In this week’s sermon, Pastor Mark Deering focuses on Jesus’s teaching about prayer in the “ask, seek, and knock” passage, emphasizing that God invites believers to come to Him continually with their requests without fear of being annoying. Pastor Mark explains that during difficult seasons when God seems unresponsive to our prayers, we must remember to rest in God’s goodness rather than judging Him by our limited understanding of what constitutes good outcomes. He teaches that we are God’s children and should approach Him with childlike trust, understanding that if we knew everything God knows, we would only ask for what He has already provided. The message concludes by connecting this prayer relationship with the Golden Rule, showing that right relationship with God naturally leads to right relationships with others.
Reflection Questions
- What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
- What are the first thoughts or emotions that come to mind when you hear God as Father? How does that picture of God as Father influence your prayer life?
- Read Matthew 7:7-12. What repeated words/phrases do you notice? What is Jesus trying to emphasize in this passage?
- Why do you think Jesus switches from warnings in the last passage (verses 1-6) to encouragements in this passage?
- Why does Jesus end with the Golden Rule in verse 12? How can prayer lead us to live more generously or kindly toward others?
- What hinders you from praying persistently?
- Have you experienced a time when you asked, sought, and knocked—but didn’t see answers right away? Looking back, what did God form in you during that time?
- What’s one area of your life where you need to ask, seek, or knock more boldly right now?
- Who in your life could experience God’s generosity through you this week? How can our groups encourage and support each other to be generous?
