Be Asking, Be Seeking, Be Knocking
Tony Nester
Matthew 7:7-11
7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
When my wife, Evelyn, was diagnosed with cancer I immediately began praying for her healing. I often called to mind Jesus words in Matthew 7:7-8:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
As long as the cancer hadn’t spread my prayers were easy to pray. But when then cancer turned metastatic and Evelyn became increasingly ill, my prayers became more desperate and it became harder to believe that Jesus was telling the truth. When she died after a two-year battle with the cancer, it was even harder to believe in Jesus’ words.
In most congregations there are members who don’t attend anymore because some suffering or loss has afflicted them, and they can’t accept a god that wouldn’t answer their prayers to avoid that suffering or loss. They asked, and what they asked for wasn’t given. They sought and what they sought after they didn’t find. They knocked and that door wasn’t opened.
So, then, is Jesus telling the truth? I believe he is. But I don’t say this easily. Prayer isn’t always easy; it’s often quite hard. And this directive of Jesus to ask, seek, and knock gives us a great gospel promise, but it is a promise that can test our souls. So we need to look carefully at what Jesus says.
...
Tony Nester
Matthew 7:7-11
7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
When my wife, Evelyn, was diagnosed with cancer I immediately began praying for her healing. I often called to mind Jesus words in Matthew 7:7-8:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
As long as the cancer hadn’t spread my prayers were easy to pray. But when then cancer turned metastatic and Evelyn became increasingly ill, my prayers became more desperate and it became harder to believe that Jesus was telling the truth. When she died after a two-year battle with the cancer, it was even harder to believe in Jesus’ words.
In most congregations there are members who don’t attend anymore because some suffering or loss has afflicted them, and they can’t accept a god that wouldn’t answer their prayers to avoid that suffering or loss. They asked, and what they asked for wasn’t given. They sought and what they sought after they didn’t find. They knocked and that door wasn’t opened.
So, then, is Jesus telling the truth? I believe he is. But I don’t say this easily. Prayer isn’t always easy; it’s often quite hard. And this directive of Jesus to ask, seek, and knock gives us a great gospel promise, but it is a promise that can test our souls. So we need to look carefully at what Jesus says.
...
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