“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
Dear Lord, please help us to understand the essence of this promise, for Christ’s sake. Amen
Today we look into the storehouse of God’s promises at this gem, and our hearts rejoice! The words used in this promise are simple, and easy to understand; but the implications are profound. The Word of God is affirming that we are to ask, seek, and knock; and in return, we will receive, find, and have the door opened to us. At a glance, it is that simple; and in many cases, that is exactly what happens, as simply as that. However, my question to you is, have you always received what you asked for? Have you always found what you sought? Have you always had the door you knocked on, open to you?
I do not know how you responded to these questions, but permit me to share my experience with you. I have not always received what I asked for; I have not always found what I sought, nor have I always had the door I knocked on, open to me. Does that mean that the promise is not trustworthy? A thousand times no! It does not mean that at all! As a matter of fact, three thoughts emerge: We should persevere in prayer. God will respond. He will do what is best for us.
It could be that we have taken the promise out of its context, and tried to make it fit our understanding of the text. As we continue reading, the following verses begin to shed light on Jesus’ words, “Or what man is there among you who, if his son [or daughter] asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he [or she] asks for a fish, will he give him [or her] a serpent? 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” (9-11)?
Consulting the reference notes in the NRSV, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, I came upon the following: “the usual round loaf resembled a stone, and a dried fish might look like snakeskin.” This offered me some wonderful insight! In asking, seeking, and knocking, our spiritual nearsightedness, may allow us to mistake a serpent for a fish, or a stone for a loaf of bread. And we may ask according to our defective eyesight. But in the same way we would not give our children something that would harm them, even if they begged us; in the same manner, our heavenly Father will not give us anything that is not for our good.
So the next time we ask, seek, and knock; and it seems as if our prayers are not being answered the way we prayed, it would do us good to look again at what we asked for. We may be glad that God answered according to His wisdom, and love, and not according to our prayer!
We may be coming back to this promise sometime in the future. Blessings!