Seek and you will find

Read Matthew 7:7-8

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In Luke’s gospel Jesus answers the disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to pray” by giving them the Lord’s Prayer and that’s then followed by the same verses which come here in the Sermon on the Mount (7-8; Lk.11:1-4,9-13). We’ve already referred to these verses as part of our consideration of the line in the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt.6:11).

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We depend upon God each day for everything, even if we often do take it for granted. And asking is the right and proper way for us to express that dependence. So Jesus urges us to do that (ask, seek, knock), with the promise that we will be heard (given, finds, opened). This applies not just to food for our bodies but also to the spiritual resources we need if we are to live out the lifestyle of God’s kingdom.

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Does living by the Sermon on the Mount seem impossible? That’s good, if it brings us to our knees, knocking on the Father’s door asking for the resources he has taught us to pray for in the Lord’s prayer! Rather than assume that living like this is beyond us, might it be true that “we do not have because we do not ask God” (Jas.4:2)? We can’t follow Jesus without the Holy Spirit’s help (Lk.11:13), so ask for it each day.