The Good Life: Ask, Seek, Knock: The Power of Persistent Kingdom Prayer (Matthew 7:7-11)

“Do you think I’m just going to hand over the solution?” Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison, known for his relentless pursuit of invention, often met his assistants with an agitated spirit when they approached him. An assistant would ask him about an idea, and sometimes Edison’s exasperation showed. He would remark, "Do you think I’m just going to hand over the solution?"

As a parent of five children, I can understand Edison’s frustration. After a long day of work, I come home to children who are full of energy, asking for snacks, seeking me out to play, and knocking on the bathroom door to solve a problem. In my exasperation, I may say, “Do you think I’m just going to hand over the solution?” I have found in my professional life as a pastor and my personal life as a father, the older I get the more easily annoyed I get at persistence when it inconveniences me.

Sometimes, as children of God, we are tempted to think that God gets annoyed with us or shares the same agitation as Thomas Edison, or myself for that matter, when we come to him time after time with our prayers, especially ones that we ask repeatedly. It’s as if we are waiting for God to say with a frustrated tone, “Do you think I’m just going to hand over the solution?”

In our text this morning, Jesus assures us that our Father in Heaven is not like us earthly fathers who get easily annoyed at our children’s persistence. Instead, your heavenly Father is eager to hear your prayers with joy, encouraging you to ask, seek, and knock, assuring you will receive what you asked for, find what your looking for, and the door will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7-11 sits at the end of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. As we have seen over the last twenty plus weeks, the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching Christians how they should live the Good Life in the kingdom of God while still on earth. Throughout the sermon he explains how you manifest your love and belief for Jesus in the world.

In the immediate context, Jesus is speaking to his disciples about persisting in prayer. A disciple of Jesus never stops giving up at pursing the Father for their needs to be met. But what if I grow weary of praying? What if my heart is tempted to think God does not want to hear the same old cries of my heart? What if when I pray all I hear is, “Do you think I’m just going to hand over a solution?” Take heart brothers and sister. As we look at our text this morning, Jesus will show us a beautiful picture of 3 characteristics of our Good Father in relation to your prayers that will help you overcome growing weary in prayer.

Your Good Father Delights in Your Persistent Prayer

Matthew 7:7 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

As I’ve said before, George Mueller is one of my favorite Christians from long ago. I am fascinated with His commitment to persistent prayer. As a believer, when I grow weary in praying, I often go to his wisdom to spur me on to continue praying. Mueller wisely says:

“It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray—but we must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer. And further, we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing.” George Mueller

In my mind, Mueller’s words embody what Jesus is teaching us here; that we must persist in prayer until God gives is what we are asking him to give. We must be like Jacob, wrestling with God all night, never letting go until God answers us with his favor.

Furthermore, when we pray we must believe that God hears is and will answer us as we persist. Inside of Matthew 7:7-11, is a persistence, almost a pounding of God’s throne with our cries for help and provision. Look at Matthew 7:7-8.

Matthew 7:7–8 HCSB

7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible really captures the essence of what the Greek is implying in Jesus’s words in verse 7-8. There are three imperatives in our text: ask, seek, and knock. All three imperatives convey a continuous ongoing action. That is why the HCSB translates these imperatives with the word “keep” in front of it. Jesus says, “Keep asking, Keep seeking, keep knocking.” Don’t stop pounding the door of God with your requests.

There is a rising intensity with Jesus’s words. To “ask” is a general term which means to ask God in prayer. Seeking implies earnestly asking plus moving in a way exercising faith. Its like a child who calls for his mother whom he can’t see, but moves in the general direction of her voice until he finds her. To knock is seeking with perseverance. It implies that we have tried to get something but have failed. We have tried to open a locked door on our own, but we just can’t do it. We need God to open the for us. So we pound and pound asking God to open it for us. Jesus is teaching is to persist in praying to the Father. He’s not annoyed by it. He does not get agitated by your persistence. He’s not going to respond to you, “Do you think I’m just going to hand you a solution?” He invites you to persist, even delights in it. But still, how do you know he delights in it. Because his word says so.

Proverbs 15:8 (CSB)

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The upright are those whose heart is humble (Psalm 51:17; 2 Chron 7:14) and trusts in the mercy of God (Psalm 4:5), and hope in his love (Psalm 147:11).

There is an idea floating around Christian circles that says, “To ask God to answer a prayer more than one time is borderline sinful because it is not asking in faith.” What I mean by that is if our faith is genuine and real, we only need to ask God once, believing he hears us and will answer accordingly. Any more than that, and we cross a line. I have toyed with this idea a bit because it seems reasonable on the surface. I’m a father. I get annoyed when my children keep pounding me with requests. However, Matthew 7:7-11 tells me to let go of that idea because that idea is ridden with pride and a man-centered view of God.

Daniel Doriani calls this idea the “Beggars Wisdom.” He says, regarding Matthew 7:7-8,

“This teaching can be understood in two ways. We could put the accent on the one who asks and say, “Persist long enough and you will get what you desire. This is called “The Beggars Wisdom.” This suggest that our petitions can wear God out, so that he finally grants us whatever we want, even if he is initially disinclined to do so.

But Jesus places the emphasis on the God who hears, not on the man or woman who asks. He says God loves his children and knows how to give them good gifts. If we ask, the Father will give what He knows we need.” Daniel Doriani

Jesus already said,

Matthew 6:8 (HCSB)

8 your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

Some of you may ask, “If he already knows what I need before I ask him, why would he delight in me asking him? Wouldn’t my prayers be annoying at that point? Wouldn’t he say, “I know, I know, just give me minute?” Sure, if God were like a man, I can see him responding like that. Be he is not like us.

Why does God delight so much in your prayers?

He delights in them for the same reason you love it when your child comes to you and asks for something for their birthday or Christmas. You already know what your answer is and how you’re going to give them the gift, and you're excited about fulfilling their requests. Moreover, you excited about how they will respond and use the gift.

I also believe he delights in our prayers because, like a child who depends on his father to provide for his joy and his needs, our Father delights in us turning to him as his children for meeting our joy and our needs.

Prayer is your personal communion with God by which you express your utter dependency on Him.

He is fully aware of your needs and God loves it when you persistently ask, seek, and knock. Jesus promises that those who persist in prayer will get answers.

In relation to the church community and home, to offer you a point of application, parents, you must keep asking, seeking, knocking on God’s door for your children. Brothers and sisters, you must ask, seek, and knock on behalf of your pastors and the church. Just this week, another well known pastor in Dallas Texas, had to step down from his successful ministry because of an inappropriate relationship with a woman. He knew his Bible well, but he needed accountability and prayer.

Spurgeon contribute the success of his preaching ministry on the account of several women who prayed for him while he preached. He once said to his church,

Let me have your prayers, and I can do anything! Let me be without my people’s prayers, and I can do nothing.

Charles Spurgeon

Persistently pray for the salvation of the lost. George Mueller never gave up praying for 2 men to be saved because he believed that God delighted in his persistent prayer. For over 36 years, he pleaded for God to save these two men. Listen to Mueller's wisdom.

“The man to whom God in the riches of His grace has given tens of thousands of answers to prayer in the self-same hour or day in which they were offered, has been praying day by day for nearly thirty-six years for the conversion of these two individuals, and yet they remain unconverted. But I hope in God, I pray on, and look yet for the answer.… They are not converted yet, but they will be!” George Mueller

I don’t know if those men were ever saved, but I do know they were persistently pursued in prayer by George Mueller. This makes me wonder if there is a relationship between my desire to pray and how God desires me to pray.

If I see God as annoyed with my persistent prayer, it may explain to some degree why I am not persisting in prayer. If, however, I believe Jesus’ words that my Good Father delights in my persistent prayers, then I would pray more often. Is it possible that the reason you are not praying without ceasing is because you have a faulty view of God’s heart for your prayers?

Your Good Father desires to give you good things when you pray (Matthew 7:8-11)

Matthew 7:8–11 HCSB

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him 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!

Our Good Father desires to give good things to His children who ask Him for them. I have two questions? What are the good things God desires to give? How does God give them to us?

It would be easy in our culture to immediately imply that good things mean material blessing. We live in a culture where parents feel obligated to give their children what ever makes them happy. Happiness is often equated with things: Xbox, Play Station, brand name shoes and clothes, new car at sixteen years old, spending money, private education, and so on. And if parents are not able to do these “good things” for their children, then they are not good parents. They feel shame and guilt because they are not giving their children “good things” for the “good life.”

The bible does not discount material blessing. There is a sense that God provides “good things” for His children in the form of tangible wealth or material blessing. I mean, I live in a house that over 1/3 of the world would will never likely live in. I have more than a roof over my head. I have 2475 square feet. I have more than a warm shower. I have two bathrooms with showers. I have more than enough food in my house and clothes in my drawers. I have so much I can give plenty of it away and still have enough. Over 1/3 of the world cannot say that. I don’t deserve one bit of it. All the good possessions I have in the world that are here today and gone tomorrow: health, wealth, family, were given to me because God desired to give me good things. So, I don’t discount that when Jesus says God desires to give you “good things.” However, I don’t believe the material blessing is the emphasis.

Jesus already told His disciples earlier in the sermon to

Matthew 6:33 HCSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

As Thomas Tehan says, “The ἀγαθά represents all that the disciple needs in order to follow the instructions in the Sermon, things that related to seeking God and his righteousness as mentioned in 6:33, the qualities of character demanded by the sermon, the Holy Spirit as that which is necessary for understanding and obeying God’s will.”

In Short, “the Good things God desires to give to you is everything you need to joyfully advance His Kingdom by making much of Jesus in the Church, Community, and Home.”

In the context of Matthew 6:33, that includes food, clothing, and shelter. My 2475 square foot house has been given to me to joyfully advance the kingdom of God. My clothes, my food, my backyard, is all God’s good gifts to me to be used for His kingdom. When I set my affections on Christ, to seek His kingdom first, to do His righteous will in my life, God will give me good things to do His will. Moreover, Jesus says, He will not only do it, but He desires to do it.

Jesus uses a lesser to greater argument in verses 9-11. He says, “what father would give his son a stone when he asks for bread? Or what father would give their son a snake if he asks for a fish? Bread and fish were commonly used in the daily diet of God’s people. To give your children stones and snakes when they ask for bread and fish is a form of mean spirited trickery. Food is a basic necessity for survival. If parents do not provide this good thing, their children perish. No good parent wants to harm their children or even deny their children what is best for them.

So Jesus says, if you, being evil desire to give your children good gifts, how much more does your Good Father desire to give you good things.

Evil is a strong word Jesus uses to describe our total depravity. We are by nature sinners. We are morally bankrupt. We are naturally self-centered people, not God-centered. That is how Jesus describes us.

In contrast, he describes our Father, who is in heaven, who is holy (set apart-not like us), as good. If we who are evil and self-centered desire to give our children good things, how much more does Your Father, who is holy and good, desire to give you good things? The force behind the “lesser to greater argument is the contrast creates a feeling of certainty. Jesus emphasizes God’s good desire to give you “good things.”

I don’t think there is a scripture that captures this truth better than

Romans 8:32 HCSB

32 He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?

God’s desire to give you “good things” led Him to send His only begotten Son to die for your sin so that you can have the best thing in all of heaven and earth, God himself! God spared no cost to give you everything you need and want for a good life, and He did it with love in His heart. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). And God demonstrated His love for you that while you were a sinner, Christ died for you (Romans 5:8). If He is willing to give His Son to you, what will He withhold from you?

Jesus is the world’s best “good thing.” Once you have Jesus, then you can seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be given to you for your life.

This will require a radical departure from our culture's values. God, our wise Father, bestows good things upon us according to His wisdom. Parents and grandparents, you are called to do the same. Your child or grandchild’s happiness should not be your primary concern. Their holiness should be your foremost goal. Remember, both you and they are sinful. The best thing you can give them will not erase their sinfulness. Happiness, as it is often pursued in America, seldom leads to holiness. However, leading your children to holiness will lead them to true happiness, as it will lead them to Jesus, who is the best thing they will ever know.

Your Good Father will keep his promise to answer your prayers

Matthew 7:9–11 ESV

9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

I make this observation in verse eleven. Jesus makes a point to say, your Father in heaven.” This hearkens me back to when Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. He says pray like this, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” When Jesus makes that reference to the Father, he is saying that the Father, who lives in heaven, has all authority and power to rule. He is your sovereign Father.

When Jesus makes the statement here, I think he is doing the same thing. He is saying, how much more will your father, you know the one who is sovereign, give you good gifts?” Jesus is reminding us that God not only desires to give good things, but he is able to give us good things and that will will always keep his promises.

The Book of Exodus is a story of God hearing the cries of His people and answering their prayers. In Exodus 3, God hears the cries of His people in captivity. He answers their prayers not just by sending a messenger, but by coming down Himself in the form of a burning bush to deliver a promise, a promise he intended to keep at all cost. For the cries of his people from deliverance did not stop in Egypt. They’ve been heard throughout the ages until God sent his one and only Son into the world to be a mediator between God and his people.

Jesus is the good gift to us, the ultimate Mediator between God and humanity, who intercedes for us and enables us to approach the Father with confidence. His death, resurrection, and ascension paved the way for our adoption into God’s family, and empowers us with his Spirit and the right to ask, seek, and pound the door for the Father ear to hear our requests. And through the work of Jesus, the Father invites us to persistently pray over and over and over again for him to give us the kingdom of God. Have you given your life to Jesus? before you can have the promises of the Good Father, you need to make peace with him through His son. That peace can be achieved when you repent of your sin and put your faith in his son Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life and Savior of your soul. You must pray.

And when you prayer, do not believe for one second he will say harshly to you, “Do you think I’m just going to hand you a solution?” No, he promises his Son is the solution you need for peace with God.

You must Ask God for forgiveness. You must seek the Lord’s grace. You must knock on his door for mercy. He promises you will receive forgiveness. You will be given grace, and he will open the door for mercy. Our God is a Good Good Father who delights in the prayers of his children. He desires to give you good things when ask for them, and he promises to answer you for your good and His glory.