ESF Lord’s day service message
4/27/2025
Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew 7:7 11
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

While Josh McDowell was attending seminary in California, his father went Home to be with the Lord. His mother had died years earlier, but Josh was not sure of her salvation. He became depressed, thinking that she might be lost. Was she a Christian or not? The thought obsessed him. “Lord,” he prayed, “somehow give me the answer so I can get back to normal. I’ve just got to know.” It seemed like an impossible request.

Two days later, Josh drove out to the ocean. He walked to the end of a pier to be alone. There sat an old woman in a lawn chair, fishing. “Where’s your home originally?” she asked.
“Michigan, Union City,” Josh replied. “Nobody’s heard of it. I tell people it’s a suburb of…” “Battle Creek,” interrupted the woman. “I had a cousin from there. Did you know the McDowell family?”
Stunned, Josh responded, “Yes, I’m Josh McDowell!”
“I can’t believe it,” said the woman. “I’m a cousin to your mother.”
“Do you remember anything at all about my mother’s spiritual life?” asked Josh. “Why? Sure, your mom and I were just girls, teenagers when a tent revival came to town. It was the fourth night; we both went forward to accept Christ.”

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Through prayer we can receive supernatural power from God. Through prayer we become strong and effective. If we do our works without prayer, we can do only what our power enables us to do. But when we do them through prayer, we can do what God’s almighty power enables us to do.

In today’s text, Jesus teaches us how to receive God’s supernatural power through prayer.

Pray in diverse ways
What Jesus means by “ask, seek and knock” in prayer is praying in diverse ways. If we pray only one way such as praying loudly, or pray only when we kneel upon our knees, we will not pray when we can’t pray loudly or when we can’t kneel.

The devil does not fear anything we do. But he fears our prayers. Why? Through prayers the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes to be able to see how the devil works, temps and attacks. Then the Holy Spirit gives us the weapons to defend and overcome the devil’s temptations and attacks.
So, the devil constantly discourages us not to pray or to pray only in limited ways. Therefore, praying itself is waging war against the devil. We must pray in diverse ways so that we can pray at all times and in all circumstances.

The Bible shows diverse ways of prayer.
1). There are both spoken prayers and silent prayers
God encourages His people to pray loudly by crying out to Him. Jesus often prayed aloud (John 17). But prayer can be done silently also. Hannah’s prayer is a classic example of silent but sincere prayer (1 Samuel 1:13). Psalm 5:1 says, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.”

2). Praying with praise and worship
David in the Psalms constantly praised God in his prayer (Psalm 103).
Mary’s Song, so called the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) is a prayer of worship and awe.

3). Prayers of lament
In prayer, we may cry out to God in pain or sorrow. Many of David’s psalms are prayers of lament (like Psalm 13). Jeremiah’s prayer is full of lamentation over Jerusalem (Lamentations).

4). Praying with fasting
We may pray with fasting. Fasting helps our prayer focus on spiritual matters. Esther called for a fast before approaching the king (Esther 4:16). Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days (Matthew 4:2).

5). Praying in diverse postures
We may pray in different postures such as bowing, lifting hands, kneeling, or lying prostrate. Solomon knelt in prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:54). When Paul prayed with the Ephesian church leaders he knelt down (Acts 20:36-38). Jesus fell on His face while he was praying in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).

6). Singing as prayer
We can pray by singing songs of praise. Most parts of the book of Psalms are prayers of praise. Paul and Silas prayed by singing hymns to God in prison (Acts 16:25).

As we see all these examples of diverse prayers in the Bible, we can and must pray in diverse ways. By doing so, we can always pray in all circumstances. If you pray loudly all the time, try to pray silently. If you pray silently all the time, try to pray loudly. If you pray without praising, try to pray in singing praises. If you pray in the same posture all the time, try to pray in different postures. Then through your prayers you can detect and defeat the devil’s temptations and attacks.

Pray earnestly
Jesus says that we have to ask, seek and knock when we pray. What Jesus means by “ask, seek, and knock” is to pray earnestly. Earnest prayer is simple but strong, deep- felt, desperate, and determined prayer.

The prayer God is pleased with listening to and answering is earnest prayer. Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The brilliant scientist Sir Isaac Newton said that he could take his telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space. Then he added, “But when I lay it aside, go into my room, shut the door, and get down on my knees in earnest prayer, I see more of Heaven and feel closer to the Lord than if I were assisted by all the telescopes on earth.”

Elijah was an ordinary man, but when he prayed earnestly, God used his prayer to perform miracles. James 5:17 says: Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

When the apostle Peter was arrested, kept in prison and waiting for execution, the church could do nothing and had no power to rescue him. They were desperate. So, when they prayed for Peter, they did not pray lukewarmly. They prayed earnestly: “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5). God listened to their earnest prayer and miraculously rescued him from the prison (Acts 12:6-19).

When you pray earnestly, you cannot be lukewarm. When you pray earnestly you do not just pray through your mouths, but with your whole being. When you pray earnestly, you pour out your highest thoughts and deepest feelings to God and you surrender your will to God.

When you pray earnestly you do not just talk to God, but also you do whatever you can do. Think about the meaning of “ask, seek and knock” in prayer. “Seeking and knocking” are actions. To seek and knock you have to stand up, move and act with a clear goal.

