ASK #001-Ask, Seek, Knock

written:  January 9/12, 2022

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

This episode is inspired by both the Bible verse from Matthew 7 and the song “Pour Your Spirit Out” by Thrive Worship

Matthew 7:7-12

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The part of the song that really impacts me on a daily basis is the following verse.  

"All we have to do is just ask seek knock

Watch the doors swing wide open

Roll back that stone (roll back that stone)

Roll back that stone (roll back that stone)"

And if you know my husband MT Clark you will have to ask him to preform this verse for you as he created wonderful hand motions to go along with it. 

So I am going to take a moment to unpack this verse to the best of my ability.

We will start with the word…

ASK (“to ask” is a verbal command)

Jesus wants us to open our hearts and ask God what His will is for our lives.  We are able to communicate directly with our Heavenly Father through faithful prayer.  God knows what is on our hearts but He calls us to be faithful and to ask for the desires of our hearts.  

Psalm 37:3-9 (NKJV) states:

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD,

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn,

your justice like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD

and wait patiently for Him;

do not fret when men prosper in their ways,

when they carry out wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and abandon wrath;

do not fret—it can only bring harm.

9 For the evildoers will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

 Just to recap, Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) states “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

Now we have to remember that we can not just pick and choose verses and use them in isolation.  We are to look at scripture as a whole and see how the verses around add to the picture.  We are not to look at this verse and state if I desire “this or that” in my heart God HAS to give it to me because that is what we think the verse states.  

Sorry that is not how God works.  He is not some genie in a bottle to be summons whenever we need Him.  He wants and desires a relationship with us.

The book of Psalms and Proverbs are kind of like principles we are to live by and follow.  So in Psalm 37:4 we are to be living a life pleasing to God and following His ways…

we are to TRUST the Lord, 

COMMIT our ways to Him, 

be STILL and REFRAIN from anger.  

Further on in vetse 9 it states that “the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”

We also see this sentiment that we must be in God’s Word and follow Him in the book of John.  

John 15:7 If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Faithful prayer shows dependence on God to meet our needs.

SEEK (to seek: “attempt to find” it’s a spiritual command)

When we are called to seek God it means to orient ourselves to God and to pursue God rather than other goals.  When we have love for God it means that we not only are obedient but have a desire for Him—a yearning to know Him, a longing to see Him.  

How do we seek God?  The most important thing is we need to be in His Word.  We seek to know Him through the study of His Word…the Bible. 

It is impossible to really know God and have a relationship with Him so that we can know His truths.  

All that He asks is that we walk with Him, that we seek His will, and that we let Him in our lives.  

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

There are many ways we can seek the Lord; here are just a few.  

Call upon Him in prayer.  Jeremiah 29:12-14 state:  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

Serve God with a wholehearted devotion and a willing mind. 

1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

Cast your cares upon the Lord. Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Doing what is right and living humbly.  Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’s anger.

There are many more ways to seek God.  I just mentioned a few to get your thoughts going.  

The most important way is to seek Him through diligent study of His Word.  When we seek God, we put His plan and Will before our own.

Lastly….

KNOCK (to knock: is a physical command or action)

When we knock on something we bump into or collide with it.  

God wants us to persistently and passionately seek Him.  We are called to keep knocking and pray without ceasing.  Unless we are take action, we will be no knocking action.  

Go out  and share love with your neighbors.  Knock into those who Christ puts into our lives and spread the love of Christ to others.  

1 John 3:18 (NIV) Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Luke 10:27 He answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

We are called to be the hands and feet for Christ.  We can do this by: 

offering words of encouragement, 

investing quality time with others, 

sharing small gifts that show you were thinking of them,

 and serving others.

Prayer in action begins when our heart is focused on showing Jesus' love to others.

When we ASK, SEEK and KNOCK God will open doors we never knew we had the key to. 

 God wants us to seek Him daily and allow His Words to penetrate our hearts, souls, minds and spirits.

When we do this... follow His commands and study the Bible; we allow God’s Will to be done in our lives.

We are called to walk in the spirit and be disciples for Christ.  

So go out…keep asking, seeking and knocking and He will swing the doors wide open and roll the stones away.