Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Our Verse of the Day is probably quite familiar to most of you. Jesus is teaching and imparting various spiritual lessons to those gathered and following Him. His “Sermon on the Mount” is found in Matthew Chapters 5-7. If you have the opportunity this week, I would encourage to take some time to read it again.
Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!
The passage is focused on our prayer time and quiet time before God. The key principle is that we “ask” God for our needs, and that He is a loving and faithful Father and will give “good gifts to those who ask Him.” Even the order of the action words in Verse 7 forms an acronym of the word “ASK” as shown:
A Ask
S Seek
K Knock
I believe Jesus is encouraging us to take “action” when in prayer. In prayer we are asking God for His help; seeking wisdom for our questions and concerns; and knocking on the doors of possibilities for answers to be provided. But part of the deal is that we must believe God will answer prayer and do so in a manner that is “good” for us. That might not always be what we think God should do or how He should answer our prayers…. The Apostles, as other inspired writers of Scripture, urge us to ask and seek God in prayer for our needs.
Note some of the insight surrounding prayer that James affords us:
James 1:5-7 (NIV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
James 4:1-3 (NIV)
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Paul was not afraid to seek God and to ask Him for “good things”. Here are some examples of powerful prayers that serve as models for us:
Ephesians 1:16-19 (NIV)
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, 19 and His incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 3:15-21 (NIV)
I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.
And, of course, John encourages us to trust in the character of the Father and the Son to answer our prayers:
1 John 3:21-23 (NIV)
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He (Jesus) commanded us.
1 John 5:13-15 (NIV)
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.
What are some of your take-aways from these passages? Mine are that we should ask in faith; ask according to His revealed will; and have confidence before God that we will receive. We know God is generous and good, but what we ask and how we ask and the intimacy of our personal relationship with God appear to affect answers and outcomes to our prayers. I believe we need to examine ourselves in these areas of our walks. If we ever come to the conclusion that God does not hear, perhaps the problem is not God at all….
Jesus instructed us to simply ASK. If we will keep His commands; do what pleases Him; and ask according to His will – He will hear us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. So, let’s start asking for the conviction to consecrate our lives to God. Let’s start praying for holiness to be the fervent passion of our hearts. Let’s start resisting the devil who lies and deceives and tempts us with unbelief. Indeed, let’s start submitting ourselves to God wholly and completely … knowing that our gracious Father knows how to give good gifts to those who ask Him. Amen!
So Now You Know…
Have a Blessed Day!
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” ~ Luke 11:10-13
So Now You Know 