By Leo, Juli and DJ Miranda
SCRIPTURE: Our bible reading for today is from the book of Matthew, chapter 7 verses 7-11. 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” OBSERVATION: If you can see these verses, they were written in red- it means it’s Jesus himself speaking in this chapter. These verses also reveal our Heavenly Father’s character- a generous, loving and relational Father. You don’t have to prove yourself worthy before He can bless you. We only need to learn to Ask, Seek and Knock. Matthew 7:7 we can remember this verse easily by the acronym ASK. A - ask S - seek K - knock Only a child with a relationship with a father can ask, seek and knock without having second thoughts or hesitation.
ASK
Jesus is saying here that when we ask, ask specifically, tell him exactly what you need, be direct to the point when asking.
In Matt 6:8b, it says “you’re Father knows even before we ASK him”
Isn’t it reassuring that even before we ask, He already knows what we will need? For everyone who asks, receives.
In John 16:23b-24, it says “Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ASK in my name.” 24 Until now you have not ASKED for anything in my name. ASK and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
SEEK
Seeking is different from just looking for something. Seeking means to pursue, to go after, to desire to achieve.
The famous verse Matt 6:33 says “But SEEK FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Jesus is saying to us, that it’s not bad for us to have things we need in life. We need education, we need clothes, we need food, a car, a house etc.
What He means is that ABOVE ALL THESE THINGS- PURSUE HIM FIRST, GO AFTER HIM FIRST, DESIRE TO ACHIEVE HIM FIRST, TO SEEK HIM FIRST. The one who seeks finds.
And once we have SOUGHT HIM FIRST, out of His generosity and kindness, all these things shall be added unto us. Our Father in heaven loves and longs to give good gifts to His children.
KNOCK
Knocking is a sign of acknowledging Him as our Lord. Jesus is saying here that because He is our Father and we are His children, one knock on His heart, He cannot withhold Himself from opening that door and flood you with His provisions and blessings.
When someone knocks on our door, we often respond by saying “who is it?”
But the Lord knows already who is knocking on His door, and yet he waits for us to acknowledge Him for who He is. To the one who knocks the door will be opened.
APPLICATION:
It's really hard to ask from someone we do not know or are close with. Maybe the reason why we hesitate to ask God is that we feel our relationship with Him is a bit dry. As for me and my family, we are going to put more effort into seeking and knowing our heavenly Father by reading His word and doing family devotion. These will surely give us the confidence to come to God and change the way we pray.
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can come to You freely and that You are always waiting for us to seek You and to know You. We pray that our hearts will be changed as we learn from Your words of truth. Let our heart's desire be aligned to your will. Thank you for being our great provider. Help us not to worry in this life, but to put our trust in You. In Jesus name. Amen
