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“Ask, Seek, Knock” brings us face to face with one of the most powerful and, at the same time, most misunderstood areas of the Christian life: prayer that receives answers from God.
Let us look at what the Word of God says. The central scripture is:
> “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.”
> — Matthew 7:7–8
And again:
> “If you then, though you 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!”
> — Matthew 7:11
Linked with this is the promise of Jesus in John’s Gospel:
> “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
> You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
> — John 14:13–14
These are not casual statements. They are categorical, absolute, authoritative promises from the lips of Jesus Himself. The song simply echoes and restates these words:
> Ask and it will be given to you;
> seek and you will find;
> knock and the door will be opened to you…
> Ask, seek, knock—God answers those who come.
Our task is to understand:
This is not merely about “getting things from God.” This is about entering into the relationship of children with a Father and disciples with a Lord. It is about aligning ourselves with the will of God so that our prayers become the instruments by which His purposes are carried out on earth.
Matthew 7:7–11 stands within the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the longest continuous discourse of Jesus recorded in Scripture. In this sermon, Jesus is not speaking to unbelieving crowds as much as He is instructing those who are ready to be His disciples. He is describing the lifestyle of the kingdom of heaven—its character, its inner righteousness, and its relationship to the Father.
By the time we reach chapter 7, Jesus has already:
So the promise “Ask, seek, knock” is not given in isolation. It is given in the context of:
1. A people who acknowledge God as Father.
2. A lifestyle of obedience and heart-righteousness.
3. A rejection of hypocrisy and religious show.
4. A trust in God’s care, rather than in worldly security.
In Matthew 7, Jesus is moving toward the conclusion of the Sermon. He addresses:
So, “Ask, seek, knock” is part of a call to enter into the narrow way of true discipleship. It is not an isolated promise to indulge self-will, but an invitation to enter into a relationship where God is truly Father, and we are truly children, subject to His wisdom and His timing.
John 14:13–14, on the other hand, is spoken in a very different setting. This is the Upper Room discourse (John 13–17). Here Jesus is speaking to the eleven apostles on the night before His crucifixion. He is preparing them for His physical departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit. He reveals:
So John 14:13–14 is not a general statement to the crowds, but a covenant promise to disciples who will be filled with the Holy Spirit and commissioned to continue the works of Jesus. “Whatever you ask in my name” is addressed to those who are in His will, in His work, and in His Spirit.
Therefore, when the lyrics say:
> And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
> so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
> You may ask me for anything in my name,
> and I will do it.
We must place these words back into their context:
Only then do they carry their full meaning.
Let us look briefly at a few key words from these passages.
### 1. “Ask” — *aiteō* (αἰτέω)
In Matthew 7:7 — “Ask, and it will be given to you” — the Greek verb is *aiteō*. This word means “to ask, request, petition,” often used of a subordinate making a request of a superior. It carries the sense of presenting a need, looking to the greater one for supply.
The verb tense in Matthew 7:7 is present imperative:
“Keep on asking, and it will be given to you.”
This indicates not a single, casual request, but a continuing attitude of dependence and petition.
### 2. “Seek” — *zēteō* (ζητέω)
“Seek, and you will find.” The word *zēteō* means “to seek, search for, desire, strive after.” It is used for seeking God (Acts 17:27), seeking the kingdom (Matthew 6:33), even seeking to kill Jesus (John 7:1). It implies effort, intention, pursuit.
Again, the tense is present imperative:
“Keep on seeking, and you will find.”
It is an ongoing, diligent pursuit, not a half-hearted curiosity.
### 3. “Knock” — *krouō* (κρούω)
“Knock, and it will be opened to you.” *Krouō* means to knock at a door, to rap in order to gain entrance. It vividly pictures someone shut outside, desiring entrance, and persisting until the door opens.
Once more:
“Keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.”
So the combined idea is:
This threefold command intensifies. Asking concerns what we need. Seeking concerns what we pursue. Knocking concerns accessing what is currently closed.
### 4. “In My Name” — *en tō onomati mou* (ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου)
In John 14:13–14, Jesus says:
> “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
The phrase “in My name” is not a magical formula. The Greek expression *en tō onomati mou* means:
To ask “in His name” is to pray as one sent by Him, submitted to Him, representing His kingdom and His purposes. It is the prayer of a disciple, not of a spiritual consumer.
