Unlocking Answered Prayers: Christ's Strategy of Ask, Seek, Knock
Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Here, Christ gives us a three-fold approach to ensuring answered prayer. He even gives us in our reading an example of one who approached a friend at midnight for a specific need, and encourages us to do the same with our Heavenly Father. This man needed bread, and so he sought out his friend, knocked on his door, and asked for his help; he would not have succeeded had he not sought, had he not knocked, and had he not asked.
Christ said ask, seek, and knock. This man sought, knocked, and asked. The order in which it is done is not as important as is the doing itself; it is only important that we cover all the bases. Each situation that you are in may require one before the other depending upon the circumstances, but do not abort your petition prematurely; be sure and do all three!
To ask is to use your voice to express your petition, to seek is to use your eyes to find the answer, and to knock is to use your hands to raise awareness of the need until it is finally met. Have you been simultaneously verbalizing your request, looking for the answer, and consistently engaging yourself with a hands-on approach? If not, then begin so today.
Christ teaches us to keep pressing the issue until at last our petitions are granted by our Heavenly Father. The text seems to suggest that if we fall short of the asking, seeking, and knocking, that we will also fall short of the blessing. God responds to faith that is tried, tested, tempered, and proven true.
The best way for our faith to be proven true is for it to undergo a waiting season. During this time, our faith is certainly put to the test when we have asked and received no response, when we have sought and found nothing, and when we have knocked and no door has been opened. The question is, will your faith outlast the waiting season?
If your faith can outlast the waiting season, you will find that what Christ said is true, “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” I heard it once said that blessings delayed are not blessings denied. Simply keep the faith! I have only one question to ask; through the troubles, timing, and testing, will your faith keep?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Here, Christ gives us a three-fold approach to ensuring answered prayer. He even gives us in our reading an example of one who approached a friend at midnight for a specific need, and encourages us to do the same with our Heavenly Father. This man needed bread, and so he sought out his friend, knocked on his door, and asked for his help; he would not have succeeded had he not sought, had he not knocked, and had he not asked.
Christ said ask, seek, and knock. This man sought, knocked, and asked. The order in which it is done is not as important as is the doing itself; it is only important that we cover all the bases. Each situation that you are in may require one before the other depending upon the circumstances, but do not abort your petition prematurely; be sure and do all three!
To ask is to use your voice to express your petition, to seek is to use your eyes to find the answer, and to knock is to use your hands to raise awareness of the need until it is finally met. Have you been simultaneously verbalizing your request, looking for the answer, and consistently engaging yourself with a hands-on approach? If not, then begin so today.
Christ teaches us to keep pressing the issue until at last our petitions are granted by our Heavenly Father. The text seems to suggest that if we fall short of the asking, seeking, and knocking, that we will also fall short of the blessing. God responds to faith that is tried, tested, tempered, and proven true.
The best way for our faith to be proven true is for it to undergo a waiting season. During this time, our faith is certainly put to the test when we have asked and received no response, when we have sought and found nothing, and when we have knocked and no door has been opened. The question is, will your faith outlast the waiting season?
If your faith can outlast the waiting season, you will find that what Christ said is true, “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” I heard it once said that blessings delayed are not blessings denied. Simply keep the faith! I have only one question to ask; through the troubles, timing, and testing, will your faith keep?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill