Matthew 7:7-12
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Reflection by Keith Tan
“Everyone who asks receives.” That’s quite a promise from Jesus! Jesus challenges us to ask, and to keep on asking, even when it doesn’t seem like God is answering. It is not easy. When God is silent, it is easier to stop asking. “Prayer doesn’t work,” we say.
But does God grant every request that we ask of God? I don’t think so. I don’t believe that’s what Jesus is saying. Consider two opposing teams praying for their team to win a game – we can see how God granting every prayer request would devolve into a logical impossibility. Prayers are not spells; we are not magicians, and God is not a cosmic butler. Besides, we wouldn’t want that sort of burden anyway. Better to let God decide how to answer our prayers.
So what did Jesus mean when he said, “Ask, and it will be given to you”? The context of this passage matters, and v. 12 is a clue. It summarizes the main point of its preceding verses, vv. 1 – 11, which is about our relationship with others – to do to others what you would have them do to yourself.
Taking vv. 1 – 11 together, we see that Jesus knows human beings mess up, and teaches us how to handle that. If we are to be discriminating – if we’re careful to not judge, not cast pearls to swine; if we’re to be helpful without being hypocritical – all this is too difficult for us to do without God’s help. Therefore, we are to ask – and keep asking – God for help. It is in this context that Jesus says God will give to us what we ask for, in God’s way and in God’s time.
Jesus tells us to be persistent. Not because God is stubborn and needs to be worn down. No, God is unchanging. Prayer doesn’t change God. Prayer changes us. It changes me, and it changes my neighbor. Jesus tells us to be persistent so that our hearts are practiced to be oriented toward God; so that our hearts expand in love when we relate to our neighbor. When we are ready, God releases his good gift that we have been craving for.
If we are to help a neighbor, don’t criticize him. Instead, pray for him, and for ourself. Ask and seek God for help. Then, the path to wholeness in our relationships will be made known to us, and we will find the strength to walk it.
The Collect for the Day
Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.