When we bring these words back into the lyrics—“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it”—we must read them as: “Anything that truly carries My name, truly represents My will, I commit Myself to perform.”
### Line by Line, Theme by Theme
Let us now take the main themes of the lyrics and place them under the searchlight of Scripture.
---
### 4.1 “Ask and it will be given to you…”
> Ask and it will be given to you;
> seek and you will find;
> knock and the door will be opened to you.
Here we have three progressive movements:
1. Asking – expressing dependence.
2. Seeking – investing ourselves.
3. Knocking – persevering until the barrier yields.
These three line up with other teaching of Scripture.
> “In everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
> “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Seeking is not passive. It is heart-engagement.
So, when the lyrics state this threefold command, they are echoing a life-pattern:
Jesus then adds a universal statement:
> “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.”
This “everyone” must be understood in line with the whole teaching of Scripture. It is not everyone indiscriminately, in any spiritual condition, asking for anything at all. Other passages qualify it:
“Everyone” in Matthew 7:8 is everyone who fulfills the conditions of genuine discipleship, trusts the Father, and approaches Him in faith and obedience. Their asking is not fleshly; it is born out of relationship.
The lyrics rightly reinforce the universality, but we must always hold it together with the conditions:
> For everyone who asks receives,
> and the one who seeks finds,
> and to the one who knocks
> the door will be opened.
> Ask, seek, knock—
> God answers those who come.
“Those who come” is the key phrase. Hebrews 11:6 confirms:
> “He who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.”
### 4.2 “If you then, though you are evil…”
> If you then, though you are evil,
> know how to give good gifts to your children,
> how much more will your Father in heaven
> give good gifts to those who ask Him!
Here Jesus exposes a fundamental truth about human nature and divine nature.
1. Human nature: “You… though you are evil.”
Jesus is not flattering us. He is stating the reality of inherited sin and moral corruption. Apart from the new birth, human nature is fallen.
2. Human goodness toward children: Despite being evil by nature, even sinful parents still desire to do good to their children. They feed, clothe, protect, and give gifts.
3. Divine nature: “How much more your Father in heaven….”
The “how much more” (*posō mallon*) is a rabbinic form of argument from the lesser to the greater. If even sinful humans do good for their children, how much more does the perfectly righteous, perfectly loving Father desire to do good to His children.
Luke 11:13 gives a parallel version:
> “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
So the “good gifts” in Matthew are ultimately centered in the greatest gift: the Holy Spirit, the Person through whom every other spiritual blessing flows (Ephesians 1:3).
When we pray, we are not twisting the arm of a reluctant deity. We are coming to a Father who is more willing to bless us than we are to be blessed. The barrier is not His reluctance, but often our unbelief, our wrong motives, or our failure to come at all.
James 4:2 says:
> “You do not have because you do not ask.”
The lyrics reflect this parental analogy:
> If you then, though you are evil,
> know how to give good gifts to your children,
> how much more will your Father in heaven
> give good gifts to those who ask Him!
This demolishes the picture of God as austere, distant, or disinterested. It anchors faith in the Father’s character, not in our feelings.
### 4.3 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name…”
> And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
> so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
> You may ask me for anything in my name,
> and I will do it.
Here we move from the Father’s heart to the Son’s authority. Jesus makes an astonishing promise:
Two crucial conditions are embedded in the words:
1. “In My name” – as we have seen, this implies:
It is not merely adding the phrase “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer. It is praying out of a life submitted to His lordship.
2. “So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
The ultimate purpose of answered prayer is not our comfort, but the Father’s glory in and through the Son. When God answers prayers that align with Jesus’ mission, the result is honor to the Father, testimony to the Son, and the advance of the kingdom.
So, this promise belongs particularly to those who are engaged in the works of Jesus (John 14:12). When the church is actively preaching the Gospel, driving out demons, healing the sick, and making disciples, it can lay hold of this promise with special boldness. Heaven stands behind such prayer.
Thus, when the lyrics say:
> You may ask me for anything in my name,
> and I will do it.
We must understand: *anything* that truly bears His name, His purpose, His character, His will.
### 4.4 “Ask in faith, seek with all your heart…”
> Ask in faith, seek with all your heart,
> knock and trust—
> your heavenly Father hears and gives.
This picks up several New Testament conditions for effective prayer:
1. Ask in faith — James 1:6–7:
> “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting… For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”
2. Seek with all your heart — Jeremiah 29:13; half-hearted seeking does not find God in His fullness.
3. Knock and trust — trust is an essential component. Psalm 37:5:
> “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.”
