Ask Seek Knock
In previous teachings, we’ve been exploring God’s deliverance and victory in our lives and how we can walk out in that and live it. Today, we are going to look at the importance of asking, seeking, and knocking for deliverance in every aspect of our lives.
Matthew 7:7 AMP1:
Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.
These verses are familiar, but I want you to see that this is more than a progression; it is a lifestyle.
We ask, but we must keep on asking. We have to seek, and then we have to keep on seeking. We knock, and we keep on knocking. And then we go back and start it over again. Ask, seek, knock is part of our lifestyle.
Matthew 7:8 AMP:
For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.
This is how we live our lives. As we keep reading, we see what this means for our lives.
Matthew 7:9 NET2:
Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Today, we don’t see a parallel between bread and a stone, but in the east, at that time, bread was round and looked like a stone. But no good parent would mix them up and give their child a stone. It’s the same idea in verse 10.
Matthew 7:10 NET:
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
A good parent knows what is good or not good for their child. God also knows what is good for us and what is not good for us.
These verses are rhetorical questions, a kind of figure of speech that helps us to think, “Oh! Like good parents, God doesn’t get confused between what is good and bad for us.” We see this in verse 11.
Matthew 7:11 NET:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more [kema] will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
“How much more” is translated from one word, kema. The answer is very powerfully in the affirmative. How much more than a loving father loving his child and wanting good things for him—how much more will our loving Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?
Of course, He’s going to do more. He’s the greatest Father there is! This is a very affirmative statement. God is going to give us good things when we ask Him.
Let’s look at a similar idea in the gospel of Luke.
Luke 11:5–7 NLT:
5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’
We have to understand this from the perspective of the culture at that time and not from our own ideas. When a family rolled out the bed to sleep, it would block the door. So it would be very inconvenient to get everyone up and roll up the bed again in order to go and get some bread and open the door.
Luke 11:8 NLT:
But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
This is a parallel regarding asking for good things. In this case, the man didn’t get up and give bread just because his friend had a need. He gave because the neighbor was so persistent.
But the context is about having a need. When we have a need, we should ask, seek, and knock.
Luke 11:13 NET:
If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The earlier passage said “good things,” but here we see that the best thing that God gives if the gift of Holy Spirit. From that Holy Spirit within, so much more becomes possible.
James 1:5 NLT:
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Part of that package of Holy Spirit is to have the wisdom of Christ (Christ has become for us wisdom from God, 1 Corinthians 1:30). We need wisdom, so we get busy asking for wisdom.
James 1:6 NET:
But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.
Doubt is something that prevents us from receiving something we asked for. And to doubt means to be divided in your mind. One part of your mind says this, and another part says that.
Here’s an example I learned a long time ago when I needed tuition for a Christian training program. I was about $1,500 short of what was needed. I did everything I could think of but was still short. But once I reached the point where I didn’t know what else to do, I realized that I was divided in my mind. I was thinking that I really didn’t deserve it. On the one hand, I thought that God could take care of my needs, but on the other hand, I thought that maybe someone else deserved it more than I did. All kinds of thoughts went back and forth in my mind.
While I was emotionally upset, I just happened to call my grandmother. She asked me why I sounded so upset, and I just blurted it out. My grandmother said, “Why didn’t you ask me for help?” I responded that I didn’t think she had extra money to give away. She told me that all she has belongs to God. She asked me if I thought that God would want me to have the money to learn His Word more? She ended up giving me all the money I needed.
James 4:3 NET:
You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.
The King James version says “lusts.” The word simply means your own desires. But Psalm 37:4 says that God will give you your heart’s desires. Desire itself is not the issue, the issue is what is the desire for? Is it just for your own gain or selfish purposes? What if it’s a godly desire? Asking for spiritual matters, such as for wisdom, is certainly not a bad desire. These next verses should clarify it.
1 John 5:14–15 NLT:
14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
Let’s look at it in the King James version, where it’s easier to see the a figure of speech that’s used here.
1 John 5:14–15 NLT:
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
There is a figure of speech like repetition here. In the Aramaic, the words ask, petition, and desire all come from the same root. You could think of it like, “whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the askings that we have asked of him.” The emphasis is on asking.
