Living In The Kingdom 19 Series

Living in the Kingdom 19

Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12; First John 5:14-15; James 1:5-7

This morning in the continuation of my series “Living in the Kingdom,” we will be examining what Jesus said about asking and receiving. As we read these verses I want to remind you that Jesus was teaching a kingdom principle about our relationship with the Father. This is what He said in Matthew 7:7-12: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! 12In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

When I was a child, I knew that there were certain things that fell within my parents’ realm of responsibility. I knew, without a doubt, that if I was hungry, needed clothes or something for school that I could go and ask and they would do their best to provide what I needed. I never had to beg them to fulfill their responsibilities relating to my care. All I had to do was make my needs known to them. Their response was always one of a caring parent – but their care came with an understanding. You see, they understood that what I thought I needed might not be a need at all. They understood that because I wanted something badly did not necessarily mean that I needed it. They understood something that I didn’t. I thought everything that I wanted was a need so if I wanted it I really needed it. It was their responsibility in their years of wisdom to decipher if my wants were actually needs. Through their wisdom I learned to differentiate between a need and a want and I knew without a doubt that when I came to them with a need they would do their best to take care of it. I wanted to open with that story because this is the point that Jesus is making in the verses we just read when He said we should ask, seek and knock.

The first word in these verses is “ask.” It comes from the Greek word “aiteo.” This word frequently suggests the attitude of the one doing the asking as being in a lesser position than the one who is being asked, as in the case of men asking something from God. However, with that being said, the use of this Greek word translated as “ask” eliminates any religious suggestion that we are “lowly worms” who have absolutely no right to come into the presence of God to make a request. It also destroys the picture that some paint where we must come to God begging and pleading for the things we need. In the Greek, and as used in these verses, the word aiteo means to be adamant in requesting and even demanding assistance in meeting tangible needs, such as food, shelter, money and so forth. Now I am not saying that we should be disrespectful or rude when we pray, but the opposite. We should come to God as a child comes to their parent who has the responsibility and resources to meet their needs. A child does not have to beg a good parent to provide for their needs – it’s part of the parent’s responsibility. Because this word suggests an attitude of the one making the request as being in an inferior position to the one they are making the request to, being respectful would automatically be a part of the request. The Greek word aiteo also describes a person who speaks out and prays boldly and authoritatively. We can pray and make requests with authority when we know that our requests are in line with what God has promised to do for us. This is the picture John paints when he wrote, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (First John 5:14-15) John tells us that if we ask anything according to His will, God hears us. Then he writes that “…if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” This is the knowledge that we should walk in when we make our request known to God – He hears us and will answer our prayers.