Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew 7:7-11 (Part 1)

Baxter T. Exum (#1787)
Four Lakes Church of Christ
Madison, Wisconsin
June 8, 2025

Good morning and welcome! It is good to be together this morning! And if you are visiting with us today (either here in person or online or on the phone), you are our honored guest, and we’d like to ask that you fill out a visitor card – either online or on a card from the pew in front of you. And we also invite you to pass along any questions or prayer concerns in this way as well.

We need to give a quick update on our efforts to raise funds for a new facility! As most of you know, we started meeting in an elementary school back in 1995 and found this building in 2001 and paid it off in less than a year. This building has been a huge blessing and it has served us well, but we do have some limitations. There have been times when guests have come in at 10:30 and have turned around and left due to not being able to find a place to sit. And the other challenge has been handicapped accessibility. The ramp has helped get people into the building, but using the restroom is a real challenge. We have our eye on a facility that is accessible and seats around 200 people just south of the Beltline off of Highway 51 (between Madison and McFarland), but the asking price is just over $1 million. We are making progress toward that, and about a month ago we got a call from someone who offered to match any contributions we as a congregation make toward that goal between then and July 4, up to $40,000. Over the past few weeks, you guys have given sacrificially. At this point, we have just over 3 weeks left, and we are at $8,506. Obviously, we like to take full advantage of the generosity that’s being extended to us. We have more information about the property on the bulletin board and also in the top left cubbyhole in the back, but if you can help in any way, use an envelope from the bulletin board and put that in the box in the entryway, or give online using Tithely and select “New Building Fund” in the drop down menu. If you have any questions about how you can give, please get in touch with Stuart.

We are here this morning to share the good news that God loves us and sent his only Son to save us, giving his life for ours. He died on the cross, he was buried in a borrowed tomb, and he was raised up on the third day. This is the good news, and we obey this good news by turning to God in faith, by turning away from sin, by publicly confessing our faith that Jesus is the Christ, and by obeying the Lord’s command to be buried with him in baptism. At this point, we are born into God’s family, and the Christian life begins.

As usual and as our encouragement to you, we are sharing several examples of what this looks like. And we are starting today with an update from Robert Tipps and the Capitol Hill Church of Christ in Winchester, Tennessee. They posted a few days ago, saying, “‘It’s all in or nothing.’ [These are] the words of a heart desperately ready for the blood of Jesus. The Gospel is still breaking chains of guilt, sin,imprisonment, addiction, shame, and hopelessness. God brought Amber to the church through a conversation with a Christian from Owl Hollow Church of Christ at Wendy’s. Amber understands brokenness, and praise God… so does Jesus. Amber’s Bible is wore out and so was her feet from running away. The old Amber was buried Sunday night and the angels are rejoicing!  Please pray for her new walk with Christ.” Awesome news from Tennessee this week!

This next one comes to us from the Warm Springs Road congregation down in Columbus, Georgia. They say, “Praise God! Gary Stone made the decision to be baptized for the remission of his sins and thanks to the help of the YMCA was able to be baptized this afternoon by his son, and our Deacon, Daylen Stone.” We are certainly thankful that most public pools are a lot more accessible now than they were just a few years ago, and this has allowed more people to safely obey the gospel. But it’s great to see this young servant of the church baptize his father and great that they are now not just father and son, but brothers as well.

There are others, but this last one comes to us from the Lord’s church down in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. They always do such a great job with the graphics! We’ve shared several from here before, but this week they simply say, “Good. News.” And then they quote from Romans 6, where Paul says that, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism is both literally and symbolically a death, burial, and resurrection. As always, though, we share these images by way of encouragement. And if you have any questions about this, if you are ready to obey the good news right now, if we can help with that in any way, we invite you to get in touch. You can send a message to info@fourlakeschurch.org, you can give me a call or send a text to 608-224-0274, or you can simply pull me aside after worship this morning, and we would love to help in any way possible.

This morning, we return to our study of the Sermon on the Mount, and today we come to a passage where Jesus invites his disciples to PRAY. Most of us know how important it is to pray, but few of us probably pray as much as we should. In fact, if I were to put this statement on the wall up here and ask whether this applies to you, most of us could probably agree to this. You guys know that I never ask for a show of hands (I hate it when somebody does it to me, so I won’t do it to you), but most of us can probably agree with this statement. In fact, I don’t know whether I’ve ever heard anybody say, “You know, I pray plenty, and in fact, I am pretty good at it.” I’ve never heard anybody say that. First of all, somebody with a healthy prayer life would never say something like that. But secondly, all of us probably see some room for improvement. We know it is important to pray, but rarely do we pray as much as we should.

