Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
– Matthew 7:7-11
There is a saying you have probably heard often. I don’t know if it will eventually find its place among the great proverbs of history, but it has proven to have generational endurance. I will begin the saying, then see if you can finish it. Ready? “Be careful what you ask for…” (Pause to let you respond) Yes, be careful, because “you just might get it.” Countless examples could be cited from human experience, some from our own lives, of times when we received what we asked/wished/hoped for and found that the result was far different than what we expected. What this teaches us is not that we should avoid asking or hoping, but rather that we have a limited ability to know fully how things will turn out once our requests have been fulfilled. To put it another way, we don’t know if the gift will be as good as we think it will be.
The first thing we should keep in mind is that Jesus has already laid a foundation to these verses in Matthew 6, culminating in verse 33 with the exhortation to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” If we hear Jesus’ words of “ask and you will receive” in the fashion of Aladdin rubbing his lamp, we misunderstand the framework of what Jesus is teaching. Those rightly prepared to receive Jesus’ invitation are the children of God whose hearts are set upon heavenly treasures. Unfortunately this idea has been perverted into something by which people are encouraged to lay divine claim to whatever they want. There are reasons that seem obvious as to why such an interpretation is in error. The witness of scripture does not portray God as one who can be turned into a cosmic vending machine to be used at our disposal. Further, from the perspective of one who is under the protective eye of our Heavenly Father, it does not stand to reason that a good God will give us what is ultimately destructive in our lives.
Which leads to the other observation regarding this passage. Jesus’ words are not just about asking, seeking, and knocking; they are a clear revelation regarding the nature of God. We find here one of several places in the Bible where the author employs a “how much more” device. The pattern is simple: “If this is true, then how much more must that be true.” Here, Jesus uses the strategy to reveal the goodness of God by comparing the Heavenly Father to earthly parents. Most earthly parents try to be good to their children. Some do not, which is tragic, but I think overall parents at least want to be good to their children. Jesus begins making his case with this very observation. If you, as a human parent, are approached by your child asking for something good, your natural response is not to give the child something bad instead. And the remarkable thing is that we do this even being imperfect parents who are bent to sin and prone to error. Therefore, if good things for the children can come from an earthly parent like me, how much more will good things come from a Heavenly Father who is holy and the source of “every good thing and every perfect gift” (James 1:17)?
I am persuaded that many of us could experience more of God’s goodness if we simply became better askers. While “asker” may not be an actual word, I believe this is exactly what Jesus is inviting us to become. In his piercing style, the apostle James exposes two failures on our part. We do not receive because we do not ask, and we ask yet do not receive because we ask with wrong motives (James 4:2-3). We can remedy both of these in becoming better askers. Better askers will be diligent to seek the Kingdom in all things. Selfish motives have a way of sneaking into our prayers; we will benefit by catching them and putting them upon the altar of sacrifice. When we have done that, we can feel more free to ask boldly, seek passionately, knock enthusiastically on the door of heaven’s storehouse. Imagine how much goodness God desires to pour out upon those who earnestly seek Him. Thankfully he opens the door of the storehouse daily simply out of grace. How much more could we receive if we just became better askers?
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 