Matthew 7:7,8 Ask, Seek, Knock
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (NIV).
I’ve been told that in the Greek this is written in the “imperative present” tense. In English it is the “present perfect progressive” tense. That simply means that ask, seek, and knock are continuing—they have been going on in the past, they are going on now, and they will continue in the future. The implication is that we should not stop asking, be persistent in prayer. In Luke 18 Jesus told a parable that illustrated that we should “always pray and not lose heart” (NIV). An unjust judge was being asked to do something by a widow, and he refused, but she kept on asking. Finally, he relented and did as she asked. The point being, if an unjust judge does this, shall not God hear His own who call upon Him persistently?
In the above paragraph, I said that these words were written in the “imperative present” tense. Matthew Henry says that “imperative” means, “asking insistently without qualms as a suppliant, but not demanding.” We have the right to ask of God but not to demand of Him. David Jeremiah says that God will answer, and His answer may be “no,” or “slow,” or “grow,” or “go.”
A “no” answer means that what is being asked may be harmful. A “slow” answer means not yet, the timing is not right. A “grow” answer obviously means that I need to grow before I can make correct use of what I have been asking, and a “go” answer means,” Yes,it’s yours; go with it.”
Asking is often the first step in a learning process. We ask, and God tells us to seek. We seek His Word, meditate on it, then read it again, and meditate upon it some more until we understand what all is involved in what we have been asking. Then we humbly go back to knock on God’s door and ask for His wisdom in what we have asked.
Yes, asking, seeking, and knocking are means by which we get our prayers answered. Sometimes all three go in order, and sometimes each one may be a stand--alone. In any case, we are talking with God and deepening our relationship with Him and that is always worthwhile.
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