Devotionals

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Ask, Seek, and Knock

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In the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 to 7, Jesus delivers a series of teachings at the beginning of his ministry. This block is usually called The Sermon on the Mount and is Jesus’ longest discourse in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount was not delivered primarily to the multitudes but to Jesus’ four first disciples: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John (the sons of Zebedee). Jesus started his ministry by teaching about the ethics of the Kingdom of God, the identity of the citizens of the Kingdom, spiritual practices and life in the community. And in chapter 7, Jesus makes one of the boldest statements: Ask, Seek, and Knock.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7

The passage is about prayer. The boldness in Jesus’ words is remarkable. There is no room for doubts. God truly answers prayers. He is a caring Father. He is an ever-present caring Father who deeply cares for you.

Here Jesus gives three commands: ask, seek and knock. The commands are followed by some analogies that help us understand God’s provision to his children when they ask. The promise here is that all of these actions will receive a response.

Ask, and it will be given to you

We ask for what we wish. We ask for what we want. But, how do we know what we want is God’s will for us? Or, what if there is something better than what we wish for? The good thing is that there is nothing that we cannot ask for. Since in God’s presence there is freedom, we can freely ask God whatever is in our hearts. The only Biblical guidelines are:

  • Ask in Jesus’ name (John 14:13)
  • Ask with and in faith (Matthew 21:22)
  • Ask while abiding in Jesus and his word (John 15:7)
  • Ask according to God’s will (1 John 5:14-15)

Seek, and you will find

We seek what we think we are missing. You seek a job because you are missing a job. You seek to finish school because you are missing the education you need to grow your career. So, Jesus commanded his disciples to seek so they could find. What should they seek? What were they missing?

Well, they were not to seek self-promotion, the praise of men or treasures on earth. Jesus had been clear that this was not how things should go for them. They’ve been called to represent and serve the Kingdom of God. So, then, what should they seek? A couple of verses before this section, Jesus clarified what they should seek. Jesus told them to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:31-33).

God delights in meeting the needs of his people. So, you don’t need to worry about that. He has your back. Instead, God wants you to seek his Kingdom first and his righteousness. That is something we cannot miss.

Knock, and it will be opened to you

The last action of Matthew 7 is knocking. But wait a minute. The fact that you are knocking on a door doesn’t mean that you will open the door. The verse says, “knock, and it will be opened to you.” It doesn’t say, “knock and open.” It says, “knock.” That’s it.

But also, we knock for that from which we feel ourselves shut out. You can trust that when you ask God to show you the way you should go and when you seek him and follow his will, he will show you the door you should knock on.

However, quite often, we need to wait for the door to be opened. That waiting is crucial. In the waiting is when people quit. In the waiting is when people lose hope. The waiting is when people leave where they are supposed to be to go after what looks easier.

If you feel shut out, don’t become bitter. Knock on that door again. Ask God first, seek his presence, align your desires to his, make plans according to God’s master plan and then knock. Knock once and wait. Knock twice and wait. Keep on knocking. Don’t force your way in. Wait. If God has told you this is where you belong, that this is the right door, just knock and wait for him to open it for you.

When Jesus asks, seeks and knocks

Revelation 3:20 says:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20

It’s a healthy spiritual habit to take time every day to remember the time when God knocked at your door. That precious moment when you felt his presence in your heart calling you to come to him. When that happened, did he force himself in? Did he give up on knocking? Did he leave you alone and just move on? No, he didn’t. He kept on knocking, kept on waiting, kept on calling, kept on asking you to come to him.

Ultimately, you can see how Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Matthew 7:7 could also be used as an analogy of what God has done to bring you closer. His wish is for you to come to him, so he asks and calls your name. If you would just stop and listen! He was missing your presence at his table, so he went out to seek for you. He felt you shut him out of your life, but he is eager to return and dwell with you. Your heart is his place. It is his home.

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Finding a Rescuer in Times of Need

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Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.
You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalms 43 – NIV)

The book of Psalms has been written for our instruction. Through this book, you can learn about the character of God; you can learn about yourself and life. The Psalms help us think and feel in a way that is God-pleasing and good for our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical wellness.

