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We have established that the God of the Bible WANTS us to pray. Psalm 65:2 tells us that He is listening for prayer and that we are moved to reach out to Him.Elsewhere, the Word of God repeatedly urges us to come to Him, to engage ourselves in a relationship in which He can give us what we need. The things beyond the necessities of survival. Matthew 7:7 is one of those urgings…
“Ask, and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.”
All the verbs here – ask, seek, knock – are verbs of continuing action. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Continuing action is necessary because God is not simply a impersonal blessing dispensing machine. We don’t just put our money in the slot, make our selection and out pops what we need, end of transaction. God is less interested in meeting a specific need than in establishing an ongoing, eternal relationship. He wants us to know Him, to understand Him the best we can. He wants us to share His viewpoint, His values and priorities. He wants us to become like Him.
Ask
There is something implied in this verse, which is later stated in James 4:2 -- we do not have because we do not ask… God. All too often, it’s just that simple. If we would ask, He would give us what we desire. If we would seek, we would find. If we would just knock on the door, we would be admitted. For whatever reasons, we neglect doing these things.
The fact is, God WANTS to send blessings -- as part of the process of growing up spiritually. He wants to give us what we need and more. But simply we can’t have them without also entering into a deep relationship with Him. And that relationship begins with asking, seeking and knocking.
Asking anyone for anything requires relationship. First, we have to make contact. You can’t get something – that shirt you see in the catalog, for example – unless you make some kind of contact with J.C. Penney.
Asking anyone for anything requires an admission of need or desire. We are not at all uncomfortable telling our mechanic that there’s something wrong with our car or calling a service professional for the washing machine or the computer. Why are we so reluctant to admit to God that He has something we need?
The admission of need is made to someone whom we believe HAS what we need. The mechanic or service professional has (we trust) the skills and tools to fix what’s broken. When something is broken or missing in our lives, God is the FIRST person to ask.
There is nothing equivocal about Jesus’ promise here. Ask and you WILL receive. But the things we need from God often do not come automatically, just as and when we want them. Action is needed on our part: participation in the process. God works WITH us, not just FOR us.
So… let’s BE part of the process of blessing. Let’s work with God in prayer. Let’s ask, confident that we will receive God’s best.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
