This is the third aspect of how to receive from God, as taught by the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 7 verse 7. In the first articles in this series, we considered the aspects of:
1. Ask, and it shall be given you.
In this article, we will briefly highlight the aspect of Opening the door through Knocking. Let us rehearse Matthew 7: 7 – 11:
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
It needs to be noted that when Jesus used the three action verbs of ASK, SEEK and KNOCK, He wasn’t using them interchangeably. Each verb describes an aspect, a way to receiving things from the Father because every good and perfect gift cometh from the Lord (James 1:17)
God has good things for us. To receive some of them requires simply asking God for them. For other things, He requires that we go to seek them, as He guides us to where they are and how to get them. For others too, He wants us to knock on the doors where the solutions to our needs are found. He will see our importunity and make the person inside open the door to our solutions.
When you go to knock on a door, it means:
- That you have a need and you have recognised that you have a need.
- That you believe there is someone inside to open the door for you.
- And that the person inside has the capacity to meet that need you have. This is a display of faith in the person with the solution.
- You believe that the solution you are searching for is found inside that room.
Knocking on a door involves applying the principle of persistence over resistance. That is, you will continue to mount persistence until the resistance of the giver is broken. You don’t give up. You persevere until what you are longing for has been granted.
An instance that depicts the idea of knocking is seen in the parable of the persistent widow and the resistant unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8:
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
There are doors to destiny, progress, promotion, and excellence that you cannot access until you ask, stand up to search for them and when you have found them, knock at them until they open. Those doors are closed to people who are too lazy or unwilling to ask, full of unbelief, fearful, who give excuses why they aren’t seeking and who don’t knock with importunity. The door rarely opens to people who easily give up after a trial or two.
The woman that asked Jesus for healing and He responded that you don’t give the children’s bread to the dogs mounted persistence until the resistance of our Lord Jesus Christ was broken. The story is found in Matthew 15:21-28:
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
So, knocking is a higher level of seeking. You go to the places where what you need is located, and you persistently knock until the door opens.
When knocking, you are sure that the answer is in there. It is not knocking on multiple doors. No, the answer is in the Only True God, so you are not knocking on the doors of other gods.
Hannah was knocking persistently on heaven’s gate whenever she went to Shiloh for the yearly worship and sacrifice. And her persistence paid off when God gave her Samuel. (1 Samuel chapter 1)
Jacob wrestled with God until the day was about to break. He decided never to leave Him until his desires were met. That is an instance of knocking on heaven’s doors. (Genesis 32:24-32)
You must knock persistently. You can’t afford to get discouraged when the door doesn’t open after the first knock. Also, always remember that you’re knocking at the door of a friend, so, you are sure that once he learns that you are the one, He will open. Jesus said that we are no longer strangers but friends, and even co-heirs with Him. So, we have permission to ask from the Father whatsoever we want. We are allowed to knock on the door of heaven in faith, through prayers, expecting to receive the solutions to our needs.
Jabez was a man who was instant in prayers until God opened the doors to expansion to him (1 Chronicle 4:9-10)
So, Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Plant in the rainy and dry seasons for you don’t know which will germinate (Ecclesiastes 11:6). Do that is faith and never doubt the ability of God to grant you your heart desires according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Hebrews 11:6; Philippians 4:19)
Let us conclude with Luke 11:5-13:
5 And he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Don’t also forget that Jesus knocks on our hearts daily because He loves us and desires to dine with us daily. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.”
The first letters of Ask, Seek and Knock spell ASK. So, what do you want? What have you lost? What do you need? Simply A.S.K.