Hopefully we pray before meals, hopefully we pray in the morning and maybe at night, hopefully we pray when we are happy, or sad, or when we need something, or when someone close to us needs something, but it’s pretty difficult to live up to that passage Aaron read for us earlier from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where Paul says that we are to “pray without ceasing.” Today and next week, then, I want us to continue in the Sermon on the Mount by looking together at Matthew 7:7-11. We’ll read all five verses this morning, but we’ll divide our study into two main thoughts: Today, let’s note the COMMAND to pray (along with the promise that our prayers will be answered), and next week we’ll dig in to the ILLUSTRATION Jesus uses, where he reminds us that God is always listening, that God is good, and that he is eager to respond. First, though, let’s go back and look at the text itself. This is Matthew 7:7-11, where Jesus says,

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!

This morning, let’s focus in on those first two verses, where Jesus gives a series of commands, followed by a series of promises.

    I. But we start this morning with these COMMANDS to “ASK,” to “SEEK,” and to “KNOCK.” 

Let’s notice here at the beginning, that these are imperatives. These are not merely suggestions, but these are divine directives. Some have suggested that these three commands are maybe aimed at three different kinds of people who may approach God in prayer. On one hand, we have the child of God who comes to God ASKING for something. On the other hand, we may then have somebody who’s lost, somebody who is outside the family of God, someone who comes SEEKING or searching for God. And then finally, we have somebody who has left the faith and is perhaps KNOCKING, asking to be let back in. Maybe, but I would suggest more of a progression here, a progression that applies to all of us, and it depends on our circumstances at the time. We might compare it to a kid just ASKING his dad for something. If dad’s not nearby, though, the kid may have to go SEEKING. And then there are other times when dad is on the other side of a door, and the kid needs to start KNOCKING. So, we may have a progression here, from asking, to seeking to knocking.

Whatever the case, we start by ASKING. Asking implies our dependence on God. We are not demanding, we are not informing (because God already knows, according to Matthew 6:8), but we are asking. “Ask,” in fact, is a word that is found in every verse in this whole passage. Asking is also a position of faith on our part, because when we ask, we are asking because we think God can provide what we need. I might compare it to me asking one of our men to try reading a scripture during a worship service, or me asking one of our men to preach the next time I’m out of town. If I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t be asking! So, by the time I ask you, I’ve already thought about it, and I’ve already decided in my mind that you are capable of doing what I am asking. Well, so also with God. Asking is an act of faith on our part. So, this is the the command to ask.

Sometimes, though, asking may not be enough, so there are times when we must go SEEKING for God. Maybe we feel more distant than we usually do, or maybe there’s not an immediate answer. Getting back to the picture of a kid with his dad, maybe his dad isn’t in the room, so we might compare prayer to a child who has to go LOOKING for his dad. It’s not just a matter of asking, but it’s a matter of searching. We have to go SEEKING for God. Seeking implies earnestness, perhaps even desperation. We think of what happens when we lose a cell phone. So much is tied to our phones, and when that phone goes missing, we search for it. We tear the car apart. So also with prayer. We go looking for God. This is not, “Oh, if I happen to find it, great, but if not, oh well.” No, prayer involves seeking and searching. Many years ago, I heard someone suggest that we are to work as if it depends on us, and we are to pray as if it depends on God. That’s the seeking aspect of this. Looking to God in prayer is important. As I was preparing for today’s lesson, I read one source who suggested that “your prayers will never mean anything to God until they mean everything to you.” We are to search for God like we mean it. God responds to those who seek him above all else. Remember, back in Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must seek God. Perhaps we seek an answer to prayer in scripture (we read, we study). Perhaps we seek an answer to prayer by going to a mature brother or sister in the Lord for advice. But we seek.

And then, finally, prayer is pictured as KNOCKING. Going back to our illustration, we might think of a kid who needs something, but his dad may actually be in another room behind a closed door, so the child has to actually get up and knock on a door. There is some effort involved. The request has hit some perceived resistance. There is a door in the way, and the door is closed. But, it is a door; it’s not a wall! Doors are meant to be opened, but there is some knocking involved. And almost anybody can do this. Kids can knock. The elderly can knock. The blind can knock. The poor can knock. The well-educated can knock. All of us know how to knock, and all of us are capable. And I think knocking (as with seeking) also implies a sense of urgency. This is truly important. I don’t know about you, but I don’t go knocking on my neighbor’s door unless I really need something, unless I have already tried asking and seeking. There is some boldness on our part; some confidence. Actually getting up and going next door and knocking indicates some level of persistence as well. There is a somewhat parallel account over in Luke 11, where Jesus tells a story and says, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” This is what it means to knock! There is some persistence to it.

And by the way, there’s something else we need to notice about these three commands here: Not only are they imperatives, not only are they commands, but all three are in the present tense, which indicates continuing, ongoing action. Jesus, then, is saying: Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Never stop asking, never stop seeking, never stop knocking. God values persistence in prayer. He wants us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking, because it shows that we really value the relationship.

