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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
— Matthew 7:7
Let us look at what the Word of God says. The lyrics you have given circle around one central theme: God’s covenant commitment to answer those who come to Him in the way He has appointed.
The associated scriptures form a unified revelation:
The lyrics echo these words almost verbatim. This is significant. We are not just singing about our feelings; we are singing the actual promises of Christ. When we do that, we are entering into a realm of covenant faith, kingdom access, and spiritual warfare—because prayer is one of the primary means by which the kingdom of God is advanced and the kingdom of Satan is resisted.
The central theme could be stated in one sentence:
> God has bound Himself, by His own Word, to answer those who ask in faith, seek with a whole heart, and knock in the name of Jesus, for His glory.
Everything in this teaching will unfold from that statement.
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### a. Matthew 7:7–11 – The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:7–11 belongs to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the foundational teaching of Jesus on the lifestyle of the kingdom of heaven. He is not speaking to unbelieving crowds merely as a moralist. He is speaking to disciples, to those who have already chosen to follow Him (cf. Matthew 5:1–2).
The Sermon on the Mount reveals:
Then, in Matthew 7, Jesus turns to our relationship with the Father in prayer and assurance. He presents God as a Father who responds to the requests of His children.
The context is important. These promises are not given as a blank cheque for the casual, the double-minded, or the rebellious. They are given inside the framework of a disciple’s life—one who:
To such a person, Jesus reveals the Father as generously accessible: “Ask… seek… knock…”
### b. John 14:13–14 – The Upper Room Discourse
John 14:13–14 comes from a different setting: the upper room on the night before the crucifixion. Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, promising the Holy Spirit, and unveiling a new level of intimacy and authority in prayer.
He says:
> “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.”
This is not general religious language. This is Jesus, about to go to the cross, about to rise, about to ascend, and about to send the Spirit. He is speaking of the new covenant reality in which believers will stand in His name, as His representatives, on the basis of His finished work.
So we must hold these two contexts together:
The lyrics are drawing from both: the Father who gives, and the Son who does, in response to asking.
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Let us examine two key words that deepen our understanding.
### a. “Ask” – Greek: *aiteō* (αἰτέω)
The word translated “ask” in Matthew 7:7, 7:8, 7:11 and John 14:13–14 is *aiteō*.
In the New Testament, *aiteō* is frequently used in prayer contexts (e.g., James 1:5–6; 1 John 5:14–15). It carries the sense of making a clear, articulated request, based on a known relationship or promise.
This means that when Jesus says, “Ask,” He is not inviting vague spirituality. He is commanding us to:
### b. “Name” – Greek: *onoma* (ὄνομα)
In John 14:13–14, Jesus speaks of asking “in My name.” The Greek word is *onoma*.
*Onoma* means more than a label. It refers to:
To ask “in the name” of Jesus is not to add a formula at the end of a prayer. It is to stand:
“Whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” That phrase defines the boundaries. Jesus is committing Himself to do what is:
This explains why these promises are not a divine endorsement of selfishness, covetousness, or carnal ambition (cf. James 4:3). They are promises of covenant authority in prayer to advance the Father’s will and glorify the Son.
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Let us move through the main themes of the lyrics and connect them to the broader testimony of Scripture.
### 4.1 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Here Jesus uses three verbs: ask, seek, knock. In Greek, all are in the present continuous tense. That implies:
This is not casual, passive religion. It is persevering pursuit of God and His purposes.
The pattern is progressive:
1. Ask – Verbal, direct petition to God.
2. Seek – Active pursuit, searching, aligning oneself.
3. Knock – Persistent, insistent demand for entrance into what God has promised.
The lyrics echo this rhythm. But Scripture gives many examples:
All three verbs reveal that faith is not passive. Faith is expressed in active, ongoing interaction with God.
### 4.2 “For everyone who asks receives… God answers those who come.”
Jesus makes a sweeping statement: “For everyone who asks receives.” The lyrics repeat this emphatic universality.
Yet Scripture qualifies what kind of asking is in view. Other passages show:
Taken together, the promise is:
> Everyone who comes to the Father through Jesus Christ, in faith, in alignment with His will and His glory, will receive an answer.
Note carefully: an answer. Not always the answer our carnal nature desires, but always the answer that is best, in the wisdom and goodness of God.
“God answers those who come” is, in fact, a restatement of Hebrews 11:6:
> “Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
There is a spiritual law here: God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. He will not deny His own nature. To deny the reward of seeking would be to deny His own faithfulness.
### 4.3 “If you then, though you are evil… how much more your Father in heaven…”
Jesus now argues from the lesser to the greater.
Here two important truths are emphasized:
1. The reality of human sinfulness: “though you are evil.” Jesus does not flatter human nature. We are not essentially good people who sometimes do wrong things. We are fallen, corrupted at the core, needing grace. Yet even in that condition, parents still express a measure of natural goodness to their children.
2. The absolute goodness of the Father: He always gives *good* gifts. James 1:17 echoes this: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…”
This exposes one of Satan’s oldest lies: that God is not good. The serpent sowed that doubt in Eden (Genesis 3). Many believers still live under that shadow. They are reluctant to ask boldly because, deep inside, they question the kindness of God.
The words “how much more” are a powerful antidote. Our very experience of parenthood is intended by God to be a faint reflection of His generosity. Where human parents may fail, He cannot.
