Tuesday 26 February 2019

Psalm: Psalm 84

Background

From the Sermon on the Mount, this passage is about prayer.

Earlier in Matthew 6, Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray and gives them, what is for us today, the Lord’s Prayer. So having taught his disciples this he now takes it all a step further by teaching them to pray in faith – to always ask God, regardless of which way the answer might go. For even when an answer to prayer is ‘no’, it will reveal something about God. The key thing is, Jesus is teaching us to always ask because the answer helps us to learn so much more about our God if we have never had asked.

To seek, means to seek the kingdom as previously mentioned in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". If we truly seek God and the kingdom we will find it, it is promised to us. We must persist and not give up. The third verse of the hymn ‘Seek ye first’ (Singing the Faith 254) also explains this so sweetly:

“...Ask, and it shall be given unto you;
Seek and ye shall find;.
knock, and the door shall be opened unto you;
Allelu-, alleluia…”

To knock. Some doors may not be open so we should to keep knocking. We don’t know the plans God has for us but Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us: “…For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope …”

Our Covenant services remind us to ask, seek, knock and find God. When we ask and seek God, we should always remember Matthew 7:11: “… God will give good gifts to his children”.

Our God only wants the best for us. Our God wants to be in a loving relationship with us. Often it can be hard to pray. This passage from Matthew reminds us that sometimes it’s similarly about offering our heart in prayer.

To Ponder:

• What are you asking God for today? What are you seeking from God?
• Are you ready to knock on God’s door? God might be calling you to take those next steps. Who knows what you may find.
• Consider how those who love us long for phone calls, texts and emails from us. When was the last time you spent some quality time with the God who loves you?