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Ask, Seek, Knock: How to Pray Effectively and Receive God's Blessings
Prayer is one of the most powerful and essential aspects of the Christian life. It is our way of communicating with God and expressing our needs, desires, praises and thanks. But how can we pray effectively and receive God's blessings Jesus gave us some clear instructions in Matthew 7:7-11:
"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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
In this article, we will explore what these three words - ask, seek and knock - mean for our prayer life and how we can apply them to experience God's goodness and grace.
Ask: Express Your Needs and Desires to God
The first word that Jesus used is "ask". This means that we should not be afraid or ashamed to express our needs and desires to God. He already knows what we need before we ask him (Matthew 6:8), but he wants us to come to him with a humble and sincere heart and make our requests known to him (Philippians 4:6).
Asking also implies that we trust God to provide for us according to his will and wisdom. We do not demand or dictate what we want from God, but we submit our requests to him with faith and gratitude. We also acknowledge that he is the source of every good thing that we have (James 1:17) and that he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Some examples of things that we can ask God for are:
Wisdom and guidance for our decisions and actions (James 1:5)
Strength and courage for our challenges and trials (Isaiah 41:10)
Forgiveness and cleansing for our sins and mistakes (1 John 1:9)
Healing and restoration for our physical, emotional and spiritual wounds (Psalm 103:3)
Peace and joy for our hearts and minds (John 14:27)
Provision and protection for our daily needs (Matthew 6:11)
Blessing and favor for our relationships, work and ministry (Psalm 90:17)
Seek: Pursue God's Presence and Will
The second word that Jesus used is "seek". This means that we should not only ask God for what we need or want, but also pursue his presence and will in our lives. He wants us to seek him first above all else (Matthew 6:33) and to delight ourselves in him (Psalm 37:4).
Seeking also implies that we are willing to follow God's direction and obey his commands. We do not seek him for selfish reasons or ulterior motives, but we seek him with a genuine desire to know him more and please him more. We also recognize that he is the only one who can satisfy our deepest longings and fulfill our highest purposes (Psalm 63:1).
Some examples of ways that we can seek God are:
Reading and meditating on his word daily (Psalm 119:105)
Praying and listening to his voice regularly (Jeremiah 33:3)
Worshipping and praising his name continually (Psalm 34:1)
Serving and loving his people faithfully (Galatians 5:13)
Giving and sharing his resources generously (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Fasting and sacrificing our flesh occasionally (Matthew 6:16-18)
Repenting and turning away from our sins constantly (Acts 3:19) aa16f39245