Who's there

I asked Alexa to tell me a knock, knock joke

Knock, Knock

Whose there?

Who

Who, Who?

Who lets the dogs out? Who, Who, Who

The best thing about a smart home is the corny jokes. Anyway knocking.

But I also I wondered if people in the United States will continue to knock in the years to come.

i heard a story on the radio about the younger generation finding it rude to knock on a door and not text the person that you are there.

In a world of have door bells, texting the people inside, a lot of people don’t like people coming to there door, etc.

In Paraguay the most crazy thing for me was how they do going to a strangers house.

Knock

Why all this talking about knocking, because Jesus told used the metaphor of knocking when we pray. Jesus intimately ties knocking to prayer. Our prayer life must include knocking. We need to commit today to knocking and it’s essential for us to remember what it means to knock to understand what we are to do.

Jesus said

Luke 11:9–10 CSB

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

First this is a metaphor! Obviously, you haven’t been at church where we start knocking on something. You won’t find anyone physically knocking in the bible nor is it ever a part of any manual of any early Christians to knock on doors as some part of method of prayer. You didn’t stumble into a deep secret of the power of prayer was missed. However knocking is a great description, a great metaphor of an important part of prayer that many of us miss.

It’s in this missing that many of us screw up prayer and therefore do not see the miracles of God in our lives. I do not mean that God isn’t working if we don’t do the knocking, I just mean we might not see them. There are amazing things happening all around us, but seeing is tougher.

Let me take a detour and give you an illustration.

I helped sister Frances sneak illegally across the border. I also helped my parents. If you think it was the US, you are so wrong. We all snuck across into Brazil and when I say snuck, we just got into a van and drove across.

We went to see Iguazu falls. The largest waterfalls in the Western Hemisphere. If you have ever been to Yosemite, think Yosemite falls spilling over into what feels like the entire yosemite valley. More water goes over these falls than any waterfalls on earth.

Have you ever seen it? Have you ever seen it with your own eyes? Have you ever heard the immense noise or felt the water mist on your face or seen sister Frances walk out on the Falls conquering her fear of water with great courage?

It is an amazing place.

Incredible as it separates the countries of Argentina and Brazil and is a great national park for both countries.

You’ve never seen it, never felt it, but it is still happening right now, every day, every minute, every hour, this amazingly beautiful place is still happening.

God shows us in nature something that is also happening in the lives of people all around. God is working all around us. There are amazingly beautiful things occuring in people’s lives. There are miracles that are playing out all around, and being willing to ask, seek, and knock invites us to take part in the actions of God in our world.

Knocking is the last key to seeing the miracles of God for yourself.

Apply the prayer step of knocking in your life

I’m going to tell you how to knock but first let’s review.

Luke 11:9–10 CSB

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Asking God = thinking through your requests of God and speaking your needs, worries, concerns, hopes, fears everything in your life.

When we really think through what we are asking we can see even more of what we really should be asking. Like if you are asking God for a million dollars there is nothing wrong with asking God for that but I also think it is important to ask God why you want a million dollars. For many of us it is the desire not to have financial worry. So wouldn’t it be wiser to ask God to rid us of financial worry? Or maybe its to provide adequate housing. Than ask God for a home.

Seek = Going after what you are praying about with the faith that God will answer.

Go looking for the answers, Go looking for homes. Go looking for ways to make more money. Seek the answers to your prayers like you seek out your lost cell phone. Search! Search through the scriptures for the ways God has already answered you and accept it. Seek and in each step of he process look for the ways God shows you himself. It doesn’t mean you are doing the work you are searching for the answer God is providing. Ask others who know the answers and then recognize God putting together these meetings.

If you want more go to our podcast online and listen to last week’s sermon. So we get to knocking

What is Knocking?

