ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING
“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)
The broad theme of the Sermon on the Mount could be described as, “Living as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.” The idea is that Jesus is the Great King, and He establishes the spirit and the rules of His kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount really doesn’t emphasize how to get into the Kingdom of God; more, it shows what life in His Kingdom is like – or should be.
That is the broad theme; within that, Jesus dealt with many topics. At this point in the Sermon on the Mount, He came back to the idea of prayer (having already dealt with it in some depth in Matthew 6:5-15) because it is such an important part of life in His Kingdom.
Jesus described prayer in three pictures: Ask, seek, and knock. In these we see a progressive intensity, going from ask to seek to knock. With this Jesus told us to have intensity, passion, and persistence in prayer. In this three-fold description of prayer as asking, seeking, and knocking we see different aspects of prayer and different aspects of its reward.
– Prayer is like asking in that we simply make our requests known to God, and everyone who asks receives. Receiving is the reward of asking.
– Prayer is like seeking in that we search after God, His word, and His will, and he who seeks finds. Finding is the reward of seeking.
– Prayer is like knocking until the door is opened, and we seek entrance into the great heavenly palace of our Great King. Entering through the opened door into His palace is the reward of knocking, and the best reward of all.
The idea of knocking also implies that we may sense resistance as we pray. After all, if the door were already open there would be no need to knock. Yet Jesus encouraged us, “Even when you sense that the door is closed and you must knock, then do so and continue to do so, and you will be answered.”
Yet the image of knocking also implies that there is a door that can be opened. The door to God and the prayers He answers are meant to be open; they were intended as an entrance. It is of no use to knock at a wall, but Jesus told us to “knock” in prayer as if we were at a door that had hinges and hardware ready to be opened.
We come to God’s door and all we must do is knock. If it were locked against us we would need a burglar’s tools to break in, but that isn’t necessary; all we must do is knock, and even if I don’t have a burglar’s skills I can still knock – I know enough to do that!
Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of Victorian England made this powerful point: “Any uneducated man can knock if that is all which is required of him. . . . A man can knock though he may be no philosopher A dumb man can knock. A blind man can knock . . . it must be as plain as knocking at a door.”
Notice that Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you.” Here God promises an answer to the one who diligently seeks Him. Many of our passionless prayers are not answered for good reason; because it is almost as if we ask God to care about something we care little or nothing about.
God values persistence and passion in prayer because they show that we share His heart. It shows that we care about the things He cares about. Persistent prayer does not overcome God’s stubborn reluctance; it gives glory to Him, expresses dependence upon Him, and aligns our heart more with His.
So do it – and keep doing it. Ask, seek, and knock. God will meet you in your need and answer according to His love, power, and wisdom. He promised to do so.
By David Guzik
Tags: Religion
