Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 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?"
These instructions are so simple that we may simply glance at the words and move on. Or we may think about things that we asked for and sought after that we never got. The source of the problem lies in verse eleven. Here, Jesus speaks of those He is addressing as being evil.
Let us be reminded this morning of who this audience was (and is). Jesus was speaking to His disciples (Matthew 5:1). The word translated as “evil” carries the idea of “hurtful, sinful, or guilty.” None of us can truly know Christ and take the stance that we have never been hurtful, sinful, or guilty of being disobedient to God.
James 4:3 tells us that when we do not receive what we have asked for, it is because we asked for the wrong thing or in the wrong manner. When we are really seeking something, we look for it at every opportunity. We ask after it often and sometimes drive long distances because we heard that the item was available in a certain place. In other words, we put some real effort into finding it.
Our heavenly Father is very gracious to us in that He withholds from us the things that we ask amiss. It is a sign of His love for us that He does not give us things that would lead to our ruin. At the same time, He teaches us that real treasure is worth going out of our way for. Knowing Him and His word is worth taking time to dig into the scriptures, pray diligently for understanding, and trust that He will give it.
Dear ones, be assured this morning that when we seek after the things of God, we shall find them. He will open our hearts to understand His instruction and to know that it is good for us. We will find treasures that money cannot buy. Peace will be opened to us that the world cannot understand. Our Father in heaven will give abundantly when we seek His way.