What are we seeking?

Matthew 7:7: "Ask and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you."

Is that what you feel this morning? You've asked and you've received? You've searched and you've found? Heck, you've kept knocking and that dang ol' door has opened? Has your prayer life suffered simply because the answers haven't been coming as quickly as you imagined.

There's an old story about prayer...A local businessman applied for a licence to open a casino. A group of Christians from the local chapel were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene to stop this. It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the casino and it burned to the ground. The owner of the casino sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible, but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible. The judge, in his summing up, stated that "no matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The casino owner believes in prayer and the Church members do not."

Look, it's not even about what we ask for. How many of us across the world have prayed
“Lord end the nightmare of Iran before we get into another war; Lord end the scourge of AIDS in Africa; Lord bring peace and justice to Syria, to Palestine; Lord bring peace and food to the starving of the Sudan.”

And these things have not just happened.We say Amen, and the problem is still there. And surely no one is suggesting that we are asking for the wrong things here. We are not going to say it is God’s will that children suffer and die of war, famine and disease.     No – our God is a God of love and compassion

 We have to face the fact that in a very real sense we do often ask and not receive, knock and find the door closed against us. Why??Not because God does not want to give us peace and justice, but because he cannot do so. God has made us human, and given us freedom

· to share or hoard our food,
· to make swords or ploughshares,
· to develop medicines or weapons
· to value wealth and power or love and service.

And time and again we, the human race, make the wrong choices - and because God has given us freedom, we use that freedom to thwart and deny the will of God.

The answer is to keep knocking, keep seeking answers for the next right thing to do, the next right thing to pray even. Then pray for the strength to do that next right thing. We have enough food. We have enough water. We have enough right-thinking peaceful people. We surely have enough wealth. The answer is to share these things.

That's the answer to today's prayer.