June 1, 2014
Matthew 7:7-8 (in context)
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.
CONSIDER THIS. . .
Asking and Seeking and Knocking. . . .
- renounces unbelief.
- requires humility.
- crucifies pride.
- forges persistence.
- animates patience.
- creates dependence.
- clarifies need.
- kills apathy.
- bolsters faith.
- squelches doubt.
- releases anxiety.
- fosters trust.
- risks vulnerability.
- rewards audacity.
- ceases passivity.
- stretches possibility.
- enriches imagination.
- foments movement.
- opens the way for on earth as it is in heaven.
Wesley had something to say about this.
O how meek and gentle, how lowly in heart, how full of love both to God and men, might you have been at this day, if you had only asked; if you had continued instant in prayer! Therefore, now, at least, “ask, and it shall be given unto you.” Ask, that you may thoroughly experience and perfectly practice the whole of that religion which our Lord has here so beautifully described. It shall then be given you, to be holy as he is holy, both in heart and in all manner of conversation. Seek, in the way he hath ordained, in searching the Scriptures, in hearing his word, in meditating thereon, in fasting, in partaking of the Supper of the Lord, and surely you shall find. You shall find that pearl of great price, that faith which overcomes the world, that peace which the world cannot give, that love which is the earnest of your inheritance. Knock; continue in prayer, and in every other way of the Lord. Be not weary or faint in your mind. Press on to the mark. Take no denial: let him not go until he bless you. And the door of mercy, of holiness, of heaven shall be opened unto you. p.216.
A.S.K. = Ask. Seek. Knock. There is no other way.
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J.D. Walt writes daily for Seedbed’s Daily Text. He serves as Seedbed’s Sower in Chief. Follow him @jdwalt on Twitter or email him at jd.walt@seedbed.com.
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