Ask, Seek, Knock, then keep on knocking

“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." (Matthew 7:7-8)

Jesus is telling us how important it is to pray - to take our concerns, needs, hurts, and hang-ups to him in prayer. In other words, we are to use our words to express our need. What happens if we don't know what to pray for - when the situation is there, but we have no idea what to ask him to do for us in that situation? We seek wisdom. Sometimes we don't know what is happening in our lives, but we know we need God's help in that moment. We lay out our need, both the one we recognize easily, as well as the one we have a hard time articulating. Then we listen. Prayer is about asking, seeking, and knocking (importuning). We don't always ask, so how do we expect to receive. We might not always seek so as to discover. We may not realize it, but when there seems to be no answer, we might need to make the request over and over again. It doesn't mean God isn't listening, it could just mean he is waiting on us to be ready to receive, act, or change the course we have taken.

Ask (aiteo) - ask for with urgency. This word speaks to the attitude of a suppliant (one who makes a humble, earnest plea or entreaty), the petitioning of one who is lesser in position than he to whom the petition is made. To ask means to call on for an answer, which indicates that we believe there is someone listening. It also implies that we expect Him to answer. Ask is present imperative indicating that we are to keep on asking. This is to become the pattern of our life, a continual act of devotion. Jesus calls us to be in His presence continually.

Seek (zeteo) means to attempt to learn something by carefully investigating it or searching for it. Seeking is asking plus acting, implying that type of earnest petitioning that is coupled with an active endeavoring to see needs fulfilled. When you seek something, you rearrange your priorities so that you can search for what you desire until you find it. If we don't receive by asking, we seek. If we don't receive by seeking, we knock.

Knock (krouo) - to rap at a door for entrance, but then to keep on knocking. The English word "knock" comes from German word meaning to press for what you desire. The idea might imply praying in the face of difficulty or resistance. If you knock like this, you don't give up on expressing your need. You keep on pressing, until you receive the answer.

We might ask, but do we seek? If we don't receive what we need the first time we ask, do we keep our eyes and ears open to discover what God might want to teach in the moment? Search out God's answers. Don't just expect them to fall into your lap. When you learn to ask, seek, and knock, you learn to lean on Jesus more than on your own ability or strength. Just sayin!

The clock is ticking

Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. (Theodore Roosevelt)

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. ...Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11)

How do we use our time? Is it wisely, or a little too frivolously? Colossians 4:5 reminds us to make 'wise use of our time' - influencing all those who are 'outsiders' to the faith. Grace isn't something this world is accustomed to receiving, so when we reveal grace in and through our lives, we are being a positive influence on this hurting world. James reminds us we don't know what tomorrow will bring, so we had best be doing what God asks of us today, for none of us is assured a tomorrow. For everything there is a season. What season is upon you right now? I think God wants us to learn to take every activity, submit it to him, and then make the most of those activities.

God takes the things that happen within the space of time we call today to use them for many a tomorrow, regardless of whether we see tomorrow or not. We can be assured when we seek his plan for our day, then walk within that plan, those 'things' we accomplish will lay a foundation for what will happen tomorrow. We may not see the impact of a life lived well until much, much later. Every action we take today has an influence. Obedience isn't always going to be easiest choice, but each step God asks us to take today is meant for today, not tomorrow! We may think we can procrastinate with the things God asks us to do - yet there is no compromise in God's timing. 

Time is a fleeting thing - we don't hold it, nor can we make it last any longer. We may have one moment to make a right decision but feel ill-prepared for the decision at hand. Maybe this is why God emphasizes the importance of making time for him first - so we will be better prepared. If we get into God's Word, spend time in prayerful meditation upon what we have read, and just take a wee bit of time to listen to what he may want us to do, we might just redeem time a bit. God may ask us to 'do' something, but he could very well ask us to 'give' something. When we listen to his voice in this moment in time, we may just find his direction actually makes for a wise use of time indeed. Just sayin!

The movement God requires

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (Psalm 23:1) Take note, it is all we NEED, not all we WANT. We might want things that aren't always all that beneficial for us to have, but God knows what we NEED and he always works things to meet those needs. John reminds us, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (10:27) Whose voice do you hear most - God's or your own? Who we listen to the most might just be the factor in what it is we pursue!

Sheep know the voice of the Shepherd. It is how sheep know how to follow THEIR shepherd and not wander away with just 'any old shepherd' who calls for them to come their way. Sheep might 'intermingle' while grazing in the field, but when they hear the voice of their master, they know when it is time to separate and go where he leads. We might 'intermingle' a bit with this world and hear all the voices calling to us to 'come', but there is only one voice we are actually 'tuned' to hear!

Do baby sheep know the shepherd's voice? Probably not at first. In fact, they need to follow their 'flock mates' a bit at first, until they get the hang of it. Maybe this is why it is so important for a new Christian to get into a good group of believers when they come to Christ. They need to learn to hear his voice, and until they do, they need to be around those who can already hear it as distinct from all the other voices beckoning unto them. Exodus 23:2 reminds us, "“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong." Be sure the crowd you are with are actually following the right Shepherd!

Everything belongs to God - this is how he can provide for each of our needs. We won't 'want' because he has every means to make provision for our need. When God does not immediately meet our need, does that mean he isn't going to, or that he is unable to meet it? Absolutely not! It means he has another plan - a purpose in how and when he will meet our need. As an example, we may want to buy a new car, but he knows there is a slightly used one perfect to meet our need and he is working out all the details to have our need met. Learning to listen to his voice is key to understanding when and where our needs will be met.

The sheep follow the shepherd because they know he has their good in mind. He always leads them to green pastures so they are nourished. He knows the watering holes so they are able to drink deeply. He provides shaded rest for them because he knows they cannot endure the heat forever. When the sheep listen to his voice, the good they need is always about to be provided. Might they have to move to obtain it? Yes, but in the movement God requires there is so much more than we might have ever expected. Just sayin!

Stop, ask, then listen

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:5)

How many times do we launch into life's daily activities, then come up against something that kind of bewilders us? It is likely at least once in a while for all of us, but sometimes this happens quite frequently - especially when life seems to be throwing you curve ball after curve ball. Sadly, I think a great many of us attempt to muddle through in our own effort, only stopping to ask for help from God when we get things so messed up that we cannot figure our own way out! We reveal a lot about ourselves by doing so - a lot about our pridefulness, stubbornness, and self-focus!

If we don't know what we are doing, why don't we stop to ask for help? H.G. Wells always said, "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." How many of us have 'fallen down', attempting to do things without asking for direction or help, only to find ourselves falling down again and again as we repeatedly face the same hurdle? How much wiser would it be to just 'stop', 'ask', and 'listen'? I didn't say it would be easier, because when we have to actually go through the process of asking and listening, it requires us to STOP. Whatever it is, we have to STOP, ask, and then listen - that means we don't take a step forward until we have sought the direction we are to take.

I think we want to make good decisions, but we don't like to admit we need the wisdom of Christ to make them. We need only look as far as the Book of Proverbs to find repeated instruction in how to move - when to move, how to move, and when it is wiser to just not move at all. We have wisdom at our disposal, but do we STOP long enough to consider it? As we explored yesterday, we have to ask honestly - not with only 'half-truths' or 'insinuations' of our real need. When we are vulnerable like that, God can answer us with the wisdom we really need to work through the problems at hand. We will only 'stand up' today because we stopped long enough to learn from yesterday's mistakes and missteps. Just sayin!