Matthew 7:7-14

Matthew 7:7-14 NIV

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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!

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

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I've been in professional ministry for 22 years. I remember when I first started. I had a fire inside to serve the Lord and lead everyone I could to into His loving embrace. I had a vision for ministry in which Jesus stood before us with His arms opened wide, and me leading millions of people into His embrace. The love of God in Christ compelled me to take up the mantle... and I had no idea what I was doing. I only knew He had called me and the bishop had appointed me. Clumsily, awkwardly, and naively I walked into ministry. Little did I know the burdens I would carry and the spiritual warfare I would face. There were many times in my career when I was driven to my knees in prayer.

This teaching of Jesus seems so simple, and yet it's so hard to believe. If I read it at face value, then according to Jesus I only need ask and it will be given to me. I only need to seek and I'll find what I'm looking for. I guess Bono of U2 found that seeking did not lead to what He was looking for, because he wrote the hit song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." And if I knock at heaven's door, will it open to me so easily?

My experience is varied. I've prayed for God to heal people, but sometimes God does not heal, not in the way I desire. If I had my way everyone would live to a ripe old age and then, when they are ready, fall asleep and wake up in heaven. But instead we inhabit a world in bondage to decay. People suffer and die every day. I don't know why Jesus tells us ask and it will be given, when clearly that doesn't always happen.

Still, I am witness to many answered prayers. Some prayers answered were miraculous. And my own experience is that God provides for His faithful. I've been specific about what I needed in my prayers and the Lord has given me exactly what I prayed for plus added bonuses. Once I had to get work outside my pastoral duties because the congregation could not afford to pay me full time. I asked God for a specific kind of job with a specific salary and various provisions that came with the position. I got exactly what I asked for with an additional commission potential. That has happened for me twice in my life. I graduated from seminary with no debt because the Lord provided. I sought the Lord and I found His generous grace at work all around me! I have to admit it was amazing and terrifying to be dealt with in this manner. Walking by faith was a whole new kind of game.

But now I'm older, more experienced and more comfortable with my relationship with God. I know I can trust God to give me what I need, so if I ask in God's will, I know He will eventually give it to me. Now I may not get what I covet or want, but God will always give what is needed.

Jesus' teaching centers on trust. Can you trust God? Are you able to see yourself as God's beloved child upon whom He delights in showering gifts? I'm a new grandfather. My granddaughter Margot is a beautiful girl. Every picture I see of her gives me joy. I love her and I know I'm going to do anything I can to show her my love. If she asks me for a toy at the store, I'm likely to get it for her. So if that's how I feel about my granddaughter, and I'm a sinful human, how do you think God is going to treat you when you ask for something? God is perfect and His care for His children will be quick and generous.

I know that God doesn't provide on my time schedule, but He does provide at the right time. The waiting is a test of faith and it causes me to grow in faith and obedience. So even the waiting on God to respond to our prayers is a gift!

"Knock and the door will be opened to you." I am sure Jesus was simply being poetic and effective in His preaching. Saying something three times in three different ways helps listeners grasp the point. But I'm reading this phrase as a reference to prayer. Knocking on the door for me represents contemplative prayer and that divine communion we all need. I've prayed many times and not felt anything nor heard anything. I've walked away empty handed, or so I have thought. So knocking doesn't always lead me to heaven's open door. Sometimes it feels like the doors are sealed tight, or worse, slammed in my face!

Thomas Keating, a recognized leader in contemplative prayer, says that when we don't experience emotional or physical sensations in prayer, it does not mean that God isn't working in us. We can rest assured that God is! He is working at subconscious levels, which is about 90% of our total experience anyway. When God's activity bursts into our conscious experience, it's wonderful, but that isn't necessary to reap the benefits of prayer. Ever since the curtain that covered the holy of holies in the Jerusalem temple, the day Jesus died, heaven's door has been opened too all who come in Jesus' name! So knock! The door is open! Come and fellowship with your God.

It's not an easy life, the Christian calling. In fact Jesus says the way that leads to life is through a narrow gate. The road to destruction is wide, but the path to eternal and everlasting life is narrow and few find it. The good news is that we are not without a guide, not are we without help on the journey. Ask and the Spirit of God will be your guide to eternal riches in Christ. Seek and you will find the gate that only the few find. And knock at the door and you will be welcomed into the majestic journey that is faith. Totally worth it!!!