19. Receive, Find, Opened
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke 11:9-10 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh reeiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and t him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Jesus promises that the Father will answer prayer; the only condition mentioned here is that one must pray: if you ask, then you will receive; if you seek, then you will find; if you knock, then it will be opened. Asking, seeking and knocking brings results; these three commands are metaphorical ways of saying: “Pray!” Perhaps the implication signifies persistent prayer and a relatively constant or often prayer and not giving up until an answer is given. We see the picture of a beggar begging and rooting around and knocking on the door until it is opened.
Praying is a necessary precondition to receiving. God wants to answer prayer and provide for needs in abundance, but He still wants His children to ask and not become faint; don’t give up unless God changes your mind about what you are asking for. Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking until…. This seems to contradict Jesus words in Matthew 6:8: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” On the contrary, these words do not discourage us from praying but rather encourage us to prayer more urgently and more often: He promises to listen and answer our prayers. Because of a promise like this we are more eager to pray. I believe He wants us to pray, even though He already knows what we are going to ask, because He wants a personal relationship with us; He also wants us to know where it all comes from, that we live with a heart of gratitude for abundant blessings.
God does not answer prayer because the prayers are so good (insistent, persistent, fervent, intense, sincere, unselfish, theologically or Biblically correct), but the Father hears prayer because He is good, loves us dearly, promises to hear us and because Jesus gave us access to the throne of grace. God’s Word is abundant and clear on the subject of answering prayer. To doubt this promise would be to doubt God’s Word and so to doubt God. “Fear not, I am with you; Doubt not, I am telling you.”