A powerful gift

“So I say to you: 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.  “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”” (Luke 11:9–13 NIV11-GKE)

Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray in the context of a relationship.

This important. There is a strong link between prayer and relationship.

It is clear from these verses that Jesus places prayer at the very centre of a Father-son relationship. He put the prayer within a family setting. We know that within the family structure of Jesus’ time, the father and the male son were responsible for being the head of the household.  Although this concept has not changed in some cultures, I know that I live in a society where this has changed. The mother is just as important as the father in a son-mother or daughter-father relationship.

The picture of God the Father is clear. 

• He is a loving father
• He is a loving provider
• He is a man of a godly character

• Only a resentful or mean father will give a son or daughter a snake.
• Only a resentful or mean father will give a son or daughter a scorpion.

A goof Father gives a sustainable meal of fish and eggs. Like God the Father, he does not change. He is always faithful and willing to care.

Yet, we see more of this nature and sight of God when we come to him.

Let me make it plain. 

The son asks!

Prayer is born out of a deep need for dependency. 

We depend on God to live, just as we depend on air and water.

Asking is not a bad thing. But it takes someone to ask! Jesus encourages us to do it.

“So I say to you: 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.”(Luke 11:9–10 NIV11-GKE)

Sometimes we may think we don’t want to bother God, asking for things we need.

Can I tell you that is a lie from the enemy! 

God loves when we come in prayer and ask for his will to be done!

He does far more than we can ask or even imagine!

Luke tells us that: If God can supply our basic needs then how much more is he willing to give the Holy Spirit?

I am not that good at selecting presents for my family, so when there is a birthday I really struggle what to give, so I the easy thing for me is to take them shopping, which it turns out to be more expensive! Yet, sometimes I hear words like : Dad you are not that good at choosing gifts but we know you mean well! So, the best present that you can give us is that you are with us! That is it, this is call the gift of presence!

The father’s gift to us is hie very own presence, what an amazing gift.

Does he give the Holy Spirit to all?

No, the Spirit is given at the very moment we give out lives to Jesus. 

At the moment of forgiveness and justification.

The miracle of conversion, the miracle of becoming alive in God, is when we know that the Spirit has been given and received.

I believe the Holy Spirit comes to live within us when we ask Jesus Christ in our hearts. But I also believe that we can ask to be filled with the Spirit as Paul teaches us in Eph. 4:12.

All these things occur in the context of a relationship between the son and the father and the son. 

Prayer is a family affair. It is best expressed in the context of love, acceptance, and freedom. It flows from relationship!