Verses 1-2 When we create a standard of what is acceptable and measure everyone else by it, that is judging. Oddly enough, people who do this find no faults in their own life. We are called to counsel, help, but not judge or weigh another’s sin as better or worse than another. Our own sins should appear greater to us than the same sins in others. In a sin-saturated world, a hypocrite ends up judging according to a standard that is not God’s. We all will be judged but to the measure that we judge others, we too will be judged.

Verses 3-5 A judgmental attitude is like noticing the tiny sins in your brother’s eye while being unaware of the massive sin in your own. Godly sorrow and repentance teach us to call the same sins a beam in our own eyes. Jesus isn’t saying we can’t help our friends with the speck in their eye. Jesus is saying first apply God’s standard to our own lives and see how much we have fallen short. When we’ve addressed the sin in our own lives, we’ll have more understanding and compassion to help others with their own sin. The Pharisees were good at justifying their behaviors. It is common for those who are most sinful themselves and least sensitive to it, to be quick to judge others. People who severely call out the sins of others while they indulge in it themselves are a mark of hypocrisy.

Verse 6 There are some people who simply refuse God’s standards. They don’t care about being right with God. Jesus says just as we don’t give nice things to dogs or pigs, don’t give God’s standard of living to people who don’t care about living righteously or according to God’s standard of living. They will only trample over them with no care at all and in fact, turn on you and attack. Our zeal against sin must be guided by discretion. We cannot counsel those with hardened hearts or instruct people who will ridicule and belittle us for saying something. It will do no good and only make them angry at us. They will resent us. They have walked so long in the way of sinners that they hate and despise instruction. They are impatient of control and defiant to any expressed disapproval. It would be a waste of our time because they will only turn in us with wounding words. Good counsel and God’s Word are holy and precious things. They are a tree of life. (Proverbs 3:18) We must use wisdom in all situations and refuse to give what is precious in God’s sight to those who refuse to value spiritual things.

Verses 7-8 God will never operate outside of His Will so when we ask God in prayer for intervention in our situation, we are asking for Him to perform His will. The key here is that we need to ask. God gives us choices in life and He doesn’t push His agenda on us. It’s our decision to turn to Him and ask. When we ask for what’s in His will, His word says He will deliver it. We should keep seeking His will, keep asking for His will, keep knocking on the door of heaven for it. Unless God says “no”.

So pray. Pray often. And pray again. Be constant in it like it’s your job. Pray in respect/reverence and confidence. Ask for your wants and lay your burdens before God. Look to Him in prayer for support and for all your needs to be met according to his promise. Seek God like a thing of value that we have lost until we have found His answer. Dig through scripture for a ‘yes’, a ‘no’, or ‘wait’. God will give knowledge and wisdom to those who seek it. We may need to do more than just pray. We may need to plead and wrestle with God. We may need to be diligent with pressing into His Word, persevering in prayer, and enduring to the end.

Verses 9-11 Children will ask repeatedly for things until they receive a reply. Or look at how naturally a child comes running in distress with their complaints to a parent when they are in need of help. Parents have an innate readiness to give their children what they ask for. A loving parent wants to give their children good things, not things that harm them. If even a sinful parent on earth knows how to give these good gifts to their children, Jesus says how much more will our Heavenly Father give us the things that benefit us? We do not know what is good for us (Ecclesiastes 6:12). So when we ask and do not receive, we must trust our kind and wise Father is protecting us from any unseen harm. God knows what is best and beneficial to us. His denial done in love is much better than the sinful desires of our hearts that may cause harm. We must leave our requests with God in trust and faith that our kind and wise Father has a better plan for us.

Prayer: Jesus, my heart is restless unless I find my rest in You. You are my standard. Help me to evaluate my life, my heart, my motives and show me where sin is still hanging on. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to the darkness still in me. Reveal it to me so I can turn from what is less than your best for me. Help me to be sensitive to the sin in others’ lives. Help me to use discretion when sharing Your Word or counsel with others. I don’t want to tolerate what is wrong according to Your Word, Lord, but I want to have understanding and compassion with my approach to point it out. Help me to recognize when it’s appropriate to offer your standard to those who will value it. Help me to walk away when it’s clear a hardened heart isn’t going to receive Your Word or counsel. Father, I lay my burdens here at Your throne. You see the requests on my heart, the questions I seek an answer to. Help me seek your Word so that I may ask according to Your promises. I’m knocking on your door of mercy and grace in faith, Jesus. Help me wrestle and persevere in prayer until you give me peace. You are a good Father who wants to grant my requests. Help me to remember that as I endure the waiting. I trust You, Lord. I leave all my requests with You in trust and faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.