A question about Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Someone posted this on my facebook wall:

My first question:
Luke 10:38,9 says “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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

What door is Jesus talking about? And how are we supposed to knock?

I think your Bible reference is actually incorrect. You might want to check it. You probably meant Luke 11:9,10

Jesus here is talking about prayer. He is talking about asking God for certain things, seeking God to find out who He is, what He is like and what He wants, and knocking on the door through persistent prayer. Let's have a look at the context.

 


1And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3Give us day by day our daily bread.

4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

5And 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; 6For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7And 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. 8I 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.

9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11If 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? 12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If 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?

 

In the verses before and after the verses you quoted Jesus is talking about prayer. So it is very reasonable that Jesus is teaching about prayer in verses 9 and 10. I don't think he is saying to ask other people for things, nor is he talking about knocking on lots of doors.

We may ask God for our needs and many other things. Sometimes simple asking for things is not the place to begin. To know how to ask and what to ask for, we should SEEK the Person we are asking things of – we need to know that Person and not just barge in with requests. 

And sometimes, we ask but there is no immediate response. There are many cases where we must continue to "knock" on the door until finally it is opened. Jesus is teaching persistence in prayer here. He doesn't want us to give up easily, but is encouraging us to get the things we ask for through faith, patience and persistence.

Hope that helps.

 

I invite you to build a faith community together with me. Join my social media channels and let’s connect, especially if you want freedom or fullness in Christ.

My Telegram has a ministry channel. On Tiktok I have many videos and new ones regularly.

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