“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you”
(Matthew 7:7, AMP)
HUM! Wonder why we need to keep on keeping on….asking….seeking….knocking….?
Do you know?
thedailylily.com 
Several scriptures/scriptural accounts may help answer. The first is the account of the persisitent widow in Luke 18:1-8 NLT. I think Jesus may have used this as an illustration of why He had just told them to always pray and never give up. Maybe God the Judge wants to see how serious we really are about our petitions. Like a bulldog who will grab onto the ear of a large animal and not let go until he has worn that animal down and thrown it to the ground or led it off in surrender. Maybe God wants to know if we will grab onto His ear because we trust He is the only one who can answer and help us and meet our petitions.
“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
Also:
“Never stop praying”. I Thess 5:17 NLT
“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 NKJ
And the account in Daniel 10:12-13 NKJ where Daniel had prayed, God had heard but an angel had to tell Daniel why the delay…”But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days”
A very wise lady once told me that prayer is like riding a bike. We pedal along praying and praying with each pedal. In front of us comes a curve. Most people she said give up at the curve, but only if they knew what lay ahead around the curve, the answer to the prayer that they had prayed so diligently for. Therefor we must keep on praying.
Also there is the Story in the Gospels (Luke 11:5) of the man who had a late night visitor, a friend from far away arrive at his home.
He had no food in the house to give the friend who had traveled. So he went to his neighbor and finding the door barred he knocked and called to the neighbor,” Friend, I have a visitor and am embarrassed that I have nothing to set before him. Please lend me 3 loaves of bread.” And the neighbor will call out, “Go away. We are all in our beds and cannot get up and supply you with anything!” Jesus said of this parable, ” I tell you that although the neighbor will not get up and supply him with anything because of friendship, he WILL get up and give him everything he needs because of his shameless persistence and insistence . So, keep on seeking and asking and knocking and the door SHALL be opened unto you. Everyone who asks and keeps on asking, RECEIVES. And everyone who keeps on seeking, FINDS and everyone who keeps on Knocking shall the door open to you. What earthly father among you, if your son asks for a loaf of bread will give him a stone; or a fish, will he give a serpent; or an egg will he give a scorpion? If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children who request them will your Heavenly Father, much more, give the HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask?”
How encouraging is this? That is the promise that if we sincerely seek Him. ask Him for what we need and keep knocking on the door of revelation, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what the will of the Father is for our lives. AMEN!
Seeking implies that what you are looking for may not be easily found, may not be obvious, may have to be approached from a different direction or route. Maybe we don’t really know God’s heart on the matter yet and need to find out. Or perhaps we have to spend some time wrestling like Jacob did in Genesis 32:24-26 saying to God, ” I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Also, I believe, Sara, that if I have understood what you have said to me before, is that if our prayers are not answered then maybe it’s because we are not praying correctly.
Debi, maybe we can look at prayer like good communication. At times when I speak with my husband and ask him a question I get an answer I don’t necessarily like. Therefore, I reword my question and go back and get a little different answer. One that is more palatable to my taste. We must understand I am looking for truth, good wisdom and/or help. I realize that my question was poorly worded, maybe out of context and my timing may have been way off. Maybe my hearing was fixated in an immature stage or an obsession.
I think your comment brings us back to our scripture blog on training thyself. Are we skilled and well trained? I have the vast belief system that we should work daily to learn and relearn and do it again and again. I know I need it.
Sara,
Here are the footnotes, from my Bible for Matthew 7:7&8. Read with me: “Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and followthrough, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded. Don’t give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding. He will give them to you.”
Hum, look at what the footnotes say to continue to ask him for: “knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding.” Woe, after reading this, I need to make sure I’m asking, seeking, and knocking, for what is most important?!? What do you think?
In praying correctly here are some Scriptures that give us clues. In James it says, ” you have not because you ask not. or when you do ask, you fail to receive because you ask with wrong purpose and motives, usually selfish..that is to receive and spend it on sensual, worldly pleasures.” James 4: 2-3
But also Jesus warned us not to pray monotonous, long-winded prayers thinking that we will be heard for our “much speaking”, like the pagans do.
