Matthew 7:7-12  Jesus tells us to "Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to your. "  Ask.. seek.. knock..  Three actions.  Verbal, mental, and physical actions. 

What are we to ask for?  The example is a son asking for bread or fish.  Asking for something good.. something necessary.. something that the father is more than willing to provide for the well-being of his child.  Jesus says, " .. how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (v11) 

Psalm 84:11 "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."   Paul wrote in Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Our Father knows what we need in order to become all that He desires us to be.. and He will freely give us whatever that is.. but.. we are told to "ASK". 

We are also told to "SEEK".. and keep on seeking.  In Matthew 6:33 Jesus told us to "... seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. " We don't seek the things.. we seek Him. We seek His rule and reign.. His will.. His plan.. His way. Deuteronomy 4:29 "... you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and soul."  I Chronicles 16:11 says, "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually."  And Acts 17:26-27 records Paul's message in Athens.. "and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." 

Jesus did not stop with telling us just to ask and to seek.. but He tells us also to knock. We are to keep on knocking.. so that the door will be opened.  In Luke's account of this message there is an example given. A man who has a late night visitor... needs bread to serve his friend. He goes to his other friend and knocks at the door, asking for 3 loaves of bread.  Although this friend has already gone to bed and doesn't want to get up.. he does "because of his persistence". (Luke 11:5-8)

We ask and seek and knock.. because our Father in heaven is a generous provider. He is also wise in His giving.. only providing that which is good.. according to His perfect will.  We ask and we trust Him to answer our prayer according to His wonderful grace and goodness. 

Father in heaven, we ask for Your grace to overflow in our lives so that we can treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves. We ask for discernment.. to judge ourselves and our own motives and ideas before we dare look to judge another. We ask for the Spirit of God to help us to seek You first.. Your kingdom and Your righteousness, that we might rest in Your gracious provisions.. content and thankful. We ask all of this in the only name that enables us to come before You.. the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.