But the point is: God wants us to ask, seek, and knock. Whether we see God as being nearby, or distant, or even on the other side of a door, Jesus tells us to reach out.

    II. In the second part of our study today, let’s note that along with these three commands, Jesus also makes a series of PROMISES.

And I know that whenever we talk about prayer, we want to know: What about our prayers that don’t seem to be answered? I’ve prayed, and I’ve prayed, and I’ve prayed, but nothing seems to happen. It’s a legitimate concern, it’s something that all of us face from time to time, and I hope we can look at this question more carefully next week when we move into the next paragraph up here. But today, let’s just focus in on the promises. We’ve been commanded to ask, and to seek, and to knock, and when we do, Jesus himself promises that God will hear and answer those prayers,“Ask, and it will be given to you,” Jesus says, “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” And as if this isn’t clear enough, Jesus continues and says,“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  I think all of us have known people who are so good at praying on a regular basis. In my life, I think of Marge Holden, a long time member of the congregation. With my grandparents down in Tennessee, we couldn’t see them too often, so we thought of Marge as our adopted grandmother. We would pick her up for worship, we would take her out to Cottage Cafe with our kids on Sunday morning, we would help with the yard work, I was her official light bulb changer and smoke detector battery swapper. But Marge could pray. Years and years ago, she pulled me aside and said, “You know, I pray for you by name every day.” That was one of the most encouraging things that anybody has ever said to me as a gospel preacher. Even if I forgot to pray for myself one day, I knew that Marge was praying for me. I had uninterrupted prayer coverage! I think of Marge as being a professional pray-er. In terms of prayer, she was on the varsity team. If somebody had a difficult case, I would send them to Marge, “She will pray about it.” When young couples had trouble conceiving and asked for prayer, I would send them to Marge. Put her on the case. So many answered prayers! Marge was next-level! But I find comfort in what Jesus says in verse 8 when he says that “everyone who asks receives.” These promises are for all of us! You may be an expert in prayer, or you may know nothing, but God will answer your prayers. God is available at all times and he is available to anyone who approaches in the spirit of this passage. Now, I know that we as God’s children have a special relationship that others do not have, and we will touch on that next week, but God hears.

Many years ago, I remember attending an AA meeting with a brother who was struggling, and as you may know, the whole 12-step program is based on the idea that we submit to a higher power and call on him for help. And my friend was wondering: Does God hear the prayers of these people who are not in a right relationship with him? And my thinking on that is that if your life is completely out of control due to an addiction to alcohol, if you have lost your job, if you are coming home in a drunken rage and abusing your family, if you are drinking and driving and putting the rest of the world in danger, if your life is falling to pieces, and if you turn to God begging for help, I think God will find some way to help in that situation. I would love to hear your thoughts on that, but we do know from scripture that God hears those who fear him. God heard and answered Cornelius, for example, even before Cornelius obeyed the gospel. In Acts 10:4, an angel appears to Cornelius and says that, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” Of course, in answering that prayer, God sent a preacher who commanded baptism, and Cornelius obeyed, but we have this promise from Jesus that when we ask, and seek, and knock, that God will answer our prayers.

And in this passage, let’s notice that we actually have seven promises, “it will be given to you,” “you will find,” “it will be opened to you,” the one who asks “receives,” the one who seeks “finds,” the one who knocks will have the door “opened,” and again in that next paragraph, we have the reminder and the promise that God will “give what is good to those who ask Him.” That is amazing!

Again, though, this isn’t a blank check. This isn’t a genie in a bottle. Scripture interprets scripture, and we’re only looking at five verses in this passage (we’ll get back to this next week), but the reminder here 1.) is that God commands that we pray, and 2.) Jesus promises that God will answer those prayers when we do.

Conclusion:

This brings us to the end of verses 7-8. To me, the key here is persistence. The command to pray is repeated three times. The promise that God will hear is repeated three times. We are to pray – over, and over, and over again. When a prayer is repeated, it’s implied that we may not get exactly what we think we want the first time we ask. To ask, seek, and knock is to ask three times, perhaps increasing in intensity. Remember: Jesus prayed three times in Gethsemane. Paul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh might be removed. Repetition allows for growth; repetition allows for clarity. When we repeat something, we tend to edit. I’m thinking about editing a manuscript. There have been times when I have edited a manuscript for months. So also with prayer. We are to keep asking, we must keep seeking, and we are to keep on knocking.

In just a moment, Michael will lead us in a song based on this passage, but before we sing, let’s go to God in prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

This morning we come to you asking for your help. We seek the blessings that only you can provide. And we knock, again and again, knowing that you will answer our prayers. Increase our faith so that we can learn to trust you more. Help us to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness.

We come to you today in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

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