“Ask, and you will receive. Search and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.” Matt. 7:7 (CEB)
So often I find myself praying and asking God to do, to give or to provide something to someone. This verse tells me there is something required of me. I must ask, search and knock as I pray. I remember from science class that every action, and these are action verbs, has a reaction. Science class was many long years ago…like almost 50! Why this stuck in my brain I can only explain as God’s omniscience. He knew I would pull this out of the dark recesses of memory for this devotion.
Every action has a reaction. So, what happens when you ask, search and knock? Well, the scripture tells us that we will receive, find and have something opened unto us. I want to look at each reaction separately.
Using Webster’s 1828 dictionary I found the following definitions:
· Receive – to be endowed with
· Find – to reach, to attain, to arrive at
· Opened –Unclosed, not shut
What might we receive from God? Mark 11:24 tells us that believing, we will receive it when we pray, that it will be so. That could be peace, strength, wisdom and discernment or a volume of other attributes.
How about what we might find? According to this verse from Mark 4:22, everything may be made known. “Everything hidden will be revealed, and everything secret will come out into the open.” (CEB)
Finally, let’s look at open or opened. I think this verse from Revelation 3:20 fits the most important opening of all. “Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. (Jesus speaking) If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to them.” We have an open door to Jesus himself!
When we pray as we should, putting into our prayers, actions, we get the most wonderful reactions!
From Deborah Ann Belker’s poem, Ask, Seek, Knock…. Enter, the first stanza is a good ending for this devotion. I pray you find it to be so in your life.
Ask believing Jesus loves you,seek and Him you will find.Knock and the door will open,enter and don't look behind.
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