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Are we good at asking, seeking, and knocking?
Sometimes we may wonder why our prayers go unanswered. We might feel we are constantly searching, reaching, striving for something, only to see doors shut in our faces.
But what if we are doing the asking, seeking, and knocking all wrong? What if we are still not getting what the asking, seeking, and knocking are all about?
Only recently did I realize, it’s not at all about me, or what I want, or what I think I need. If I’m out of sync with God’s plan, no matter how much I ask, seek, and knock… I’m locked out.
In our spiritual journey, it is not always about having the right answers but rather about asking the right questions.
The more I learn about the first disciples, the more I respect their struggles, faith, and trust. In witnessing Jesus’s words and actions they were filled with awe and full of questions.
As we listen, read, and meditate on the Gospels today, our human mind is still challenged. As we deepen our understanding, new seeds of wisdom, seemingly hidden in plain sight, bloom all over.
One of such precious seeds was gifted to us by Jesus Christ, and recorded by Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount.
We’ll be meditating on different sections of the Beatitudes in future posts. For now, let’s hone in on Matthew 7: 7-12.
Matthew 7: 7-12
Jesus went up to a mountain and sat down to teach his disciples and all those who gathered to him, saying…
“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Matthew 7: 7-8
A few years back, I wrote a short essay aiming to encourage fellow educators to grow in their careers by being proactive. Looking for a powerful way to bring the message home, I remembered Matthew 7: 7-8.
But back then, I was living, thinking, and writing from a secular worldview, a set of materialistic and self-centered values.
I thought asking, seeking, and knocking was the perfect strategy, the perfect angle to take for career advancement. I was wrong.
Ask: What are we asking?
I realized that my conversations with God sounded pretty one-sided. It was mostly about “me, me, me.” I was also venting complaints, doubts, fears, and worries.
I’d always counsel others to ask God for what they wanted or needed and ask it well, be specific. And I still think that’s good advice, because, in the act of asking well, we have to pause, think, and reflect about what is truly important in our lives.
But, are we forgetting to ask God for the humility to accept and surrender to His will?
We have to ask God for the graces and virtues that will help us face the challenges of life. Faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude. By asking for God’s assistance, through the Holy Spirit, we may grow these and other virtues every day.
“Or what man of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? … how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7: 9-11
Seek: Who are we seeking?
Are we after our idea of what or how it should be? Are we seeking the fulfillment of our will?
It happens to everyone, the more we look for something the longer it takes us to find it, and some never do. The more we strive after something, the more elusive it becomes.
Seeking after our wants and fulfillment of our human will apart from the will of God was the cause of our great fall.
But it’s only by seeking God first that we find what we truly need. When we seek God, we seek light, a light strong enough to break through and pull us out of darkness.
In darkness, we might be able to keep searching blindly and find our way forward for a time. But, apart from God, searching and seeking on our own, we’ll eventually stumble and fall.
Knock: Where are we knocking?
I had been going on a spiritual journey, and I had lost my way. I began desperately knocking on every door I could find.
The exercise of knocking is humbling. You can keep knocking on doors. Some might open, and you may find something useful inside, some help, something that might work, for a while.
In the world, there are many doors one could walk through, many man-made doors that open into man-made paths, to achieve man-made goals. One door always leads to another.
There’s only one door that matters, one door we should knock on first. The door of the temple that we carry within our hearts. It’s always open, and there is Jesus, teaching, fasting, and praying.
The Power of Prayer
Prayer is the key that unlocks the door; when we pray, as Jesus taught us to pray. In the Our Father, we humble ourselves to the fulfillment of His Kingdom and His will.
We ask for the graces that will allow us to be nourished by the Word, to be able to forgive and receive forgiveness, to keep steadfast to the path of righteousness, and for deliverance.
After teaching about asking, seeking, and knocking, Matthew 7:12 ends with another version of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (from Luke 6:31,) or the Golden Rule.
“So whatever you wish that men will do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 7: 12
Why? Because repetition is key, and the Golden Rule is that important. If we want to be able to receive, we must be willing to give first. Just as we must forgive before we are forgiven, we must be willing to:
- Listen before we speak (and before we ask.)
- Let ourselves be found by Him, and be available and accessible, particularly to our family, friends, and neighbors.
- Open the doors of our hearts; welcome and love God and others, including our neighbor and our enemy.
Jesus is encouraging us to ask, seek, and knock on God’s door through prayer. Ask humbly, seek obediently, knock lovingly.
If you like to ponder these subjects, join us as we tend and grow these humble mustard seeds. We hope you’ll be inspired to sow your own. Come back weekly, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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