“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” (Matthew 7:7)
Ask. A simple three letter word that sets things in motion. It’s how we get the things we want. We ask the waitress to bring our food selection from the menu. We ask our coworker to help us lift a heavy object and move it where it needs to be. We ask the pretty girl to go out on a date. Without the ask, we can be assured none of those things we want will happen. We go hungry because the waitress never brings us food. We get reprimanded when we don’t get the job done at work. We never get the opportunity to kiss the girl.
Jesus teaches us in our verse today that it works the same way with our heavenly Father. We must ask for the things we want. God’s storehouse is overflowing with gifts for His children. But He waits for us to come to Him in prayer and ask for the desires of our heart. Yes, sometimes He will drop a surprise in our lap, just like our earthly fathers sometimes give us gifts we aren’t expecting. And while our Father knows all that we have need of, He desires the intimacy of a conversation with us. He wants us to come to Him and ask.
Seek. Many times though, especially early in our Christian growth, our Father will say no when ask him for something. God always knows what’s best for us. He sees the future that we can’t. The answer of no then prompts the question, “why not?”. Our ask must always be according to God’s will. That’s why Jesus tells us to seek. We must search God’s word, meditate on it in prayer, and eventually the Holy Spirit will reveal the answer to us. Seeking is how we develop deeper conversations with our Father. In that deeper connection we begin to understand God’s character and will for our life. It’s there we learn what to ask for that will be pleasing to our Father. We must continuously seek God’s will.
Knock. God rewards our seeking with wisdom which gives us understanding, confidence, and assurance. With that in hand we must be persistent. Maintaining enthusiasm while working on any project is key to successfully accomplishing the task set before us. Keep knocking until the ask is answered. Not only does our persistence show our Father that we trust Him, but it also motivates the faith of those watching us in our day to day Christian walk.
Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. Keep on PRAYING!!
