“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he
who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there
among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he
asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew
7:7–11, NASB95)
Jesus ended Matthew chapter 6 (which was all part of an
ongoing instruction without chapters and verses) by talking about anxiety and
how God tends to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, ending with
an instruction to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. In these verses
today He instructed His listeners and all who read His words (like us) to ask,
seek, and knock.
Ask, seek, and knock. As I was sitting here considering this
passage, my wife, Robin, received a text update and prayer request from her
sister in the San Diego area. Many of her relatives, including Robin’s sister,
are currently evacuated due to fires raging out of control. In addition, she
let us know that one of their cousins, who had undergone treatments and surgery for
cancer, was again finding that the cancer had reared its head and they are
desiring prayer for a number of things. Last week Robin even received a prayer
request from someone close to her who has held out a stiff arm toward God. But
because someone close to them is in dire physical health, this person asked her
to pray. Ask, seek, and knock—it is an amazing thing how much trials remind us
of how powerless we are and how powerful God is.
Some people pray hoping that something magic will happen
without any real concept of who God is. They cling to a hope that there is a
power out there that will hear their cry and respond with help. But God is not
one who hides Himself to those whose hearts are bent toward Him. The Jews to
whom Jesus was speaking had been taught that there indeed is a God who had shown
His favor on them, and they had been taught that they were to come to Him with
their pleas. But, there was also room to question how many really understood
that their God loved them and desired them to seek Him with all of their lives.
Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” In asking we recognize our
need and we humbly go to God who not only knows that need but also has told us
that He will meet our needs. In seeking our hearts are turned toward Him in dependence
as we seek after His will. And in knocking we wait, knowing that He will answer
for He is indeed at home and He is not peeking out between the curtains to see
if He wants to answer the door.
Jesus follows His instruction to ask, seek, and knock with
assurances that they will indeed find their Father in heaven attentive to them.
He said that when we ask, God answers and we will receive from Him. He said
that when we seek that we truly will find Him and what He has for us, and when
we knock He will indeed open doors. The greatest of these doors is His inviting
us in to a relationship with Him.
James (who is Jesus’ half-brother) wrote about this asking,
seeking, and knocking as something that we do believing. He wrote, “But if any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without
any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and
tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive
anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
(James 1:5–8, NASB95) Believing means trusting, and this means that we need to be
dependent on God. This type of person is one who asks, seeks, and knocks with
his (or her) heart is turned toward God in dependence, and Scripture loudly
declares and demonstrates that our loving, powerful, and faithful God will answer.
Jesus went on to give very practical illustrations that His
hearers would easily understand. Imagine a child asking his father for some
bread to eat and he hands him a rock, or who asks for some meat to eat and his
father gives him a snake who bites his outstretched hand. Clearly this is not
the normal nature of our human fathers, and it definitely is not the character
of our perfect Heavenly Father. Later in chapter 1 of his letter, James wrote, “Do
not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:16–17, NASB95)
We have an enemy out there who is about disappointment,
destruction, and death. He showed himself as a serpent in the garden and will
appear as a great red dragon in the tribulation period. He is known by several
names, but primarily as Satan and the devil. His nature is that of a snake and
what he gives is consistent with his character. And his influence is strong in
our world which is subjected to all sorts of trials for a season. But God has
not let loose the reins of this world to Satan. The devil and his cohorts have
limited power. Diseases even are limited in their power, and all of the forces
of nature also are limited. But God’s power is limitless and His Word declares
that He will take care of those who give themselves to and seek after Him. He
will give when we ask, He will show Himself and His ways when we seek, and He
will open both the doors for our lives here and most importantly the door to
eternity where He has promised to bring to Himself all who believe Him for
salvation.
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