Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus gave us three things we are to do – Ask, Seek, and Knock. To better put it - Pray; pray often; pray with sincerity and seriousness; pray, and pray again; make conscience of prayer, and be constant in it; make a business of prayer, and be earnest in it. When we ask of God we do so in several ways. We ask for things that represent our wants. We ask for what sustains us. We ask that our burdens may be lifted. As we ask we seek God’s answer, we must always be vigilant that God provides an answer; even if the answer does not agree with how we perceived the request should be answered. Sin shuts the door between us and God so we must knock asking The Lord to forgive us. We must knock persistently -- pleading and wrestling with God over the answers we seek; always persevering in prayer knowing The Lord will give His final answer.

 

 

Francis Thompson, a 19th century British poet wrote "The Hound of Heaven" alluding to Christ as a hound who is in a relentless pursuit of loving us. Thompson was a follower of Christ, but he struggled with poverty, poor health, and an addiction to opium (sold those days as an "over-the-counter" medication). In the depths of his despair, Thompson put into poetry, what is called THE HOUND OF HEAVEN describing his flight from The Lord: "I fled him, down the nights and down the days. I hid from him, and under running laughter. I sped … from those strong feet that followed, followed after [me]." Thompson knew the unrelenting love of Jesus -- the hound of heaven. In the poem Jesus pursues Thompson with "unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, and majestic urgency." He hears the feet of Jesus beating after him as Jesus calls, "All things betray those who betray me.”

The Lord is in pursuit of us with an unbridled passion to fellowship with us and to love us. Yet so often we are on the run from the Lord; not even taking the time to pray or thank Him for what He has done in our lives. Make this the day you stop running from The Lord, asking Him for direction, seeking His will to follow, and knocking that you might fellowship with Him.