Well simply the knuckles of your hand against a door. Knocking can not be done with just thoughts. Knocking has to be done next to a door and not just any door but the door you really desire to enter. Knocking is the last step. If you knock on a door, one you are expecting someone to open it. 2 you have placed yourself in position to go through that door.

What does the metaphor of knocking look like in prayer?

Knocking is an active participation of faith in the prayer.

Imagine You have to have a difficult conversation with a spouse, boss, friend or even an enemy.

You ask the Lord for what to say.

You seek by looking through the Bible on how to talk about your issue, seeking advice not gossip but advice from wise people, seek the Lord’s answer for your problem.

You knock by going to the person to have the conversation, or call, text or whatever way you regularly communicate with that person knocking is putting yourself in the situation you’re praying about with the expectation that God will deliver, God is going to answer.

You walk in faith putting yourself in the position to depend totally on God. You are knocking on God’s door in each and every situation.

Another example.

Sometimes knocking doesn’t become apparent until we have already been praying and seeking for a while.

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 516: Prayer

Hyatt Moore of the Wycliffe Bible Translators writes:

On November 14, 1983, two American students named David and Ray teamed up to pray for the 40,000 Tira people in Africa. The large group had no Bible in their native tongue.

Two-and-a-half years later, other Christians, Jerry and Jan, joined them in praying daily for the Tira. Then, in March 1990, Jane and Marjeanne wrote to the Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project of Wycliffe Bible Translators, asking for the name of a Bibleless people to pray for. They too began praying …

In August 1990, we heard that Avajani, a young Tira man, was beginning to translate the Bible. Great news! We wrote, telling him of those praying and how he was an answer to their prayers.

“I’m grateful,” Avajani wrote back. “I have never known that there are teams praying for the Tira people. It is wonderful news to me. The same year and month when David and Ray started praying, I got saved. When Jerry and Jan began praying, I was accepted for theological studies … and now I have finished. Jane and Marjeanne can praise the Lord with me, too! In March 1990, a miracle happened. I met a man (a Wycliffe translator) who was able to arrange for me to study biblical translation principles and linguistics.

“God did another miracle. Many young Tira have become Christians.”

Today, seven years after David and Ray began praying in faith, the Bible is being translated for 40,000 new readers.

Although we don’t always see the effect of our prayers at the time, God hears and answers.

David and Ray asked God, sought, and knocked. Perhaps this was the fathest they could go. To put themselves out there for a cause and a people they didn’t know how to fix but knew God does.. Jane and Marjeanne continued in the asking, and God showed them a way to seek, and the best knock they could do was pray for an area that they had no ability to solve themselves but to faithfully pray. The waterfalls keep displaying the glory of God even if we don’t see them. Our prayers are being answered even if we don’t see them.

Ask, seek, knock.

An asking follower of Jesus trusts that Jesus has answers

A seeking follower of Jesus trusts that God wants to show his glory

A knocking follower of Jesus trusts that God is answering

My friends, I am serious that in 2 weeks on Mother’s Day I am going to ask about your prayers but you do not have to wait to tell us of what you are asking God, you do not have to wait to enlist our help to seek God, and let us all go and knock knowing God has answered our prayers.

Let us put ourselves into places for the healing in our lives. Knock on the barriers in your life. Look at those prayer requests and ask God. Look at those prayer requests and seek the answers, look at those prayer requests and put yourself in places where God will answer.

Let me caution, the Devil took Jesus up to a high tower and used scripture to show that Jesus could not be hurt so Jesus should step off a tower.

Matthew 4:5–7 CSB

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

Don’t be an idiot and claim it’s faith. Don’t put yourself in positions to glorify yourself, to boost your ego and demand that God will come through.

Instead ask of the Lord for the claims of your heart, seek his answers in scripture, among the church people, and in the community and then place yourself in a position of faith that glorifies God.

To accept that God is real and knows our real needs including our faith needs. There are many, many hurting people in this world who God wants you to share Let’s really know that we can trust Jesus and ask, seek and knock.

There