4. Your heavenly Father hears and gives — 1 John 5:14–15:
> “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us… we know that we have the requests we have asked of Him.”
The lyrics rightly connect faith, whole-heartedness, trust, and the Father’s response. This is not a mechanical formula. It is a relational dynamic. Faith is confidence in God’s character and His Word. Seeking is the engagement of our will and affections. Knocking is perseverance. All of this operates under the assurance: “Your Father hears and gives.”
Now we must ask: How do we translate these promises into daily practice? How do we “ask, seek, knock” in a way consistent with Scripture?
I will outline four key steps, expressed both as instruction and as proclamations you can make.
### Step 1: Establish God as Your Father Through Jesus Christ
These promises are addressed to children—those who truly have God as their Father. This is only possible through new birth, through faith in Jesus Christ.
John 1:12–13:
> “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…”
Before you can confidently ask, seek, and knock, you must be sure of your relationship.
Practical action:
Proclamation:
> “Through faith in Jesus Christ, I am a child of God. God is my Father. I am no longer a stranger or an enemy. I belong to His family and come to Him as His child.”
### Step 2: Align Your Will with God’s Will Through the Word
The more you saturate your mind with Scripture, the more your desires and requests begin to line up with God’s will. Then your asking becomes effective.
John 15:7:
> “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
The Word and prayer must never be separated. The Word reveals God’s will; prayer applies it.
Practical action:
Proclamation:
> “I submit my will to God’s will as revealed in His Word. I choose to ask according to His purposes, not my own selfish desires. His Word abides in me and shapes my prayers.”
### Step 3: Practice Persistent, Faith-Filled Asking, Seeking, Knocking
Obedience to Matthew 7:7 is not a one-time act but a lifestyle.
Ask: Present clear, definite requests to God. Avoid vague, general prayers.
Seek: Pursue God Himself, not just His gifts. Prioritize His presence, His kingdom, His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Knock: When you meet resistance, do not give up. Stand on the promise. Return again in prayer. Refuse to let unbelief settle in your heart.
Luke 18:7–8:
> “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?”
Practical action:
Proclamation:
> “I will keep on asking, I will keep on seeking, I will keep on knocking. I refuse to draw back in unbelief. My Father is faithful, and in His time and way He will answer.”
### Step 4: Pray in the Name of Jesus for the Glory of the Father
Shift your understanding of “in Jesus’ name” from a closing phrase to a position of authority and submission. You are praying as one commissioned by Christ, seeking His glory, not your own.
Colossians 3:17:
> “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
John 14:13 shows the goal: “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Practical action:
Proclamation:
> “I pray in the name of Jesus, under His authority, for the glory of the Father. I am not praying my own agenda; I am aligning with Christ’s mission. Therefore, I expect Him to act and to confirm His Word.”
### Proclamation
Speak these words aloud, as an act of faith and alignment with Scripture:
> “God is my Father through Jesus Christ.
> I come to Him as His child, not as a stranger.
> Jesus has commanded me to ask, to seek, and to knock.
> I choose to obey.
> I will keep on asking, and it will be given to me.
> I will keep on seeking, and I will find.
> I will keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.
> My Father is good and gives good gifts to those who ask Him.
> He is not reluctant to bless me;
> I renounce unbelief, fear, and passivity.
> I ask in the name of Jesus,
> in harmony with His Word and His will,
> so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
> I believe that everyone who asks receives,
> everyone who seeks finds,
> and to everyone who knocks the door is opened.
> By God’s grace, I am one of those who ask, seek, and knock.
> Amen.”
### Prayer
Now pray:
“Father in heaven, I thank You that through Jesus Christ I can come to You as Your child. I acknowledge that in myself I am sinful and weak, but You are good, generous, and faithful.
Lord Jesus, You have commanded me to ask, to seek, and to knock. Forgive me where I have neglected these commands or allowed unbelief, disappointment, or fear to keep me from coming boldly to the throne of grace.
Holy Spirit, write these words into my heart. Teach me to pray according to the will of God. Expose and remove selfish motives. Align my desires with the Father’s purposes. Strengthen me to persist in prayer until the answer comes.
I choose today to live as one who asks, seeks, and knocks. I choose to pray in the name of Jesus, for the glory of the Father, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let my life become a testimony that You truly answer those who come.
In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.”
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