You Asked for it!
Matthew 7:7-11, “7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 6th chapter, Jesus speaks about our obligation and our duty to pray. He explains the do’s and the don’ts regarding prayer. Although, Jesus teaches on prayer in the sixth chapter, it is in the seventh chapter that he talks about the importance of asking. Many of us don’t have simply because we have not asked for it. Here’s the thing about asking God for something. When we ask we ought to ask for something to help build the kingdom. We ask God for lottery numbers and all kinds of carnal things, but we ought to be asking for spiritual things. I heard a guy say once, that he asked God to make him a six figured tither. He asked for more money, only so he could give more.
The seventh chapter of Matthew speaks specifically about the importance of asking of the Lord. There is a difference in asking and praying also. Notice Matthew 7:7, says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be open unto you. Did you notice the highlighted first letter of each first word? It spells ASK. How much more of a stronger message does God have to give you to see that you need to ask. Look at this meaning of ask:
Ask is synonymous with inquire, request and praying
Seek is synonymous with inquire, request, and praying often
Knock is synonymous with inquire, request, and praying seriously and sincerely
There is difference between praying and asking. Asking is an expression of your wants, needs, and desires to God, and directs your attention to God for His divine intervention for support, supply, and salvation according to His promises.
Prayer is to enquire of the Lord. Psalms 27:4 says, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”
We are to ask and seek. Seeking is an act of actively look for something that is lost, hid or misplaced. We are to ask, seek, and knock. Knocking is the proactive approach with a desired outcome of entrance. We must learn to knock at God’s door of opportunity for forgiveness, wisdom, and knowledge. So if all we have to do is ask, then why don’t we have the desires of our heart?
The bible says “Ask and it SHALL be given to you. It doesn’t say it might be given to you, but it says it SHALL be given to you. That’s a promise from the Lord. So what is the problem?
1. We don’t ask in faith. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines faith. Remember whatever is not worth asking for, is not worth having.
2. We don’t ask the right way. When we ask we must be specific, persistent, and concise. St. Luke 18:1-8.
3. We don’t ask in the right time. We must learn to ask when the time is right for us to receive. Many times we ask God for things that we are not even in a position to receive.
4. We don’t ask for the right things. We ask for carnal, crazy, and consumable things. The bible tells us to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
There are benefits in asking of the Lord.
1. The blessing is in asking. Even though God already knows what you have need of even before you ask, He still wants you to ask Him. Why?
2. Asking brings fellowship. When we ask, we are communicating with God, and anytime we communicate with God we have fellowship.
3. Asking brings increase. Remember the prayer of Jabez?
The story of Hezekiah gives the believer assurance that God responds when we ask. Maybe the reason you don’t have it, is because you didn’t ask for it! People will say you can’t make it, you can’t take it, but simply ask the Lord to give you the strength to make it through, and He will.
