*WRONG PATTERN OF PRAYER.*(Series 7) *Scripture Reading:* Luke 11:5-8 *"Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread]; for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’; and from inside he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence and boldness he will get up and give him whatever he needs."*(AMP) As we go deep in this series, I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you deep understanding in Jesus Christ name. I would also like to look at some reasons for why we often don’t receive when we ask: *1) A Lack of Persistence:* Someone asked, “If God already knows our need before we ask, why do we have to ASK in the first place?” God wants to see if our need is important enough to us to ASK Him to do something about it. Is it important enough to us to ask more than once? Is it important enough to KNOCK until someone comes to the door? In another scripture in Luke we have the same idea of the need for persistence. *"A woman went to a friend’s house and knocked on the door asking for three loaves of bread. The friend said, “Don’t bother me. I’m in bed and the door is locked”* (Luke 11:5). If the person just says, “OK and goes on home, that person will go without anything.” But if the person knocks and knocks, the friend gets up and says, Oh, all right. Because you are just disturbing me with your knocking, I will go ahead and get it for you. Because of the woman’s boldness and persistence in this scripture, she got the loaves of bread. *Let us not be weary while we are asking. Keep praying and holding on for the answers you need. Our prayers must be IMPORTANT to us.* They must matter enough that we are persistent until we hear from heaven. Our scripture today goes beyond a prayers. In this scripture of Asking, Seeking, and Knocking, we can see a progression from just asking to persistently seeking and knocking at the door. *It is not the casual, nonchalant prayer here but the prayer of the diligent person. Do you pray in this way?* To be continue tomorrow morning by God's Grace. Good morning and do have a great weekend, peace. *Prayer point:* Father, I rebuke the spirit of laziness and nonchalant attitude in my life that has contributed to my prayer life in Jesus Christ name. Amen! T.S. AFOLAYAN