No seeking... No finding...

Ask, Search, Knock!!!

Matthew 7:

7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him

While the majority of the New Testament does not support the carte blanche, blank check petitionary prayer advocated by many Word of Faith teachers today, these verses are very explicit in that we should seek the generosity of God in all "good things."

While I don't like to throw around grammatical terminology too often, this is an occasion where it bears illumination... In verses 7-8 of this text, we have what is called a triple imperative (3 charges or direct commands) followed by a triple assurance... "3 that's the magic number!"

ASK! SEEK! KNOCK! - GIVEN! FOUND! OPENED!

Its also worth noting that the triple imperative is in the present tense, which could be interpreted in an extreme way as,

"Keep on asking" "Keep on seeking" "Keep on knocking"

While that may be a slight overstatement, this text indicates that God does respond to those who seek Him with all their hearts. The text is an invitation to "ask." Whenever I teach, I like to state that "the only stupid question is the one not asked" as a way to encourage questions. If you don't ask, you may never get an answer. The premise is repeated thrice here... if you don't seek, you may never find... if you don't knock, you might be left outside in the rain...

One of the key phrases here is "good things" v11. This picks up on previous verses in Matthew 6:25-34, which indicate that while God may not supply all of our wants, He is infinitely concerned about our needs.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

http://troublethewaters.blogspot.com/