Ask, Seek, and Knock

I recently found this devotion I wrote in 2010 and thought you’d enjoy it.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

-Matthew 7:7 NIV

Yesterday I lounged in an easy chair in our living room, my bare feet resting on the ottoman, hoping to relax for a moment. My two-year old daughter, Lila, found me and asked, “Go outside?” She then noticed that I wasn’t wearing any shoes and said, “Lila get Mommy shoes.” Then she ran off toward the master bedroom.

A moment later, I heard knocking. Not just once, but a constant tapping sound. Soon it was followed by “Help, open the door!” and the knocking continued.

Our closet door is one of only two doors in our home that has a knob, the rest have levers. She is easily able to open the doors with levers, but she hasn’t quite mastered the knobs. I went into the room and opened the door for her. She got the shoes and we headed outside.

I later thought about how Jesus tells us to “Ask, seek, and knock” and how Lila perfectly demonstrated that process to me yesterday. She asked me to go outside, she sought out shoes in my closet and she knocked when she wasn’t able to open the door on her own. She didn’t tap on the door once just once, but she kept knocking until she received an answer.

Sometimes we don’t follow this process in our spiritual lives because:

• We’re too afraid to ask for what we need or want.
• We seek God halfheartedly. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
• We give up easily when we don’t get a response right away, in our timing.
• We get angry when the answer is “Not right now.” God will always answer, but His answer may just not be the one we’re hoping for or in the timing we expected.

I wonder what Lila would have done had I not quickly gone to open the closet. I think that she either would have thrown a temper tantrum or come back to the living room to get me.

How interesting, because I can think of times in my life when I have thrown a major fit when God didn’t give me what I wanted in my timing. I can also think of times when I so desperately asked Him for guidance and sought Him out continually because I didn’t want to make a decision before I had heard from Him. I pray that we will always continue to seek Him and abide in His love, instead of throwing a temper tantrum when things don’t go our way.

What do you need to ask the Lord for today? How will you ask, seek and knock?

Thank You, Jesus, for giving us instructions for this life. May we always seek You with a childlike heart. May we always have faith that You will provide for us and take care of all our needs, in Your timing. You know the plans that You have for us, and we pray for patience and perseverance as we ask, seek, and knock for our individual needs and desires.