Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

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Bible Commentary

Matthew 7:7 is a popular Bible verse where Jesus answers our questions about prayer.

Ask, and it will be given to you

In essence, that’s what many of us think of when we hear the word “prayer” —asking God for things. Jesus tells us to ask! We can’t expect to receive something unless we first ask for it. Speak up!

Seek, and you will find

This statement goes a little deeper. The word “seek” in the Greek means: to worship God, desire, be about.

You might remember the story in Luke chapter 2 when Mary and Joseph lost track of Jesus, who was 12 years old at the time. They were on their way home from Jerusalem, and they thought He was in the company with them. They had gone a whole day by the time they discovered He wasn’t with them.

Luke 2:45 says “So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.”  They had searched for Him for three days when they finally found Him in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking questions.

Luke 2:48-49 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

There was a lot of earnest seeking going on in this story. Even before Jesus promised it in Matthew 7:7, He was fulfilling it in his parents’ lives. They found Jesus when they sought for Him. It took time, but they found Him.

Look at what Jesus was doing when his own parents were seeking. He was seeking His Father. The very meaning of “seek”: be about. That’s exactly what Jesus said. I must be about My Father’s business.

Unlocking the Truth – Riches of Christ

We will find Jesus when we seek Him. If He seems silent or we seem to have lost track of Him, let’s look at His example and be about our Father’s business.

If it seems to be taking a long period of time to find, then let’s be about our Father’s business and keep doing what we know to do–what He instructed us the last time we heard from Him.

Let’s look at a time when King David was desperate to hear from God.

Psalm 27:7-8 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

God had instructed him to “Seek My face.” Note He instructed David to seek His face, and not His hand. If our focus is only on God’s hand–seeking what God can give us, we are missing the best God has to offer, which is Himself.

It’s good to ask for things, just as the first part of Matthew 7:7 says, but as we mature in our spiritual development and grow in our relationship with Christ, we should begin to seek His face.

God told Abraham in Genesis 15:1, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

God wants all of us, and He wants to give us all of Him, but if we have tunnel vision and we’re only looking at His hand in our desperation for things, we’re missing the deeper beauty and blessing—the exceedingly great reward.

Knock to Open

The last part of Matthew 7:7 says knock, and it will be opened to you.

The word “knock” is a more visual action word, and more specific than the word “seek”. We can relate to it easily, picturing ourselves knocking on a door and the door being opened to us.

It means something different to each one of us, as we all have different circumstances and various challenges in our lives. If we’re unsure what God desires for us to do, we must go back to the first part of Matthew 7:7—Ask.

Everything we need and everything we want is in Jesus Christ. He reveals the treasures of His Kingdom to us as we seek Him. Our vision and understanding become clearer, and our desires become righteous as we seek His face.

As we ask, seek and knock, the kingdom of God rises up through us and among us. He is glorified in our lives in so many ways. He rewards us with Himself. What more could we ever want or need?

Study the Bible verse of Matthew 7:7, and practice asking, seeking and knocking to see the riches of Christ rise up in your life.

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