If you are asking God for a job, you have to seek and knock to find that job. Just asking God for a job without doing anything is not earnest prayer. If you are asking God for peace in your relationship with others, you have to take action to reconcile with them. Just asking God for reconciliation without doing anything is not earnest prayer. If you are praying to God for health, you must do everything you can do to take care of your health- stop overeating, quit eating junk food, develop a habit of healthy eating, taking regular exercise, sleeping properly etc.

If you are praying to God to bless you financially, you have to take action and trust him in money matters. You must obey God’s financial instructions. You must use your money to serve and honor God before you use it for yourself. If you are praying to God for your spiritual growth, you must invest your time, effort and resources into spiritual matters. That is earnest prayer which is not only asking but also seeking and knocking.

Are you facing an impossible situation now? Do you need supernatural power to overcome it? Pray earnestly. While you are asking, do everything you can do, do whatever you can do, and do your best. God will listen to your prayer and answer your prayer.

Pray persistently
The words “ask, seek, knock” are present imperative command in the original Greek text. They mean continuous actions. So, they can be translated into “keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.” It means to continue praying without halting, despite difficulties or setbacks. It means persistent prayer.

Why then, do we have to pray persistently? Because God’s answer to our prayers may take longer than we expect. In addition God tests our faith by delaying answers to our prayers.

You may have prayed to God for something for a long time but haven’t received an answer to the prayer. Then, you may think that your prayers have gone unanswered. You may be tempted to quit praying. But here, the Lord is assuring you that He never ignores your prayer. He just delays answering your prayer with your best interest in mind. God’s delay of answering your prayer is not denial. Keep remembering this truth and pray persistently.

Jesus teaches this truth through the story of a poor widow in Luke 18:1-8 then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she will see that they get justice, and quickly….

It has been said that George Muller began praying for 5 of his friends. He prayed 5 years before the first one was converted; for the next one he prayed 10 years; for the third one 25 years; for the fourth nearly 50 years. The last one was converted after 52 years, at George Muller’s funeral. George Muller was the man of persistent prayer. He prayed persistently even unto death.

Some years ago, I read an interesting phrase in a fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant. The phrase said: To those who wait, a moment seems like years. When you pray earnestly and wait for God’s answer, you may feel that a day is like several days. But to God a thousand years can be a day (2 Peter 3:8). God is in control of time. He knows the best time to answer your prayer. So just be patient and persistent with your prayer. And you will surely see the day God answers your prayer.

Pray confidently

With the prayer of asking, seeking and knocking, Jesus teaches that our prayer must be confident prayer. Prayer which receives God’s answer is confident prayer. God listens to our prayer when we pray with confidence that God surely answers our prayers. James 1:6-7 says, “6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” How can we have confidence that God surely answers our prayers?

First, we must trust that God is our Heavenly Father who gives us the best.
There is no earthly father who will give a snake when his child asks for a fish or will give a stone when his child ask for bread. A father will not always give the very thing which his child asks, but he will seek the welfare of the child, and will give what he thinks is the best for the child.

God is far better than our earthly fathers. He will never give anything bad or harmful to us. He will always give us something better than what we ask for.

Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh. But the Lord did not answer his prayer as he asked. Instead, the Lord told him that His grace is sufficient for him (2 Cor. 12:7-9). So, what we always have to remember in prayer is that God is our merciful heavenly Father and He will answer to our prayers in His own mercy and goodness.

We have to pray with confidence that God hears our prayers as our heavenly Father. As the heavenly Father, He always knows what is good for us and always gives the best for us.

Second, we need to maintain an intimate relationship with God.
There is a story of prayer by a fisherman. A fisherman who was out of fellowship with the Lord was at sea with his godless companions. Then a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him to pray; but he was reluctant, saying, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that or even entered a church.” At their insistence, however, he finally cried out, “O Lord, I haven’t asked anything of You in 15 years, and if You help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise I won’t bother You again for another 15 years!”

Why did he pray without confidence? Because he did not have an intimate relationship with God. When we have an intimate relationship with God, we can pray to Him with confidence.

How can we have an intimate relationship with God so that we can pray with confidence? 1 Peter 3: 12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” When we are righteous, we can pray with confidence that God will listen to our payers. Being righteous does not mean that we are sinless or good by our own effort. It means to be forgiven and accepted by God by believing in the blood of Jesus. If we believe that through Jesus’s blood, we can have a right relationship with God, then we can pray with confidence that God will listen to our prayers. Although you have sinned, although you have been a terrible person, you still can pray confidently now if you believe in Jesus’ blood through which God accepts you as His child.

Third, we have to check the motives of our prayers.
If the motive of our prayer is seeking and following God’s will, we can be confident of His answer to our prayers.
James 4:3 says, when you ask you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
1John 5:14 says: this is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Hudson Taylor started China Inland Mission in 1865. He faithfully served the mission field in China for 51 years. From the beginning he served the mission field by completely trusting in God to supply all his needs. Of course, from time to time, he struggled with shortages of finance and mission partners, cultural barriers, his own weaknesses etc. But he realized that he always could pray with confidence if he followed God’s will. He confessed, “I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize the Lord is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine.”

While you are praying earnestly and persistently for something, ask yourself why you are praying for it. Are you praying to follow God’s will? Which word of God can justify that you are praying according to God’s will?

If you are sure that you are praying according to God’s will, be confident that God listens to your prayer.