Ask, Seek, Knock
How Jesus' teaching fits into Seeking God First
“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!”
Matthew 7:7-11 NIV
Matthew 7:7-11 has been a passage in my life that has always confused me. This is especially true of the statement, “Ask and it will be given to you.” I think that we all find what Jesus says to be true in a sense, but do we really get everything from God that we ask him for? I find that Jesus saying “seek and you will find” is fairly straightforward. It communicates that if we seek our heavenly Father, we will find him. “Knock and the door will be opened” is yet another confusing phrase. However, I think that as you dwell on what that last statement is getting at, Jesus is communicating that we are welcome in God’s house; all we need do is knock at the door and we will be invited in and taken care of. In all of this, we are still left with the first statement. What does Jesus mean when he says “ask and it will be given to you?”
As we look then at this phrase that Jesus uses, it is important to place it within its context. This is a phrase that is used in the broader context of the Sermon on the Mount as well as in the context of the two other phrases, “seek and you will find,” and “knock and the door will be opened to you.” We also must deal with the teaching to follow being giving good gifts. Taking this into consideration. We must remember that a major theme within this sermon has been placing God first; living a life that is in constant pursuit of Christ. That is easily applied to the statements of “seek” and “knock,” but we seem to forget about that when we start talking about “ask.”
There are two major things that we can learn from this passage. First, as we approach God in prayer, asking for things, know that he is listening and that he cares for us. Part of this listen and care that he has for us is that he doesn’t always answer according to what we desire. Why? Well, this is where the “giving good gifts” part of the passage comes into play. When we approach God asking for things, sometimes those things are not things that are good for us. God knows these things, so he is able to care for us by answering our prayer with a “yes” or a “no” based off of what is good for us. Second, when we pray, we ought to pray “in Jesus’ name” (John 14:13-14). Praying in Jesus’ name is not just as simple as placing the words “these things we pray in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers. It means that we pray in a manner that what we pray is in accordance with God’s will. We are no longer praying for trivial things or things of this world; rather, we pray in a manner that the one whom we have put first in our life is glorified. We pray in accordance with the name of Jesus as we have sought to follow him as the Lord of our life.
Some may then ask, what about the prayers that I have that go unanswered? Could it be that “unanswered prayers” don’t actually exist but that they are just perceived? We know that God cares for us and knows how to give good gifts. We know that if we seek him, we will find him, and that if we knock on his door, he will let us in and care for us. So, when we approach God with a request that seems to go unanswered, is that really the case or has God simply said no because what we have asked for is something that is not good for us, or has he said “not yet” because we are not yet prepared for what we have asked? We must also consider if what we asked for is something that reflects our pursuit of Christ and is truly in line with what it means to pray in Jesus’ name.
The three statements of “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” are intertwined and the principle of seeking God first is at the heart of all three. Those who continually seek God’s will can pray with confidence, knowing that their Father delights to give what is truly good. Seek God, according to his will, and you will find him. Knock on God’s door, knowing his will and that he knows how to give good gifts and will care for you, and he will open the door. The will of God is at the heart of all three of these statements. We must pursue the will of God, this is a crucial part of pursuing God, especially as we ask, seek, and knock.