“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)

Paul sets a high standard for prayer in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. He says, “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV) Which has also been stated as simply, “pray all the time.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 Msg) In understanding how this could be possible, we know that God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit who is leading us into all truth. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13a) With the Holy Spirit leading us into truth, we are to pray and ask God for what we want, especially for our wants developed by God’s truth. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:7-8 ESV)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about prayer and our commitment to prayer. “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 5:7-8) Our prayers begin with our asking. Then the promise, you will receive. Jesus illustrates our asking by stating, “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) God’s love for us will provide for us what is good and for our good. “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. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Ephesians 5:27-28)

Jesus builds His encouragement for us to build our commitment to prayer. He next would state, “seek and you will find.” (Matthew 7:7b) Jesus had already stated in the Sermon on the Mount, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Our prayers should come from our priorities. God has called us to the priority of His Kingdom. In the model prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9b-10) The more we pray the more God will show us the work of His Kingdom and use us to build His Kingdom. Here we find God’s will and his Kingdom.

Then Jesus would challenge us to “knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7c) We are able to knock, because we have already open the door when Jesus knocked and we have let Him in. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20) We are now to knock on His door, where we will receive fellowship with Him. “And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. . .. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:3-4,7) Our commitment to prayer will unite us in our relationship with God and will also unite us as His own, the church. Then we may glorify Him before a watching world. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block