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Ask, Seek, Knock .. and Get What?
The “ask, seek, knock” motif occurs twice in the Bible, initially in Matthew 7:7-11, where Jesus says:
7 “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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are 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!
See that phrase in bold? It contains two crucial hints about how to succeed with this “ask-seek-knock” strategy.
First, you have to ask. Second, you have to understand and accept that what you get will be good according to how God, Who is perfect good, defines it. Even if you’re not asking for something sinful or intending to sin once you get it, this thing you’re asking for might not be good.
Luke 11:5-13 records Jesus’ words in more detail:
5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,
6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’?
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus spends the first four verses of this passage telling us we have to be persistent — really, really persistent. He spends the next two explaining that God will be faithful to give us what we ask for, and the next two explaining exactly how that will happen.
If we ask to be fed in any way, Jesus says, we will not only be fed, but nourished. If what we’re asking for will not nourish us, no dice.
The first four verses hint about why. See, persistence is not the only issue. Timing is a huge issue with God. He may not “get up and give you anything” now, next month, or next year. He’ll give it to you when He’s ready, which means you’ll get it when — and only when — He knows you’re ready.
The One who made the heavens and the earth most likely knows something we don’t, even if that something is about ourselves. If we’re not getting what we want, we are being shaped in the process of getting close to our Creator and asking.
Are we stuck pounding on the door, not knowing if what we ask is good for us, or whether it’s just our timing that’s bad?
In verse 13, Jesus gives us more direction: The one request God will grant is our request for more of the Holy Spirit.
Is that all?
The Holy Spirit is not just all; He’s everything. If we have more Holy Spirit, we have more understanding of God’s will for us (what to ask for) and more patience with Him (how and when to ask, and the persistence to keep asking), knowing that He’ll grant our requests when it’s right for us, for the Gospel, and for His glory.
(Source: brisenvamp)