I remember some parts of what Kenneth Copeland told of presenting his CASE in the BOARD ROOM of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He presented the facts and what they represented and what he needed and would ask for as the solution and presented it as an attorney would. He had all his information lined up so that there was no doubt as to what the situation was, in his own mind and what He was asking of the BOARD OF THE TRINITY. He said that he had a contract drawn up and the stipulations and what his part was and what the Trinity would do if THEY answered his petition.
That impressed upon my heart that we go before a HOLY TRIBUNAL when we pray and intercede. It is not some vague, misty, ethereal being that we petition but a glorious MAGISTRATE of the universe. We should have all our ducks in a row and know why and what we are asking for and be ready to hear and comply with the answer/solution from the Holy Tribunal.
Needles if I am understanding Sara correctly, your footnotes seem to back-up just what she is saying about clear and concise communication with others and with God…something we have to pursue and work at until we get it. And the 5 ingredients you mention (knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding) will determine and influence the results.
And Sara your insight about ‘Maybe my hearing was fixated in an immature stage or an obsession.’ gives us really something to think about.
Guess we might need to read and grow and learn to heed I Cor 13:11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
If we get these 5 footnote virtues in place our stress levels would decrease, don’t you think? Our stature would increase without heighten shoes. And, our outlook would challenge our present attitudes. What a wonder our God is with his generosity of footnote gifts when we seek Him!
I ask for them even now, O Lord, I pray.
amen
The scripture MG quotes from James 4 might pucture a hole in my ego while pricking at my motives. This must be the giangitic reason the word of God gives us unadulterated instructions on fellowshiping with other believers regularly and often so we can prick at one anthers motives, purposes and puncture the ego that is untrained for the goal.
When we get the 5 footnote virtues mentioned herein we will love and care and help one another. Watching Christians gather together and their caring connect may tell us a lot about the effectiveness of their prayers.
Here are the footnotes for verses 2 and 3, in James chapter 4, that MG shared: “James mentions the most common problems in prayer: not asking, asking for the wrong things, or asking for the wrong reasons. Do you talk to God at all? When you do, what do you talk about? Do you ask only to satisfy your desires? Do you seek God’s approval for what you already plan to do? Your prayers will become powerful when you allow God to change your desires so that they perfectly correspond to his will for you (1John 3:21,22).” Sara,
Your original question was: “wonder why we need to keep on keeping on….asking….seeking….knocking….?” One response could be that God desires to have an ongoing relationship with us, and conversing/praying with Him; continually, certainly nurtures that relationship, right?
Just wondering if I am on the right track? I don’t want to miss what God has for me and all of us, on thedailylily.
Matthew 7:8 “For everyone who asks, recieves. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Hebrews 11:6 ” And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
According to the above scriptures it is definately in our best interest to “keep on….asking….seeking…..and knocking….” We need to do this without stopping, we need to seek Him Now…..
Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near.”
Reading what Sara, Needles and chickenfarmer said it seems that proximity to one another and to God will sharpen our skills in prayer and communication.
I’ve seen people sharpen tools on a grinding wheel. You have to make contact with both so close that you make the sparks fly…and you have to make contact for a certain amount of time and at a certain angle or you can ruin the tool and actually dull it.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” NIV
“[As] iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the wits of another.” God’s Word
These translations could refer to one person to another.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” NLT
This translation could refer to our friend the Lord Jesus who sticks closer than a brother sharpening us as we get close to Him.
From reading Jermiah 29:11-13, I think God is stressing to us how much He wants to listen to us and bless us with help if we will put a priority on wholeheartedly communicating with Him.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a thing.” Proverbs 25:2 AMP
Perhaps God conceals things from us so that we will search for Him, His truth and what he wants to reveal to us.
Good point!
Knocking with a Promise
Philippians 4:6-9 (Amplified Bible)
6. Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ([a]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
7. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that [b]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [c]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
9Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of [d]untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.