Matthew 7:7-12, Ask, Seek and Knock

   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! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Ask for what?

I’ve never liked the phrase “God always answers prayer…its yes, no, or later”. It’s trite and very unsatisfying. The truth is, this explanation also focuses on the answer, not the request. In so doing, I believe we miss the point of what Jesus is saying.

If today’s text is true…it must mean something else. Let me try…

In my experience many people live lives of spiritual desperation. Their lives careen from one crisis to the next…and are always on the precipice losing faith. Why? Because they are focused on the answers (or circumstances) in their lives rather than on conformity to Christ.

“God didn’t get me that job…He must not care about me!”

Jesus wants to put all this to rest. He categorically states “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. I suspect this statement is intended to “pull us back from the ledge” and help us gain peace and perspective in the midst of our challenges. In other words, He’s saying “don’t worry about this. It’s all taken care of!”

This part is absolutely true…

However, He concludes by saying “so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”.

Huh?

Well, there is a condition…and James clarifies it in the 4^th chapter of his epistle.  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The right motive? We call it the “golden rule”. My ability to experience the blessings of this promise is contingent upon my willingness to eradicate my own inner selfishness and seek what’s best for others. It’s scary, but there is no risk involved. The guarantee has been ratified by Christ’s own words.

So, let me suggest this. Let’s quit thinking about the answer. Let’s begin demanding that our head and heart “sum up the law and the prophets”. Before we know it, answers will flood into your life and overwhelm us.

Live boldly out there today…