I am excited to be part of this BibleJournal. I contemplated joining at the beginning of 2016, but did not make the commitment and regretted that decision all year long. Now, a year later, I have been given another opportunity and I have said YES. I cannot promise that my posts will always be entertaining, pertinent, or uplifting. But, I can promise that I will let God direct me and use me in this writing as He leads me.
Matthew 7
This chapter picks up on the Sermon on the Mount and concludes the Sermon on the Mount. There are 7 main points in this chapter including: 1)Rules 2)Encouragements to pray to God for what we need 3)The necessity of strictness in conversation 4)A caution to take heed of false prophets 5)The conclusion of the whole Sermon on the Mount and 6)The impression which Christ’s doctrine made upon his hearers.
I would like to focus on point 2…Encouragements to pray to God for what we need.
Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
Jesus is asking us to do three different things, using three different senses.
Asking is verbal. We have to ask God with our mouth for our needs and desires. Just as we talk over issues of our day with our spouse or friends, God wants us to talk with Him with the issues and needs which are heavy on our hearts and minds. He wants to be in constant communication with us.
We are to seek with our minds, this is more that just asking. This is looking inwardly at our heart and setting our priorities to what God would have for us. We have to begin to look around for ways that God might answer our prayers. After we ask God for something, the next thing we must do is start looking around with eyes of faith for how God might be providing answers to the issues we have discussed with Him.
Asking and seeking would be incomplete without the third instruction, knocking. To knock involves physical movement, one in which we must take action. This is stepping out in faith and knocking on the doors that present themselves. When we seek, we seek possible answers with eyes of faith. And when we knock, we step out and take risks with faith by checking out the opportunities that were brought to our attention during the seeking phase.
God wants a constant relationship with us. When we continually seek Him and talk with Him, He begins to guide our steps and open the doors He has planned for us. Just because we ask, seek, and knock, does not mean that God will always open the door and give us what we are asking for. The answer after knocking may be “no” or “not yet”. This is how the continual communication that God desires comes into play. We must continue to ask and seek, this is how we develop the intimate relationship with our Father.
Currently, I can relate Matthew 7 verses 7&8 in my own life. I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past 19 years. Now as my oldest has headed off to college, I have begun to ask God what is next for me. Through my asking, a few options came about. I began to seek more information to see if they were good fits for my desires and skills. I have had 2 opportunities in the past few months that I thought were perfect fits, so I stepped out and knocked on those doors. I was shocked (and still am a bit confused) when neither of those doors opened and the answer was no on both accounts. So, does that mean I quit asking and seeking and just wallow in my days? No, Matthew tells us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. Sometimes it takes persistent faith to receive God’s promises. God will open the door and give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). Our desires are conformed to His desires through constant communication. We have to keep the faith that at the appointed time, God will reveal the plans He has for me and you.