41:32]

John 14:13-14
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” [19:05]

1 John 5:14
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” [19:29]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 7:7-8, what three actions does Jesus name, and what promise is connected to each one? [12:33]
2. What details in Luke 18 show that the widow’s request was persistent rather than a passing wish?
3. According to John 14:13-14 and 1 John 5:14, what two purposes or boundaries shape requests made in Jesus’ name? [19:49]
4. In Luke 10:2, who owns the harvest, what problem does Jesus identify, and what does He tell His followers to pray for? [41:32]

Interpretation questions

1. Matthew 7 promises that those who ask, seek, and knock will receive. How can believers pray with real confidence in God’s power without treating Him like someone who must give them every outcome they want? [13:20]
2. John 14 says that requests in Jesus’ name are connected to the Father being glorified in the Son. What does it mean for a believer to ask “in Jesus’ name” beyond simply adding those words at the end of a prayer? [20:00]
3. Luke 18 compares God with an unjust judge only to show the contrast: God is not uncaring or reluctant. How does that contrast encourage believers who have prayed for a burden over a long period of time? [31:08]
4. Luke 10:2 calls believers to pray for workers in God’s harvest. Why is “God, send me” a fuller response to this verse than only praying for God to send someone else? [43:45]

Application questions

1. When prayer becomes mostly a list of needs, what parts of praise and repentance are most easily left out? What could help you begin your prayer time by remembering who God is and getting your heart right before Him? [03:25]
2. What is one need that feels too difficult, unlikely, or beyond your control right now? How would it change your prayer to bring that need before the Creator with confidence that He can do anything He chooses? [14:14]
3. Is there a good request you have been holding tightly—for healing, safety, a relationship, provision, church growth, or something else? What would it sound like to name that request honestly while releasing the outcome to God’s wisdom and glory? [22:25]
4. What prayer burden have you become tired of bringing to God? Would it be helpful to set a simple plan to pray for it consistently this week, while also asking God to redirect your heart if you are praying in the wrong direction? [35:03]
5. When have you seen God answer a prayer differently than you wanted but later understood more clearly why His wisdom was better? How can that memory strengthen trust in a current unanswered prayer? [21:48]
6. Where are the ordinary places in your week—work, school, a store, a neighborhood, a ballpark, or a meeting—where you may already be near people who need to hear about Jesus? What might change if you began each day by praying, “God, use me”? [44:06]
7. After bringing requests to God, how can you make room to listen and respond to what He may be calling you to do? [51:42]