The lyrics emphasize “good gifts.” Matthew 7:11, in Luke’s parallel, is even more specific:
> “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)
So the supreme good gift is the Holy Spirit Himself. Asking, seeking, knocking is not just about material needs. It is about spiritual reality—receiving the Spirit, His power, His gifts, His guidance.
### 4.4 “And I will do whatever you ask in My name… You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.”
Here the lyrics move to John 14:13–14, raising the theme of Christ’s authority.
Notice the key elements:
To reduce this to a formula—“in Jesus’ name, amen”—without the reality is to empty it of power. To pray in His name is:
This is directly connected to spiritual warfare. When we pray in the name of Jesus:
Satan has no answer to the name of Jesus when it is used by a righteous, obedient believer, in faith and alignment with God’s will.
### 4.5 “Ask in faith, seek with all your heart, knock and trust—your heavenly Father hears and gives.”
Here the lyrics summarize the biblical conditions for effective prayer.
#### Ask in faith
James 1:6–7:
> “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt… that person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”
Unbelief short-circuits prayer. Faith is not positive thinking. Faith is trust in the character and the Word of God, often in spite of visible circumstances.
#### Seek with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:13:
> “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Half-hearted religion does not find the fullness of God. To seek with all your heart is to prioritize God above other pursuits—He must be more important than comfort, reputation, or earthly gain.
#### Knock and trust
Knocking implies persistence. Trust implies rest in God’s timing and wisdom.
Luke 11:5–10 and 18:1–8 both portray persistence in prayer as commendable. Not because God is unwilling, but because persistence:
“Your heavenly Father hears and gives” echoes 1 John 5:14–15:
> “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us… we know that we have what we asked of Him.”
Spiritually, this means we must settle it once for all: God hears. Our enemy would like us to believe that prayer is talking into empty space. The Word says otherwise. The Father hears, and the Father gives, in the way and time that best reflects His wisdom and goodness.
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We must now translate truth into practice. I will give you four distinct steps—each can also be turned into a proclamation.
### Step 1: Establish Your Relationship – Come as a Child, Not a Stranger
These promises are given to those who know God as Father through Jesus Christ.
John 1:12:
> “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
First, we must ensure that our relationship to God is clear. If there is unconfessed sin, if you are living in disobedience, if you have never truly yielded to Christ as Lord, you cannot claim these promises with confidence.
Proclamation 1:
“I have received Jesus. I am a child of God. God is my Father. He hears me when I pray.”
### Step 2: Align With God’s Will – Pray Scripture, Not Just Desire
Second, we must bring our asking into alignment with God’s revealed will.
1 John 5:14:
> “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
How do we know His will? Primarily through Scripture. The more we fill our minds with the Word, the more our prayers will reflect God’s own priorities.
For example:
Proclamation 2:
“I choose to ask according to God’s Word. I lay down selfish desires. I agree with the will of God revealed in Scripture.”
### Step 3: Exercise the Authority of the Name of Jesus
Third, we must use the name of Jesus in the way He intended—consciously, in faith, as His representatives.
This particularly applies in:
Say explicitly:
We do not beg the devil. We command him, in the name of Jesus, on the basis of the cross.
Proclamation 3:
“I stand in the name of Jesus. I pray in His authority, for the Father’s glory. Every power of darkness is subject to the name of Jesus.”
### Step 4: Persist – Keep Asking, Keep Seeking, Keep Knocking
Fourth, we must learn persistence in prayer.
Luke 18:7–8:
> “Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?… He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”
“Quickly” in God’s timing may be different from ours, but He is not indifferent. He is often working in unseen ways while we persist.
Proclamation 4:
“I refuse to give up. I will keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, until God’s will is done and His answer is manifested.”
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### A Proclamation of Faith
Speak this aloud, slowly, as an act of faith:
> I confess that God is my Father through Jesus Christ.
> I believe His Word in Matthew 7 and John 14.
> I will ask, and it will be given to me.
> I will seek, and I will find.
> I will knock, and the door will be opened to me.
>
> I believe that everyone who asks receives,
> everyone who seeks finds,
> and to everyone who knocks the door is opened.
>
> I acknowledge that by nature I am evil,
> but my Father in heaven is perfectly good.
> He gives good gifts to those who ask Him—
> especially the gift of the Holy Spirit.
>
> I choose to ask in faith, not doubting,
> according to the will of God revealed in Scripture.
> I pray in the name of Jesus,
> in alignment with His character,
> for the glory of the Father.
>
> I renounce unbelief, fear, and passivity.
> I take my place as a child of God,
> standing in the authority of the name of Jesus.
>
> I will keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking
> until God’s purposes are fulfilled in my life,
> in my family, and in my sphere of influence.
>
> God answers those who come.
> I come, and I will keep coming,
> in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
### A Short, Powerful Prayer
Father in heaven,
I thank You that You are good, and that Your Word is true. I come to You through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. I ask You to teach me to pray as a child of God, in faith, with persistence, and in the name of Jesus.
Where I have doubted Your goodness, forgive me and cleanse my heart. Where I have asked selfishly or contrary to Your will, correct me and align me with Your purposes.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Write Your Word on my heart. Make me a person who truly asks, seeks, and knocks, until Your kingdom comes and Your will is done in my life.
I take my stand now in the name of Jesus against every work of darkness. I declare that Jesus is Lord, and that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. Let my prayers, from this day forward, be instruments of Your kingdom and Your glory.
I ask this in the name above every name,
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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