Ask and Ye Shall Receive
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Would you have this promise? Would you have the opportunities opened to you, or those you are praying for?
The first thing we must do….is ask.
Well, that is nothing new….and it is not.
We need to “ask” for everything. We are so poor, so desperate,….that we are in need of everything from Him.
For without Him, we can do nothing.
We are called to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
And the first thing we need to know is,…….Is what we are asking for, according to His Will?
Well, if it is, then we can continue with the promise, for we will receive an answer.
We can then “seek, that we shall find”
Seeking requires effort.
If you are looking for something in one place, and it is in another place…..no matter how hard you look, you won’t find it there.
You must go where it is….to look for it.
For instance:
There are times that what we ask for…..is right before us.
But we refuse to see it…..because it is not what we think it ought to be, or the way it ought to be.
(I must tell you, I have many a discussion with the Lord about “the way” He is doing things….the people He used to show me things….the times of waiting on Him to speak.)
Simple Example: When my daughter was younger, she had a paper route, she walked around every evening. I was not always home at the time she left, but about half the time I was.
I had been praying about losing a little weight, for my health….as I was getting older, and I thought the Lord would give me directions for diet, or exercises…..but what He said was….”go out on the paper route with your daughter.”
First, I thought this ridiculous (yes, I was the ridiculous one)…..because it was her job, and “I thought” it would be taking some of that responsibility away from her.
But, the Lord insisted….and I went….every time I was home to go. It helped my knees, my breathing…..but it also gave us time to talk…..about something….about nothing things.
And it led to some conversations with other people I had not officially met, and some prayers shared.
Did the Lord know what He was doing? Of course!!! And it was right in front of me the whole time! God is so good!
So we “seek” the means or the way the Lord wants to show us the door, that needs to be opened.
So many examples….
Moses’ shepherd’s rod….just a shepherd’s rod (Exodus 4:2-5)…..but in God’s Way, it was used……before Pharaoh, at the Red Sea, bringing water from the rock, holding it up in battle. (This was a means for Moses….God had him use it all the time)
David before Goliath…..stones and a sling, instead of Saul’s armor. (1 Samuel 17:38-40)
David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem….using the wrong means at first, for they did not seek His Way….but then bringing it up after God’s “due order”, in joy.(2 Samuel 6:3-15)
Daniel praying for Jerusalem…..should he continue, or follow a decree that was wrong, and be thrown into a lion’s den? (Daniel 6:5-23)
Paul and Silas in jail…..when the earthquake came…..they remained in jail, not moving until the Lord gave permission….to the saving of a jailer.(acts 16:25-34)
And my daughter and I. Our relationship was good….but so much better after I began to go out with her……an opened door that would not have been,…..had I rejected God’s Word to me.
When we find the door, we are to “knock” at the “door”.
This is the doing, the obedience to God’s answer; for He will open it at the right time.
When we ask…..we are to receive the answer. Sometimes that is it…..the answer given, we are done.
In some cases, we need to seek the means for further instruction as to how to find the door we need to knock on.
Some prayer seems simple: This person is troubled….”Lord help them find an answer, or comfort.”
But what if the Lord shows you that you are to seek a promise to claim for them…
Then, when you have it,…..you are to knock with that promise till the “door” is opened….whether it is a door within them….opened more to Jesus;
Or a “door” of opportunity,…a “door” of forgiveness,…..a “door” of liberty.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”
It is not calling Jesus, Lord…..but it is doing the Will of the Father that counts.
When the Lord Jesus has my will….then He will use my will to bring His Will to pass…..many different ways….but all His Way.
Because our Wills are One with His.
How many “doors” are still shut in our lives, or the lives of others……because we are not going the full way with the Lord,……and seeking,….and knocking?
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 