Matthew 7:7-12
7 “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
What the passage says
V. 7-8 Ask, and you will receive. Probably one of the favorite verses of the Bible, even among the non-believers.
V. 9-10 God is compared to a ‘Good father.’ A Father who gives best to their child.
What does the passage say to me/us?
Do you hear the resentment in my voice?
It is not that I deny that God answers our prayer. So many times, however, we think that prayer is a way to get what we want or need, especially when things go beyond our control.
When we read this verse, we need to pay attention to what we are asking for. We should be asking for God’s will to be done, not our will. Our time of prayer should be focused on asking God to give us wisdom to understand God’s will, not about the result we want in the situation we are praying. However, when we read these verses from Matthew, it is easy to consider prayer as a way to rub the bottle to summon Genie (God).
The meaning of this verse gets clear when we read the same word of Jesus in Luke. Luke Ch. 11 has the same three verses of Matthew 7. The difference is that there is more description of the background to this saying. (Click to read Luke 11)
Disciples ask Jesus how to pray. Jesus teaches them the Lord’s prayer, and then gives more information about the meaning of prayer. Then he tells them about the ‘Ask and receive’ narrative. But different from Matthew, he adds, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:12)
Jesus makes it clear, at least Luke’s version makes it clear what we are to ask for. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit, not our needs and wants. Then God promises to give the Holy Spirit to all, who asks. Remember that the Holy Spirit is not only the transforming power but also the wisdom. When we receive the wisdom of God, we can focus more on praying for God’s will.
Some people might ask, ‘then what about our needs.’ It is still important to pray about our needs, but how can we present our needs before asking what God is asking us to pray for?
Prayer
Lord, we ask for your Holy Spirit to come and dwell in our heart. Transform our heart and lives with the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask this, with confidence, in Christ name, AMEN.
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