ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Matthew 7:7‑8

“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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

 

We all tend to be complaining creatures at one time or another. Some of us are better at it than others. We usually attribute our complaints to an unpleasant situation, our lack of some comfort or the absence of something we desire. Whether it is relationships, employment, financial security or health; we always find something to complain about. I would suggest that the reason we complain; no matter what the reason, is that we have not asked God for input, sought Him out for advice, or knocked on His ever‑open door for answers and solutions. Our selfish, shortsighted complaining would probably diminish if we observed this passage in Matthew more.

 

God’s word in this portion of scripture tells us that if we ask, we shall receive, if we seek, we shall find and if we knock, the door will open. How can we approach God as this verse states and receive what we need, and therefore forego falling into a complaining attitude? Possibly part of the answer can be found in a sermon given by Charles Haddon Spurgeon who was known as the “prince of preachers.” In a sermon he gave in the 1800s entitled “Prayer,” he suggests that 1 Corinthians 13:13 might help us understand Matthew 7:7‑8. Corinthians states, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” He puts forth the idea that faith is the proper foundation upon which to ask God for guidance and provision. He encourages us to have hope as we seek God for answers that He will be faithful to answer us. He postulates that love will open the door to revelations and understanding as we knock and expect an answer.

 

Very likely one reason we don’t follow the recommendations of Matthew is that we don’t have faith that our Heavenly Father will hear us or is even listening to our prayers. It is also possibly true that we really don’t have any hope when we seek Him that He will be faithful to answer. And it is quite likely that we often don’t demonstrate love towards Him because we haven’t spent the time to get to know Him as our provider and sustainer in our lives.

 

This triad of approaches to receiving: asking, seeking, knocking is possibly tied into the triad of spiritual life: faith, hope and love. If we haven’t grown in our relationship with our Lord, then very likely one of the few options we will consider in our lives when a need arises is to approach our Heavenly Father. Lacking faith, devoid of hope and empty of love for God, we feed our selfish complaining attitude by avoiding speaking to the One who can both set us straight and provide the necessary answers. But, suppose we do ask, seek and knock and don’t get the answer we expect or desire. Has God gone back on His word?

 

If we’re not careful we can attempt to use this scripture passage in Matthew as a verse to justify turning our Heavenly Father into a candy man; someone who should give us anything we want. But of course we can’t do that, because we know that as we strive to study scripture we must interpret one passage in light of the Bible as a whole.

 

In James we have a further explanation of asking, seeking and knocking. In James 4:1‑3 it says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. 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.” Here we see a possible key to the issue of not receiving what we want when we ask, seek and knock for it, the selfish attitude living within our own heart.

 

When we complain about our life or when we quarrel with those around us we don’t reflect the spiritual maturity that will give us the perspective to know what we really need. We won’t be in a correct “spiritual” mind to make wise choices nor even wise requests. When we live in this mindset we have selfish desires within us that we desire to pursue but can’t fulfill; so we pursue what to us is our last resort, asking God. The word “motives” in James 4:3 applies to both of these scriptures (Matthew 7:7-8 as well as James 4:1-3) and reveals the reason for our unsettled, disturbed, anxious, worried, complaining attitude and behavior.

 

Our fleshly motives and behavior drive our complaints and desires. These selfish motives also prevent us from having the faith in God to ask for intervention and the hope to seek properly the things He wishes to bestow upon us. Rather than having an expectation of receiving and the love to humbly knock as a servant wishing to communicate with their Master and Lord we pound away at God’s Heavenly Gate purely focused on ourselves rather than what God wishes for our lives.

 

But what if we aren’t necessarily asking, seeking and knocking for some selfish purpose? What if our motives have all the substance of unselfish and purposeful wishes? What if we are asking for healing for a loved one or friend? What if we are seeking guidance on which ministry or mission to participate in as we serve our Savior? What if we are knocking on God’s door in prayer desiring advice on how to handle a difficult situation in the Godliest manner possible? Is God required to give us exactly what we ask and seek for when it appears to be a reasonable, merciful, honest, unselfish request?

 

The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9‑10 may help us further as we pursue this new question. It says, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’” It states that when we pray, which is our method of asking, seeking and knocking; we should pray that God’s will may be manifest on earth exactly as it is in heaven. While Jesus walked this earth He constantly sought to do the will of His Heavenly Father. He spent hours upon hours of time in prayer. He knew the struggles of living out the will of God on earth. He knew that God desired for His will to be done on earth.

 

We have to be honest with ourselves as Disciples of Christ and admit that very likely we don’t know exactly what God’s will is all the time in all circumstances, but God knows His will. God calls us to ask with faith in our limited knowledge. He calls us to seek Him in the hope that He wishes the best for us. He desires for us to seek not our own will, but His perfect will  as we knock on His door with petitions of prayer motivated by love for Him and others. His response to our requests will reflect His perfect will, not only for our lives, but also for the lives of others as well as for His Kingdom and purposes. The death of a loved one, the suffering we endure while we battle a disease, the loss of financial security, the pain of a divorce are never events that God enjoys, but they weave together in life and in His purposes for us and this allows God to work His grace and love as He molds us into being like Christ.

 

When we ask God to intervene in a situation and His response does not match our request, our trust lies in the statements of 1 Corinthians 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Faith is trusting that God knows best. Christian hope is grounded in the fact that God’s perfect desire and plan for us; will bring forth the greatest good for His glory as well as for our perfect peace and spiritual maturity.

 

Our love for Jesus Christ who saved us from our sins establishes our willingness to lay our needs before His feet. We can trust in the fact that any pain, suffering, or distress we feel, is also felt by Him. Because He is omniscient, all knowing, He knows all the thoughts and feelings of each and every individual who lives and intimately identifies with them. Our responsibility as His children in need is to ask, seek and knock with faith, hope and love and rest in the fact that our holy and loving God will work out His will in our lives.

 

The next time you catch yourself complaining about life, ask yourself whether you have asked God for help based on the faith you have in Him. Have you sought Him out based on the hope you have that He will work all things together for good? Have you demonstrated your love for Him by knocking on His door and honoring Him by asking Him for advice? Have you checked your motives? Do you desire His will to be done in your life so that He will get the glory? Remember that asking, seeking and knocking are activities that spring forth from a life of faith, hope and love based on belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

As you pray expectantly, honestly and especially humbly before God, remember that He wishes us to also be patient for an answer.

 

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

 

Isaiah 26:2b-3

“The one that remains faithful. The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,…”

 

Isaiah 26:3

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

 

Proverbs 11:19

“He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life,…”