Words from the Rock
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 NASB
Jesus makes us an incredible promise in these verses. In fact, this promise sounds almost too good to be true. And yet it is totally legit—we just need to have the faith to believe and embrace it. But most of all, we need to really wrap our heads and hearts around it. It takes some insight to fully grasp and understand what this promise actually means. Unfortunately, a common human response is to assume that this verse is the “magic formula.” That if you simply pray those words—presto chango—you should get whatever it is you want. Kind of like a genie lamp, right? Wrong.
For starters, Jesus isn’t promising he’ll give us material things like money or cars or designer shoes, and he’s not even saying he’ll hand over desired things like success or romance. He’s primarily talking about the most important elements in life. In other words, he’s saying that when we seek him out and ask him to meet our spiritual needs, he will absolutely deliver the goods—the spiritual goods.
Oh, he might not deliver exactly what we expect. Say we pray for patience, and all we get are more challenges (which eventually teach us patience). Also, God’s timing often differs from ours (we usually think in terms of fast food—here and now!), and sometimes he says, “Later.” But when we knock on spiritual doors, when we ask Jesus to meet us, and when we seek God’s guidance—doors will open, Jesus will be there, and we will definitely receive. We can count on it!
My Prayer
Dear God,
Show me how to seek you more, to knock on more doors, and to expect some life-changing answers from you.
Amen.
Final Word
He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him.
1 John 3:22 CEV
Stone for the Journey
I will ask and seek and knock with the expectation that God will answer.