God’s Word for You
Luke 11:9-10 Ask, seek, knock
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, July 10, 2018
9 “I tell you, keep asking and it will be given to you. Keep seeking and you will find. Keep knocking at the door and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And the one who knocks at the door will have the door opened.
Ask, seek, and knock. In Greek: “Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.” There is a progression here that’s more than an invitation to continually pray. Jesus describes an intensification in our prayers: Be fervent in them; be passionate in your prayers. Pray big! Pray bold! Pray bigger! Pray bolder! Seeking is doing more than asking. Knocking is doing more than seeking.
The knocking should have a little explanation. In their culture, the doors were left open all day. If you wanted to go and say hello to your neighbors Mel and Joan, you just stuck your head in said hello. The idea of knocking implies that it’s night time and that the family is already in bed.
So, Jesus says, if you have to knock, you may as well knock! Knock my Father right out of his bed! Sure, it’s hyperbole. But we have examples in the Bible of people ratcheting their prayers up a notch or two. The Syro-Phoenician woman took what might have seemed like a rebuke from the Lord and turned it into an illustration of her faith: “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28). In her case, the Lord was testing her, but he was also giving her an opportunity to confess her faith for our benefit. So pray boldly! Your prayer may also help to teach somebody else—somebody whose faith isn’t quite as strong as yours, but who might benefit from your good example.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.