Also, do you know that there is a Psalm for every occasion? Let me share with you some examples:

  • Loneliness: “I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalms 25:16)
  • Regret: “I am sorry for my sin” (Psalms 38:18)
  • Discouragement and turmoil: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalms 42:5)
  • Peace: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep” (Psalms 4:8)
  • Etc.

And the list goes on and on. The Psalms could be a great source of peace and joy for you when going through a season of darkness in your life.

Today I want to share with you some thoughts based on Psalms 43.

To give us some context, let’s read first verse 5, part a.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Without a doubt, the writer of this piece of poetry was navigating really tough times. This verse shows us that even Christians get downcast and discouraged.

The writer of this Psalm belonged to a group of priest in Israel whose specific task was to sing to the Lord. The fact that they were serving God didn’t mean that they were immune to sufferings and afflictions.

If the Lord Jesus Himself had to walk through the valley of shadow of death and experienced great suffering on his way to the Cross, how much more we, mere men, would have to face sufferings of different sorts in life. During His life, Jesus had to face betrayals, indifference, poverty and homelessness (remember that He was a Galilean… and Galilee in those times was filled with political turmoil, violence, and poverty), among others. His own brothers rejected Him. His earthly father passed away when He was still a teenager. When talking about suffering, Jesus knew it all!

1) When you’re suffering persecution and injustice, plead to God!

Let us read now verses 1 and 2.

Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

These two verses show us that many times in life we would feel that many things are just not fair. Those feelings of injustice will come and will try to conquer you. When you give in to these kinds of thoughts, you will feel more agitated and angry towards God, yourself or others. This state of mind is very harmful and will deteriorate your physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.

The remedy to the feelings of injustice is to turn to God and plead to Him. You need to know Him as your Father, as your loving Father. God is love, and He will vindicate you. He will fight for you. Just come to Him with a repented heart and give Him your sorrows, your pain, your sins, and your guilt. In exchange, He will give you His love, His peace, His grace and His forgiveness.

It is a good spiritual exercise to talk to God and bring before Him your cause. Even you feel like He is “not answering” when you pray and talk to God about your situation, you are actually removing all that from your heart and giving it to Him.

The writer of this Psalm describes those who are persecuting him. They are unfaithful, deceitful and wicked. Maybe you have met people like that, and they have hurt you deeply. God knows. Maybe you have tried to cover your hurting with addictions, or you have been just trying to avoid facing it, but you need to. You need to bring it all to God. You need to tell Him your story.

The Psalmist knows what to do. He turns to God and pleads to Him for His rescue. The problem is that many of us are looking after the wrong rescuers. My friend, you can’t rescue yourself from depression and hurt. Jesus Christ is the only Rescuer who has the power to rescue you from sin and death and give you everlasting life.

But, as verse 2 says, He is also our ever-present stronghold. He won’t let you down.

The writer of this poem was in such turmoil that he even believed that God had rejected him, but that was not the case, as it is shown in verse 5.

The enemy was oppressing him and because of that, he was in constant mourning. Can you name your enemies? Are you living in a constant state of mourning?

The remedy to the feelings of injustice is to turn to God and plead to Him.Click To Tweet

2) When feeling down, lift yourself up by letting God lead you!

Let us read now verses 3 and 4.

Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

When you are feeling oppressed and depressed, you need to realize that you are not alone. You “feel” alone because the darkness has covered you and you can’t see God around you. The writer of this poem knew it well, and because of that, he asks God to send His light and His faithful care.

God is inviting you to see His light. He wants you to experience His faithful care. He takes good care of His children. Let Him take care of you and ask Him to shed His light upon you so you can see your circumstances differently.

It is interesting to note that the only way you can change your circumstances is by letting God lifting yourself up. For that, you will need to seek His light (His Word – “Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105) and His faithful care, which other versions translate as “Truth.”

Sometimes this is a hard thing to do because, generally speaking, we don’t like to listen. You need to learn to listen to God and to listen to those that God has put in your way. They want the best for you because God wants the best for you. That is His faithful care.

If you follow God’s light and His truth and care then He will lead you to His “holy mountain,” a biblical reference to His Presence, that Spiritual life that Jesus promised to all of those that would follow Him. God’s invitation is this: Come and dwell with me.

