Ask, Seek, Knock

Matt. 7:7–11

I. Introduction

A. In our previous lessons we have looked at some of Jesus' teaching on prayer.

1. In Matt. 6:5–8 Jesus spoke about having the proper attitude in prayer.

2. In Matt. 6:9–13 Jesus gave his followers a "model prayer."

C. Here in chapter 7 Jesus returns to the subject of prayer.

D. Some people have looked at Jesus' statement as a sort of "Christmas list."

1. Some popular evangelists tell us that all we need to do is ask for something and God will give it.

2. Is that what Jesus was saying, or was he telling his followers something else about prayer?

3. Anyone who has had any "life experience" will realize that there is much more to prayer than simply asking for whatever you want.

II. What did Jesus say about prayer in this passage?

A. Ask, seek, knock (7:7–8)

1. Jesus used repetition to emphasize his meaning. Jesus did not just say "pray," he said, "ask, seek, knock."

2. There is also an emphasis on persistence in the words themselves.

a. These are continuous action verbs.

b. A few translations indicate this continuous action:

“Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you." (Easy to Read Version)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (New Living Translation)

B. Jesus also used the example of human parents to illustrate his meaning. (7:8–9)

1. In a way similar to the parables, Jesus used this earthly story as an illustration.

2. He used a comparison between the parents' desire to give gifts to children and God's generosity toward those who ask, seek, and knock.

3. His point is, if human parents give good gifts to children, won't God give much more to those who ask.

C. Is there more to prayer than this?

1. The answer is yes.

2. Prayer is a complex subject and we need to consider other teachings on prayer as well.

III. Other things to consider about prayer.

A. Prayer is an ongoing relationship rather than a casual acquaintance.

1. Surveys show that around 84% of Americans say that they pray regularly.

2. Other surveys indicate that only 40% of Americans attend any type of church services regularly. (Some surveys have shown that number to be less than 20%.)

B. Prayer requires faith.

1. Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

C. Prayer must be based on God's will and not our own will.

1. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14).

2. Sometimes it is not easy to know God's will.

3. Sometimes it is not easy to give up our own will.

4. Jesus is our example in this. Everything that he did, even going to the cross, was within God's will.
D. We must pray persistently.

1. This was Jesus' point in this passage.

2. Jesus also told the Parable of the Persistent Widow to teach this principle.

3. Paul also told us:

a. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col. 4:2)

b. "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:16–18)

E. We should pray for what we need and not what we want.

1. Remember Jesus' model prayer. He included only the basics.

F. Sometimes God says, "No."

1. Sometimes things do not work out the way that we wanted.

2. Although we may not see it at the time, it was for the best that God did not answer our prayer. We do not know everything, but God does.

3. We must remember that God said "no" to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

G. Prayer is something that we learn.

1. The disciples said to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)

2. This should be our desire as well.

IV. Conclusion

A. I want to close by sharing a story with you from Laying it on the Line with God by Charlie Walton (pp. 77–78).

B. I don't know about you, but I can see myself in that story.

1. I look at all the books on prayer and think, "Wow! Those folks must be experts on prayer."

2. I listen to someone pray and think how inadequate my prayers must be.

C. In reality, prayer is very personal and as individual as each one of us and imitating someone else's prayers doesn't necessarily make my prayers any better.

D. The key to learning to pray is in Jesus' own words: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. In other words, keep in communication with God. That is the key to prayer.