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Matthew 7:7, 8 - Ask, Seek and Knock To Receive, Find and Open.

Matthew 7:7, 8 (KJV) Ask, and it shall be 
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it 
shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that 
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and 
to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  

COMMENTARY PEARL

   How do you suppose Jesus felt about the 
basket inventory in Matthew 14:17 of only five 
loaves and two fish? Any chance he might have 
wanted them to include the rest of the 
possibilities? Involve all the options? Do you think he was 
hoping someone might count to eight? 
   Well, lets see. We have five 
loaves, two fishand Jesus! Jesus Christ. The 
same Jesus who told us: 
   Ask and it will be given to you; seek and 
you will find; knock and the door will be opened 
to you. (Luke 11:9 NIV) 
   If you remain in me and my words remain 
in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be 
given you. (John 15:7 NIV) 
   What ever you ask for in prayer, believe 
that you have received it, and it will be yours. 
(Mark 11:24 NIV) 
   Standing next to the disciples was the 
solution to their problemsbut they didnt go to 
him. They stopped their count at seven and 
worried. 
   What about you? Are you counting to 
seven, or to eight? [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at 
maxlucado.com] 

COMMENTARY 

   When you forget how eager God is to help 
you, its easy to start depending on yourself 
and to stop asking God for his help and 
provision. 
   Perhaps you only ask God for the big 
stuff and not the small stuff. Guess what: 
Everything is small to God. None of your requests are 
big in Gods eyes! He has every hair on your 
head numbered, and he knows how many fell out in 
the sink this morning. 
   Youre not bothering God when you give 
him your requests. Hes the one who set up the 
system of prayer in the first place. Thats why 
the New Testament tells us more than 20 times to 
ask for whatever we need in prayer: 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). 
   If its big enough to worry about, 
its big enough to pray about. Worry wont 
solve it, but prayer will. 
   God grows your faith and trust the same 
way a parent teaches a child to trust (Luke 
11:13). First, the child recognizes an unmet need. 
Second, the child expresses that need. Third, the 
parent meets that need. 
   God uses this same cycle to teach you how 
to trust him. You have an unmet need. You 
express that unmet need to God. God meets that need, 
and you learn to trust him more. If youre not 
expressing your needs to God, how can you grow in 
trust? Thats the only way you learn. 
   God proves his goodness when you ask. But 
you must wait patiently for Gods timing to 
deliver. God often does not give immediate answers 
because he wants to test your faith. 
   We learn to trust God by watching for the 
many ways he meets our needs and answers our 
prayers. This reminds us that God is reliable and can 
be counted on. [Daily Devotional by Rick 
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

   Sometimes we find ourselves praying over 
and over again with the same request. We know 
that God hears us and has a plan based on his 
wisdom, knowledge, and sovereignty, but we're still 
waiting for an answer to our prayers. When God 
doesn't seem to answer our prayers right away, we 
naturally assume that the timing must not be right for 
him to reveal his answer. 
   Our Father knows our needs. Our concerns, 
big and small, matter to him, and he hears our 
prayers and responds in his perfect timing. Jesus 
reminds us that even a sinful earthly father would 
never give his child a snake when he asks for a 
fish, or a stone when his kid asks for bread. 
   As a father, I love giving my six kids 
what they ask for. But sometimes I know better 
than they do what they can handle or whether 
they're even ready to receive it. If our human 
parental instincts are loving and generous, then our 
heavenly Father's must be beyond our imagination. God 
always wants what's best for his children. We may 
not get what we ask for, but we always get 
what's in our best interests. 
   Your Father loves you and will give you 
what you need. 
   Father God, I know that you hear my 
prayers, even when I'm forced to wait patiently for 
your answer. Today I will trust in you, knowing 
that you always want what's truly best for me. 
[Daily Power by Craig Groeschel re Matt. 7:9-11] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE


http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180131-1035.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs