Tag: knocking

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

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? (Luke 11:9-13)

The verbs “ask,” “seek,” and “knock,” can all be translated, “keep on asking,” “keep on seeking,” and “keep on knocking.”

But Jesus doesn’t promise that we’ll necessarily receive all we ask for. Rather, we will be given “as much as we need.” (8)

Sometimes in his wisdom, God only gives us only two loaves of bread instead of three. But sometimes in his wisdom, he’ll give us a steak instead of bread.

Sometimes we ask for snakes, thinking they’re fish. Other times we ask for scorpions, thinking they’re eggs.

But God only gives us good gifts.

Prayer is not about trying to manipulate God, getting him to give you what you want. It’s about drawing near to him. And through prayer, we discover his character, his way of thinking, and his love.

If we seek him, we will find him.

If we knock, he will open the door to us.

And ultimately, he will give us what we need the most: himself. For through all our trials and struggles, he will give us his Spirit to lead us, to comfort us, and empower us.

So each day, let us keep asking, seeking, and knocking.