Verse 4 shows us that for all this, we will need to be determined. The Psalmist decided to stop feeling sorry for himself and took responsibility for his life by deciding to go to the altar of God (God’s Presence, your life with God, prayer, Bible meditation, joining a church) and start praising God again. He knows that in doing so, he would find the joy and the delight he needs in life.

3) When you are feeling discouraged and hopeless, put your hope in your Savior!

Finally, let us read verse 5 again.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

The finals “why’s” were not meant as a “why is this happening to me?” but rather as a “why should I continue feeling this way?” The Psalmist found the peace and hope he needed in God’s everlasting arms. How he did it? Let me you so you can also do the same today.

The Psalmist found out that more important than listening to your soul is to talk to your soul. He understood that the soul could become a really bad advisor. After receiving God’s light and instruction, he spoke to his soul and commanded his soul to put its hope in God. Stop putting your hopes in something or someone else. Put your hope in God.

Even in his wording, you can see hope in action: “For I will yet praise Him.” He knew it wasn’t over. Nothing was lost yet. After putting his hope in God, he realized there was much to live yet. He had the assignment of living for God and to praise Him.

My friend, you and I, share the same assignment. We have been created to praise God. I want to invite you today to take an in-depth look at your life. Do you need a Savior? Do you need a Rescuer? Do you need a Stronghold? Aren’t you tired of facing your enemies? Aren’t you tired of living in darkness? Come to His light and grab Jesus’ hand. He wants to lift you up and change your view of life. Would you let Him?

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Sin Cannot Win

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He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. (Isaiah 53:12)

Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin. Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably. At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down-someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.

Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed. Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused your family, your church, your neighborhood. Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, province, nation, and the world. Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation. Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night He was called to bear it? (Matthew 26:36-44). The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him. No other suffering can compare.  

Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.

Christ’s empty tomb guarantees our victory over sin and death.Click To Tweet

The empty tomb of Jesus shows us that sin is no longer our master and that we are no longer slaves to its fear and shame. Paul says in Romans 6:14:

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

In Romans 6 Paul connects the events of the death and resurrection of Jesus as the foundation for the reality of the spiritual transformation that have taken place in our lives after our decision of believing and confessing that Jesus is our Lord, being our experience of baptism the proof and testimony of that. In Romans 6:4 he writes:

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

All this shows us that the salvation that Jesus brings is complete. Sin cannot win and our faith in Jesus’ victory cannot fail.

Listening Prayer: “Lord Jesus, what are the lies that I’ve been believing about myself that won’t allow me to enjoy your victory? Please help me to identify them and stop believing them. I’m victorious in You, Jesus.”

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Christ’s Identity and Mine

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From time to time, we read of people who are offended at not being treated with what they consider due respect and deference. “Do you know who I am?” they shout indignantly. And we are reminded of the statement, “If you have to tell people who you are, you probably really aren’t who you think you are.” The polar opposite of this arrogance and self-importance is seen in Jesus, even as His life on earth was nearing its end.

Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise from the people (Matthew 21:7-9). When others throughput the city asked, “Who is this?” the crowds answered, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (vv. 10-11). He didn’t come claiming special privileges, but in humility, He came to give His life in obedience to His Father’s will.

The words Jesus said and the things He did commanded respect. Unlike insecure rulers, He never demanded that others respect Him. His greatest hours of suffering appeared to be His lowest point of weakness and failure. Yet, the strength of His identity and mission carried Jesus through the darkest hours as He died for our sins so that we might live in His love. He is worthy of our lives and our devotion today. Do we recognize who He is? 1

'When once you have seen Jesus, you can never be the same' (Oswald Chambers)Click To Tweet

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, you are the most significant person in my life. Your affirmation of me is so much more important than what anyone else says or thinks. When I come to you and genuinely want to know what you think I should do, you will certainly enlighten my mind and strengthen my will in regard to the situation. Help me always do you Father’s will.”

Listening Prayer: “Jesus, what do you think about ________________ ?” 2

Notes:

  1. Extracted from A New Life by David McCasland ↩
  2. Extracted from Lenten Grace ↩