What Does It Mean To Ask, Seek, & Knock

Edited 01/26/2021 – I am so sorry to previous readers. There was some bad theology in the original post to which I have edited. 

2021 Update Explanation: So when I originally wrote this post in 2018, I was participating in mysticism, and I did not know it. I thought God was revealing things to me in my thoughts while I prayed to Him. I was not using scripture enough to guide me. I used scripture…but then I broaden it with my thinking. I was part of the Seeker-Driven movement, and I did not know the teachers and pastors I trusted… were false teachers, like Rick Warren and trying to figure out my purpose. 

Many things in the Seeker-Driven movement seem “right” and “Christian” but also kinda vague, and works-based. The teachings seem good on the outside, but on the inside they were really empty, confusing, and sometimes simply frustrating.

The original post below was full of vague explanations, at the time, I thought were really insightful. Sadly, I looked at ask, seek, and knock as three separate steps. I thought it was a ground-breaking discovery, and I was ignorant that I was on dangerous territory with this mindset. What I shared below, overall, was vague and works-based theology. I talked about drawing closer to God, misrepresented the Trinity, and my usage of scripture was horrible. I’m sorry. I recant of what I used to do. I repent and am in the process of editing all of my previous blog posts, like this one. Below is completely edited and it honestly is a new post. But I want to keep this one as a reminder for anyone, and myself. There is hope in Jesus, and He alone is the only answer we will ever need! 

Asking, seeking, and knocking is not a major secret. They all relate to understanding the same things.

(ESV) Matthew 7:07-08, “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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

Before We Ask Anything Else We Need To Put Our Faith In Christ & Seek Repentance 

Now, Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He is referred to as the Word. He is God. One Person of the Trinity. We cannot ask anything unless we have first put our faith in Jesus Christ. In order to do that, we need to understand that we all are sinners. We cannot purchase our salvation by good works. Our works, in fact, scripture describes as filthy rags. But Jesus, who is God, and came down taking our form as a Man, lived out a perfect life. He did not sin, He did not use being God to His advantage, He lived as a man, that’s why He can understand everything a human goes through and suffers. He was not born in sin, unlike everyone else who is under sin because of the first Adam. (Christ is the second Adam.) Jesus’ perfection made Him the perfect sacrifice to take our place and experience God’s wrath, what we rightly deserve. This is what it means for Christ to atone for our sins. He redeemed us and purchased us by His blood. We are justified because the righteousness of Christ (not our own) is imputed to us. For a further explanation please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?) – Scripture References: John 14:06, Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10, Isaiah 64:06, Philippians 2:06, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Hebrews 9:14, Colossians 2:13-14, Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:24-25

When we put our faith in Him and confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the power of grace, my friends! It is completely undeserved. (1 John 1:09, Romans 11:06)

Now, what about asking, seeking, and knocking? How do we apply this teaching in our lives?

The Bible Has The Answers We Might Ask Questions About 

Let’s start, at the beginning. We have questions, well, the word of God has answers. Everything we do needs to be about Christ. He is the door. He is where we receive our answers, Christ is the One we can ask our questions to in prayer, and He is Who we need to be seeking on a consistent basis. It’s that simple.

(ESV) 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

(ESV) Matthew 4:04, “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

We do not have to seek the Lord anywhere else to find answers. The Lord is a genius, He is beyond the best definition of what it even means to be a genius. In His infinite wisdom, He has provided all the answers we will need to know in the scriptures. We do not need spirit guides, we do not need dreams or symbols, it is all there for us. The word of God does not change or adapt, no matter what anyone says. God does not change, therefore, His word does not change, either. (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 13:08) 

(ESV) James 1:05, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” 

We are told to ask in prayer for wisdom and trust that God will give us wisdom! How awesome is that?! And He gives us wisdom through the scriptures. I have prayed about various topics and for the Lord to minister to me through His word, He has. Reading scripture helps, and I mean reading in order, not treating the text like a magic 8 ball. Also, listening to godly men and women has helped me understand the context of scripture better. (Post | Godly Men & Women I Recommend)

The Importance Of Asking, Seeking, And Knocking Regarding Scripture 

• (ESV) Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”
• (ESV) Proverbs 1:17, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
• (ESV) Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
• (ESV) John 8:47, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
• (ESV) John 1:01, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Discussing Jesus. 

Prayer is how we ask the Lord for things, healings, help, guidance, as well as praise Him and give Him thanks. Scripture helps us understand how prayers get answered. God is Sovereign. Everything that we go through is not new to Him. Since we are fallen, we do experience a fallen world and trials are not foreign for the Christian to go through. In fact, Christians are not going to be spared from experiencing trials and sorrows. (James 1:03-04, Romans 8:28)

Take heart, however, that God lets nothing happen without a reason. He can use all things for His glory and our refinement. This does not mean it is easy or comfortable, but it does mean we are not alone. Jesus has sent us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who also helps us by convicting of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. (John 16:08) 

Sometimes an answer to a prayer may be no because it was not God’s will, and other times God’s timing is not our timing. These trials of waiting are often about putting our trust in the Lord, not ourselves or our weak sense of control we think we have in the world and in our circumstances. During these times, we especially need to be seeking Him in His word, in prayer, and through worshipping Him in our lives. My friend, if we are seeking Him consistently, then when troubles hit it won’t shake us as badly because our strength is not in ourselves, but Christ alone. (Proverbs 3:05-06, Psalm 37:05) 

Asking:

• Must be related to God’s will
• Scripture gives us information on specific things we can pray about and receive answers of yes on. Like asking for wisdom!
• Scripture also helps us understand why God may answer no on some prayers or why some people get particular yes’ and other people get particular no’s.

Seeking:

• We seek the Lord in His word, and scripture instructs us.
• His word explains what it means to follow Jesus and be Christ-like
• We are to be obedient to the Lord and follow His ways.
• Jesus gives us the Comforter to help convict us.

Knocking is about persistence and I would think being consistent relates to this. Do not cease from praying, reading scripture, worshipping the Lord in your life, and fellowshipping with others. Obey His commands. What are His commands?

• (ESV) Mark 12:30-31, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
• (ESV) 1 John 4:06, “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” The apostle John was warning that false teachers do not uphold the scriptures of the apostles are not to be trusted. They do not love the Lord their God. 
• (ESV) 1 John 4:07-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

You see, it all goes back to Jesus and the Gospel.

And Jesus is the Door.

(ESV) Revelation 3:19-20, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

(ESV) John 10:09, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Ask, it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened.

Go to Jesus. Put your faith in Him. He is the answer to all things. 

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(NIV) Psalm 37:04, “Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

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