Ask, Seek, and Knock #2344

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8, NKJV).

Jesus does more than suggest we pray to the Father for His blessings. The verbs ask, seek, and knock are in the imperative mood, expressing commands. Each action increases in intensity and fervor. Lenski commented, “We ask for what we need; we seek what we earnestly desire; we knock when our desire becomes importunity” (Matthew, 292-293). Furthermore, Christ promises the Father will respond favorably to His children’s pleadings (“will be given,” “will find,” and “it will be opened to you”). Arguing from the lesser to the greater, Jesus went on to assure us that if earthly fathers provide “good gifts” to their children when asked, our heavenly Father will “gives good things” to His children when we entreat Him (Matt. 7:9-11). As children depend on their parents for life’s necessities, Christians rely on our Father in heaven to give us what we truly need. Our trust is not misplaced. Our Father hears and responds to our fervent pleadings. So ask, seek, and knock. Live by faith, and “all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:32-33).

God Blesses His Children #985

9  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11  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 good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9–11, NKJV)

Fathers desire to fulfill the requests of their children. Indeed, fathers bear a particular responsibility to provide for their own house, and failure to do so is a grievous sin (1 Tim. 5:8). If earthly fathers give good things to their children when they ask, how much more does our heavenly Father do so. Jesus reasons from the lesser to the greater to impress upon us a fundamental truth: Our heavenly Father gives us the “good things” we need when we ask of Him. God hears and answers the prayers of His children, and He does so in ways that are best for us. God not only supplies our daily bread, He also supplies us with every spiritual blessing in Christ, which sustain our spiritual life. In the parallel passage of Luke 11:13, Jesus identifies the “good things” given by the Father as the “Holy Spirit” (whose presence confirmed the kingdom had come, Lk. 11:20; Matt. 12:28). God answers our prayers in harmony with His purposes and for our spiritual good. This is our faith as we pray to our heavenly Father.

Ask, Seek and Knock #984

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. (Matthew 7:7–8, NKJV)

The Son of God had just assured those who “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” that “all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). Our heavenly Father knows our needs and supplies them according to His will. And so, we must live by faith in Him and not be distracted by the material riches of this world (Matt. 6:25-34). When we ask, seek and knock at the door of our Father’s favor, we know He gives us what is good for us. The trouble comes when we ask, seek and knock according to our own will instead of the will of God. We will not be answered by the Father when we come to Him with selfish, faithless requests and expectations. Genuine faith drives us to ask, seek and knock in harmony with God’s will. With this submissive trust in God, we are sure our Father hears us and answers us in ways that are always good for us (Matt. 7:11).