Jesus gave the following teaching in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to ` who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” He taught us to ask, seek and knock. Jesus seems to be describing three escalating levels of pursuing God.
The first level is to ask. You recognize your need; you believe God hears; you then come to Him in prayer to make your request. Asking is verbal faith. The Father knows what you need before you ask Him. We are told this in Mathew 6:8b “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” But He still wants you to ask. There are many needs that you could ask Him to fulfill. You might ask for wisdom, forgiveness, strength, provision for your basic human needs, guidance, or spiritual growth.
There is no promise that God will listen to a sinner’s prayer. But He listens to the righteous. 1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” God is everywhere and hears every prayer you make. If you ask for your pleasures or for things that are not good for you, then don’t expect God to give you these gifts. But if you ask according to His will, and continue to pray, the promise is that you will receive. What we ask may not be according to His will. He is all wise and knowing and decides what is best.
The Father wants to give you good things. Matthew 7:9-11 “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him 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!” Loving parents give good things to their children when they ask. Your heavenly Father loves you very much and He wants to give you good gifts when you ask Him. Jesus said: “For everyone who asks receives.”
The second level is to seek. Seeking goes deeper than just asking. You pursue, search, and move toward God. Seeking is active faith. Perhaps you asked and you didn’t get what you thought you needed. You might wonder if something is missing on your part. In seeking, you go further. If you ask for wisdom, you seek the word in scripture. If you ask for purity, you seek to avoid temptation. If you ask for guidance, you seek God’s will in His word. If you ask for closeness to God, you seek time with Him. Seeking is desire that becomes action.
King David gave the following advice to his son Solomon about seeking God. 1 Chronicles 28:9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” God can be found, but you must seek Him and seek what pleases Him. You should seek those things that are above (in heaven). Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” You should seek God because He is the one that rewards you. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Jesus said: “and He who seeks finds.”
The third level is to knock. Knocking is more intense. It means you persist and refuse to give up; you stand at the door and knock until God opens it. You trust His timing even when He delays. Knocking is persistent faith. It is the faith that keeps praying, keeps obeying, and keeps waiting. You knock when you pray for a breakthrough that hasn’t come yet. You knock when you hold onto God’s promises through trials.
When you come to a door, say a door to a house, you may want to enter and go through the door or you may want to find someone you think is on the other side of that door. So, you knock to get the attention of someone so that they will answer and open the door. There can be many doors in your life. Perhaps it is a door to God so that He will open and give you salvation or what you need in life. Perhaps it is a door of opportunity, a path that you want to take. Perhaps it is the door to someone’s heart that you want them to open up and let you in. The point is that you knock and keep knocking until the door is opened and the desire is met.
Jesus taught persistence in praying. Luke 18:1-7 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?’” Jesus taught that “men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” Jesus also said: “and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Asking, seeking and knocking seems to be describing three escalating levels of pursuing what you desire. Asking is verbal; you use your mouth to ask God for your needs and desires. Seeking involves making what you seek a priority and focus of your heart and your actions. Knocking involves waiting and persistence. Is there something you ask of God? Is there something you seek? Is there some door you are knocking to be opened? Matthew 7:8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”