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Kingdom Requests: Ask, Seek, Knock
Matt. 7:7-12
One hot summer day I was working in the garage watching my kids play in the front yard, when one of my children came up to me complaining. One of her siblings had some cold treat that she wanted. “Why did you let her have that?” she asked angrily. My response took her by surprise, “Because she asked.” “Oh,” she responded indignantly, “Well, can I have one, too?” “Yes,” I responded, “I didn’t know you wanted one... here you go.” The child who was prepared to be outraged didn’t know how to respond when her sense of injustice was swallowed up by my granting her request.
That’s not fair! Why did they get that? I want some! We have all said these and other similar phrases at some point in our lives. When we see it in kids, we see how silly it looks, but the truth of the matter is such attitudes filter into adulthood. We compare our lives to other people. We see others succeed or attain something
that we desperately want, so we become jealous of that other person, anxious or depressed about our own abilities, and disillusioned or frustrated with God.
We respond to others by trying to control and manipulate them. We respond to ourselves by anxiously trying to push ourselves harder or beating ourselves up when we fail. All the while wondering where God is and how come He doesn’t help. We come to church and look for ways to use God to get what we want.
In response to such attitudes, Jesus invites us to ask whatever we like from Him, encourages us to trust him as our Father, and frees us up to treat other people with kindness.
Free to Ask (v. 7)
These verses we are looking at today are connected with the ones that came before them. Jesus was teaching His followers to avoid judgementalism and to treat other people with love and compassion. Verse 12, at the end of today’s passage, completes the thought about how we are supposed to treat others. So, it is reasonable to assume that Jesus encouraging us to ask, seek, and knock is related to the issue of how we treat other people. Jesus is trying to teach us that some of our condemnation is rooted in what we believe to be unfairness. Someone else has something we want that we feel they don’t deserve, so we are harsh with them and bitter towards God.
James 4:1-2 says something similar: “ 1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”
We are jealous and envious, so we quarrel and fight. The answer in James is the same answer Jesus gives. Don’t envy; ask God. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus tells his disciples, “Ask and it will be given to you.” The Bible
is full of bold statements regarding God and His willingness to bless His people. In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Let your requests be made known to God.” There is nothing wrong with asking. So instead of settling down into jealousy and resentment directed towards our neighbors, Jesus tells us to start by submitting our requests to God.
Free to Trust (vv. 8-11)
One common response people have is: “I asked God and He didn’t do what I asked; therefore I have a right be to upset at God or jealous of my neighbor.” James 3:3 says, “3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” There is a difference between asking and telling. Asking God means submitting to his wisdom. Jesus goes on in Matthew 7 to describe three attributes of how God gives. The purpose of this passage is not to teach us a trick to ensure that we always
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