Through the Bible - Job 7-9, Acts 8:4-25
We saw the other day how Esther approached the king to bring a request to him for her people. Her opportunity to come to him was possible because she was in a relationshiip with him.
Today's verse comes from Matthew chapter 7 and is about asking God for our "needs".
The NLT does a good job of capturing the depth of these verses.
Matt 7:7 "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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. NLT
The NLT points out that we are to "keep" asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.
Many of us, myself included, often tend to think that we have God in a bottle, taken along with us to ask him for things when we have the need (when we're thirsty) or can't solve a problem ourselves. We should do this, but that is not the only time we should come to Him. Asking, seeking, and knocking are three different things. We tend to focus on the asking, but what about seeking Him, and His will for our lives? Do we spend much time in seeking Him in His Word? We knock when we want to enter in. Do we "knock" when seeking opportunities, when we have questions about a possible ministry or do we go off on our own, headstrong into something then come to God, open the bottle as it were, when things aren't going as we planned?
What God desires is a relationship, us getting to know Him better day by day.
John MacArthur writes, "God's wisdom is one of our greatest needs. We can't be discerning and discriminating without divine counsel from our heavenly Father; and the primary means for achieving that is prayer. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given him." James 1:5)"
Along with God's perfect and infallible Word, we need His Spirit to interpret and illumine, to encourage and to strengthen. He does not want us to have all the answers; He wants us to be students who search the scriptures. The Bible is a limitless store of divine truth. But apart from God Himself we can't begin to fathom it's depths or mine it's riches. God gives enough truth for us to be responsible, but enough mystery for us to be dependent. He gives us His Word not only to direct our lives byt to draw our lives to Him."
Can you see the parent/child relationship in that. As our children grow, we teach them day by day. They learn to come to us when they need something. Whether it is comfort when they have an "ouie" or a new basketball or whatever else they "need".
These verses are limited to believers. Believers have a relationship with God; they follow Christ and desire to be obedient to the Father as Jesus was. The believer is to come with pure motives (James 4:3). Finally, the believer will be submissive to the Father's will, we will accept an answer even if it is no, or not now.
Instead of focusing on the asking alone, think about, act upon the keep seeking and keep knocking as described in the verse above. It will improve your relationship.
Effective Prayer
7 "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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 "You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
New Living Translation
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