It’s so great that this is the confidence we have if we ask anything according to his will.
Part of our seeking is seeking to learn what God’s will is. God created the heavens and the earth; don’t you think He can supply what you need? Let’s look closely at seeking.
Matthew 6:33 ESV3:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
We should be seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We seek the will of the Father. Seeking includes the idea of being diligent about it.
Hebrews 11:6 NET:
Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. To seek means to seek with care, to investigate. Think about diligently seeking God as you read all the examples of people in Hebrews 11.
Did Noah suddenly get his answer? No. He diligently sought God’s will for 120 years before the flood came. And we complain when we have to wait a few weeks for an answer to prayer. How long did Abraham wait from the time God gave him the promise? We need to be patient.
Proverbs 2:1–4 KJV:
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
What a great example of how we seek and cry out (ask) for insight and understanding. There are three pairs here:
- Incline your ear and apply your heart
- Cry after knowledge and lift up your voice (ask) for understanding
- Seek and search.
Think about how they searched for silver back then. They didn’t have explosives to blow through the rock. They had to use picks, shovels, and muscles. The Book of Job describes mining for silver. And they had to search. They had to look for a silver vein. Once they found it, they had to follow wherever it led. And they didn’t stop when they hit an obstruction.
It’s similar with the treasures in God’s Word. It takes effort and diligence to seek them out.
We seek until we find the answer. We keep seeking and don’t give up.
Isaiah 31:1 NET:
Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead; those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt’s many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the Lord.
We don’t seek the opinions of people, but we seek God’s will first.
Jeremiah 29:11–14a NET:
11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. 12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. 13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, 14 I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord.
“Knocking” is a funny thing. There are no other places that the word “knock” is used except in the sections dealing with ask, seek, and knock. We have our own idea of what it means to knock.
Revelation 3:20 NET:
Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.
The old way of knocking was to call out or shout at someone’s door. So knocking is about crying out. And there are hundreds of verses that talk about calling out or crying out. For example, Psalm 881; 107:6, 13, 19, and 28.
We’ve talked about three steps: ask, seek, and knock. The third step is knocking or crying out. Sometimes, when we call out to God, we are not looking for some heavy revelation, but just to know that God is there.
Instead of focusing on our problem, we focus on God.
Mark 10:46–52 NET:
46 They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” 50 He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.
This is a great example of really crying out. He wasn’t timid about it, and he didn’t let other people’s opinions dissuade or discourage him. In that culture, Bartimaeus’s cloak or mantle was like a license to beg. This beggar’s cloak indicated his permission to sit by the road and beg. When he threw off his cloak, that indicated his faith; he believed he would no longer need the beggar’s cloak.
Psalm 18 was written when God delivered David from the hand of Saul, who had been chasing him for years. David hadn’t had a “home” in a while because he was being pursued and always had to be ready to run. There’s an interesting note in most versions or translations right before the first verse in Psalm 18. In the NLT, the note reads:
“A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. He sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:”
Psalm 18:1–3 NLT:
I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
David called on God, and God delivered.
In Psalm 107 there are many verses of praise between cries. Cried out, then praised, then cried, then praised, then cried, then praised….
Psalm 107:6–7 NLT:
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.
Psalm 18:6 NLT:
But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.
You should read all of Psalm 18. Look at verse 46.
Psalm 18:46–49 NLT:
46 The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! 47 He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he subdues the nations under me 48 and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. 49 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
We’re all heathens at some point. But we should give thanks for deliverance ahead of time, in the middle, and also after it’s done. Then God week get the glory out of everything that we ask or seek.
Don’t forget that when you ask, God hears.
Philippians 4:6 NET:
Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.
Whatever you are facing, don’t be anxious, but bring your requests to God. Seek and don’t give up. Cry out to God with thanksgiving. Ask, seek, and knock. And when you get your answer, praise God!
This teaching is also available on the Acts Now Fellowship website.
Footnotes:
- Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the AMPLIFIED Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987, 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) ↩︎
- Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright © 1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.netbible.com. All rights reserved. ↩︎
- Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ↩︎
See Also:
From the Acts Now Fellowship website:
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