Matthew
7:7-12
Jesus
Teaches about Asking, Seeking,
Knocking
7:7
"Ask and it will be given to you,
seek and you will find; knock and
the door will be opened to
you.
-
- 8
For everyone who asks
receives; he who seeks finds;
and to him who knocks, the
door will be
opened.
-
- 9
Which of you, if his son asks
for bread, will give him a
stone?
10
Or if he asks for a fish, will
give him a
snake?
-
- 11
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!
-
12
So in everything, do to others
what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It
is meant to change the way
that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
What
Jesus Says about Asking, Seeking
& Knocking
- Jesus
tells us to persist in
pursuing God. People often
give up after a few
halfhearted efforts and
conclude that God cannot be
found.
-
- But
knowing God takes faith,
focus, and
follow-through....
-
- We all
have trouble keeping our faith
strong because it is human
nature to doubt and to give
up. Sometimes we have to go
against "instinct" and follow
the heart God has given us to
believe and ask God for the
things we need in
life.
-
- When we
ask God to help us accomplish
a task in our lives whether it
is for job, family or health
we are showing our dependency
on Him, not
ourselves.
-
- But,
let's make sure the things we
ask for are "good" things, not
things just for our
vanity.
-
- The
child in Jesus' example asked
his father for bread and fish
-- good and necessary items.
-
- If the
child had asked for a
poisonous snake, would the
wise father have granted his
request?
-
- Sometimes
God knows we are praying for
'snakes' and does not give us
what we ask for, even though
we persist in our
prayers.
-
- An
example is something our
pastor has said on many
occasions: "Be careful about
praying for patience; God may
send you a problem to test
it."
-
- I have
pondered this because turmoil
makes us stronger. An old
TV show had the title; "Father
Knows Best" and this most
certainly applies to
God.
-
- As we
learn to know God better as a
loving Father, we learn to ask
for what is good for us, and
then he grants it, if it is in
His will.
-
- 7:12
The Golden Rule - .. in
many religions it is stated
negatively: 'Don't do to
others what you don't want
done to you.'
-
- By
stating it more positively in
Matthew 7:12, Jesus made it
more significant.
-
- It's
not very hard to refrain from
harming others; it is much
more difficult to take the
initiative in doing something
good for them. Let's make an
effort to treat others more
like we would like to be
treated. We will be rewarded
on earth and in
heaven.
-
- *** A
suggestion is to take out your
study Bible and look up these
verses & read the
explanations carefully. I had
a much better understanding of
the "Rule" after doing
this.
-
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article about asking, seeking and
knocking at the door of Christ
may be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in
any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or
website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction of this
report.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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