I. Our Lord enjoins us here to pray; and He assures us that we shall not pray in vain. It does not indeed follow that God will grant any and every thing we may choose to ask; for there are some things which, without irreverence, we may truly say, it is impossible for Him to bestow. But our Lord's words do involve that prayer is not merely effectual in producing a devout frame of mind, but also in securing, to some extent, the object of our requests. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." But
II. For the perfect assurance of our minds on this subject, it is to be remembered that this whole question rests on the Fatherhood of God; and unless we hold fast by that, the grace and truth of our Lord's saying here will soon vanish from our minds. For unless we come in the faith and love of children to their Father, we might as well be dumb, like the prayerless atheist, who holds the throne of heaven to be vacant and impotent, as indeed it virtually is if there be not a Father there to hear us.
III. While prayer is thus effectual because it is made to a Father who feels with us and is willing to help us, we are not to suppose that everything we ask of Him shall be given to us, neither should we murmur when our requests are refused. It is well to ask of Him, but not to dictate to Him. He will withhold no good thing from them that fear Him, but then He knows better than we do what it is good to give; and sometimes the best answer to our requests is in reality to deny them. We are but as children here, ignorant of the real qualities of many things, taken with the glitter of others, and likely enough to ask for a boon what would be far from a blessing. Therefore it behoves us ever to school our hearts to say, "Not as we will, but as Thou wilt."
IV. In order to be effectual, our prayers must be real; but for the highest efficacy, they must be both real and also spiritual. God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. He will not give you something else in reply to that petition; for that is a boon which can never be amiss.
W. C. Smith, The Sermon on the Mount,p. 256.
References: Matthew 7:7-12. Parker, Inner Life of Christ,vol. i., p. 245.Matthew 7:7-14. J. Oswald Dykes, The Manifesto of the King,p. 551.Matthew 7:8. S. Cox, Expositions,vol. iv., p. 60.