that I hope is useful in understanding what we're reading. Hopefully, even in those circumstances, you leave with a devotional thought or two, or with a challenge to think devotionally on your own.This morning I want to do the latter, exploring the meaning of Matthew 7:7-11, especially verse 7, to make sure there's no misunderstanding about what Jesus meant. I say that because I've heard some bad theology (in my opinion) attached to these verses. That said, if your understanding of these verses is different then what you're about to read, I encourage you to respond in the comments so we can talk about it together. Here's the passage, this time from the New Living Translation, which I'm using because I think it better reflects the Greek use of tenses for the verbs: ask, seek, knock.
"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
"You parents -- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:7-11 NLTse)
Let's talk about the verbs first. Notice that the translators for the NLT chose to translate them into a continuous action, not a one time deal. They did this because it better reflects the present tense in the Greek. The NASB mentions this usage as a note to the text, as does the .NET translation we've been quoting most of the time. So one of the first things we can say about this passage is that Jesus' teaching on prayer is that we should keep at it. Keep on truckin', so to speak.
That's not such a big deal, so where is the bad theology? It's in our understanding of what Jesus meant when He said we will receive, find and have opened to us. Without some thought, our understanding might be, "we get everything." Most of us immediately put a halt to that way of thinking, saying, "well, there are some things that it's unreasonable to ask for, but if we really need something then He'll provide it." And that's true, but tricky. Because the question is, who decides if we really need it0? And even those who have the right answer to that question, God does, may mix that up with other principles about God treated as absolutes. For example, God wants the best for us, and He created us to be healthy.
In real life, you may be dealing with a painful situation and along comes a Christian brother or sister who says, "You can be free of this situation, you can be healed of your physical problems, just claim Matthew 7:7. Because it says, keep on asking and you'll receive." And you do ask, but you don't receive. Must be something wrong with your faith. No, it's something wrong in the theology.
Let's begin by looking at what Jesus said from a logical point of view. If what He said was ask for anything and you'll receive it, seek any outcome, and it shall be so, open any doors and they will be, then that means you could, for example, ask that an enemy be trounced, or that you could walk through the doors of Las Vegas and be a winner at the pull of a handle. Or something even more evil. Logically, we recognize that God won't grant things that are against His nature. So we understand that what we seek needs to be in keeping with God's will and ways. In other words, we understand just through a moment's reflection that what Jesus was saying was not a universal promise that we get everything we ask for, since some of what we ask for will go against God. This logical consequence is borne out in Jesus earlier teaching on prayer in Matthew 5. There He says that before we begin asking for what we need, our daily bread, we need to align ourselves with God's will, asking that the Father's kingdom come, His will be done.
Most of us also have some experiential understanding that there are limitations in how God answers our prayers. Have you ever really wanted a certain circumstance to occur, was sure God did too, prayed fervently for it, only to have something else happen? You knocked asking for an open door, but it was slammed in your face? And if not you, then someone you know? But looking back from your present perspective you realize that God closed that door for very good reasons, and in essence, He gave you a loaf of bread when you were asking for a stone. Give Him thanks for answering your request the way it needed to be answered.
What then was Jesus saying about prayer in this passage? Two things for sure. The first we already mentioned. God wants us to keep at it in prayer. Effective prayer is ongoing. God uses time and waiting to grow us. That's our side of prayer. The other thing Jesus teaches is that God is not arbitrary, capricious, unfaithful, mean-spirited, or absent. We can have confidence that our prayers will be answered by a loving Father. We have an idea of what that is like by looking at how parents handle the requests of children, but God will do it perfectly. He may say "no," He may say "yes," He may say, "here's what you really need," and He may say, "be patient, but keep on asking from time to time," but He is there and He will answer. Cool. I'll just keep on truckin'.
I'm going to add a third thought, which might provide some guidance in determining what best to ask for, seek after, and knock on. First, though, remember that you can ask for anything. Anything. This isn't in opposition to what we've just discovered in Jesus' teaching -- we can ask. The teaching is that there are limits on the getting, not the asking. If you're in doubt about whether God wants to hear something on your mind, why wouldn't you let God answer you? I say that because sometimes in our desire to be in God's will, we might hesitate to ask for certain outcomes in our life, or to express doubts and concerns to Him. Just do it. He knows them already as Jesus also taught in chapter 5.
With that caveat in mind, let me add this to the mix. Our prayer life does change as we grow and mature in Christ. We do begin to understand that some requests are more in line with God's will. Better said, that as we grow, our will tends to align itself more closely to God's will, which changes what we really want from God. Jesus said it this way, "seek first the things of God's kingdom..." My suggestion then, is that we look at the context of this particular teaching of Jesus on prayer -- all three chapters which contain this extended instruction to His disciples. What are the characteristics of kingdom dwellers? Humility, mercy, peacemaking, people who are salt and light, who live in accordance to the deeper intent of the law, who extend their love to their enemies, who put their faith into action, who don't seek human approval for their interaction with God, who put their trust in the Father, who love God, not money, who look at their own faults ahead of judging others, who know the narrow way into God's kingdom, and who desire to be like the rabbi, Jesus, His true disciples. And much, much more. These are the traits, characteristics, understandings, and actions that we can be assured we will receive if we ask, find if we seek, and have opened to us when we knock.
Keep on praying.
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