In our world we ask our needs to many people, how do you ask? Many times, we ask in a pleading way. Many times, we ask in a demanding way. Whom do you ask? We ask this to people whom we are close to like our parents / close relatives, our friends or people who are intimate to us.
Likewise, God taught me how we should ask to him as I meditated Matt 7: 7-12
' “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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ' Matthew 7:7-12
God’s Children
First principle we need to understand is, only God's children have a right to approach Him as "Father" and ask things to Him. John describes it well
‘to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God’
'He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ' John 1:11-12
For others who do not believe in Jesus, may try to ask things to the Father; but He has no obligation to give them anything, because he is not their Father, and they are not his children.
Ask
' “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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ' Matthew 7:7-8
Second let’s learn how we should ask and what we should ask
How should we Ask?
Ask! Seek! Knock! All these words in Bible are given to us in present tense. It means they constitute a command that is to be obeyed by us as a regular and ongoing practice of life: Always be asking! Always be seeking! Always be knocking! This is an invitation, but it is also a command to take up a regular habit of life: Ask!
The “ask” cannot be only when we have troubles in life, it must be daily. We need to have the attitude of a how an infant cry for its mother’s milk when its hungry.
What should we ask?
Many of us use this Matthew 7:7 word from God to our convenience. Many of us think that this Ask / Seek / Knock is to only to give us more pleasures & blessings in the world. For e.g. if you have one house ask for one more house, if you have one car ask for another high-end car, if you have one bike ask for another bike to be upgraded. Our attitude in the world is to “Give me more...” Our “ask” to God is always focussed on that attitude, we use Matthew 7:7 in that context to God.
We need to understand Matt 7:7 in the context of how Jesus taught to his disciples. In the previous chapter Matthew 6, he says
'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ' Matthew 6:33
The “Ask” he describes in Matt 7:7, is in context to Matt 6:33, Let’s be clear on that, we must ask things that helps us mature in the relationship we have with him, by seeking his righteousness.
If you have a relationship with God, you say, I pray daily and I am living a true Christian life. The “Ask” that Jesus is telling you and me is, don’t settle with current state, ask for next level of maturity for the “Holy Spirit to be filled in you and pray”, if you are filled with Holy Spirit, ask for the Gifts of God – Speaking in tongues / preaching / prophesy / miracle powers / healing, God has plans for you, it’s our responsibility to ask God and seek for it to receive the same according to his will. Paul describes that well
'To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ' 1 Corinthians 12:8-12
So, you may question, are we not supposed to ask or tell God any of your challenges / troubles you go through? Will we not get the blessings from God? The word says it clearly “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. The troubles / challenges / needs of your life will automatically be taken care by God if you seek him first. Unless we ask for more spiritual blessings, he will not give to us. Unfortunately many of us live a life opposite to what God has taught us to live, we ask for worldly blessings and seek the Spiritual blessing at the last.
Knock & Seek
We knock the door when it’s not directly accessible, when it’s locked from inside, we continuously knock to get the attention of person inside, nowadays there is a “Calling Bell” to make it easier, we press that more often to open it faster.
Similarly in the spiritual life, God expects us to ask persistently.
Jesus does not simply say that the person who gets results is the one who "Asks"? Rather, He seem to describe a whole-hearted kind of progressive 'asking' that comes very close to becoming impertinent! They not only ask; but if they don't get an answer, they seek.
They not just ask and seek; but if they don't get results, they knock! They don't give up! This reminds of how little children ask something from their mother or father. They will ask; but if they don't hear an answer, they will get up from where they are and seek their mother or father so they can ask again. He's urging us to be like children and be persistent in our pursuit of what we ask.
Many times, we get distracted by the worldly things, that’s the tricks of Satan. He wants us to forget what we ask by our worldly troubles so that we don’t mature in this relationship with Christ. I have encountered these many times. An easy way to get away from this to have a prayer note to pray for what you want from God. Pray for that persistently
Once you have asked and get the holy spirit leading you what to do, then the spirit helps in our times of troubles / challenges and intercedes with God, Paul writes on this in Romans
'In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. ' Romans 8:26-27
Ask persistently with Confidence
' “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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! ' Matthew 7:9-11
We can ask, knowing that our heavenly Father loves us and will never give us something that is not good for us. All his answers to our prayers are only good every time.
Many times, he will also say “no” to our asks as well, as he knows what good gifts vs. bad gifts for you. This answers of “no” can be discerned to understand it better if you have the holy spirit in you.
God reveals to us why he says “No” only after a period. It may be immediate; some it may be in days or years. His delays are always not denials.
Ask to understand God’s will in your life. He will reveal that to you. His way of revelation is not to give you the whole things in one short and let you go from him. He does this step by step, he will first reveal his vision, once you pray persistently on his vision and the promises from his words, he will show the next steps of how you should walk. Remember God expects us to be his children, a child who is dependent on his Father.
Many times, the Ask can come from the desires that we may have, God will seed the right desires that he wants to take accordingly to his will and remove the desires that are not according to his will. Paul writes on this
'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. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. ' James 4:2-3
Always surrender to his will and do what is according to his will like what James describes
'Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ' James 4:15
Remember your father knows what’s best for you “Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”. So ask / seek / knock according to his will.
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