Ask, Seek, Knock: Part 3
Matthew 7:7-11 (NKJV) 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. 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!
Asking is about admitting we can’t do it alone and that we need His HELP.
Seeking goes beyond asking; it’s about wanting God’s presence.
Knocking is about persistent prayer.
Hebrews 4:16 (ESV) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
“Prayer is full of apparent contradictions. It is so simple that a child can pray, and it is so profound that the wisest cannot explain its mystery. It is so easy that those who have no strength can pray, and it is so strenuous that it taxes every resource of energy, intelligence, and power. It is so natural that it need not be taught, and it is so far beyond nature that it cannot be learned in the school of this world’s wisdom. Prayer is a world in itself.” —Samuel Chadwick
People hitting doors throughout the Bible…
-The Israelites cried out for freedom for generations before Moses came (Ex. 2).
-Hannah prayed for years before she held Samuel in her arms (1 Sam. 1).
-Elijah prayed seven times before the rain came (1 Kgs. 18).
-Daniel prayed for 21 days before the answer came (Dan. 10).
-Elizabeth received a child after decades of waiting (Lk. 1).
-Paul pleaded with God three times about his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12).
-Jesus prayed three times in the Garden as He wrestled with what lay ahead (Mt. 26).
Knock — “to strike, to beat on the door, to keep at it with determination.” It carries the idea of persistence — like someone who refuses to leave because they know someone is home. Holy stubbornness. Shameless audacity.
“The great point is never to give up until the answer comes…The great fault of the children of God is that they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it. Oh, how good, kind, gracious, and generous is the One with whom we have to do!” —George Muller
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT) One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly!
Luke 11:5-9 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;’ 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?’ 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
1. We aren’t called to only knock on doors for ourselves
“I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.” —Leonard Ravenhill
2. Knocking moves us from what’s impossible with us to what’s possible with Him
Philippians 4:19 (NLT) And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
3. Knocking implies there’s something behind the door worth accessing
John 6:51 (NLT) I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
4. We aren’t the only ones knocking — God is, too
Revelation 3:20 (ESV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
James 5:16-18 (NLT) The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain…
“‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ we answer, ‘Where He has always been — on the throne!’ But where are the Elijahs of God? We know Elijah was ‘a man of like passions as we are,’ but alas! We are not men of like prayer as he was! One praying man stands as a majority with God! Today, God is bypassing men — not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Brethren, our abilities are our handicaps, and our talents our stumbling blocks!” —Leonard Ravenhill