Just A.S.K

Matthew 7:7-12 read

Remember Matthew 7:7-12 is on the heals of 1-6 which speaks about judging others and how we should respond to that.

I want to suggest that this passage is teaching us about our prayer lives in relation to our personal relationships to others. In other words God is willing to change you if you are willing to ASK Him

Many times people get mad at God, doubt Him or claim the Bible is not worth it because they take this passage out of context pray for something (like a material possession) don’t receive it and then they challenge this Scripture. It forms their view of God.


In a Baylor University study
Researchers found these four ideas of God were found among believers. The data showed: • 31.4 percent believe in an Authoritarian God, who is very judgmental and engaged
• 16 percent believe in a Critical God, who is judgmental but not engaged• 25 percent believe in a Benevolent God, who is not judgmental but engaged• 23 percent believe in a Distant God, who is completely removed

Distant God
To me this is the most disturbing because there are believers in our churches today that believe that God is distant and does not concern Himself with the affairs of people.

Or no matter what we ask God He has a blank stare on His face and He will not change the course of things on our behalf.
Two OT illustrations of God changing His mind because He was asked. Ex 32 The Israelites made the Golden Calf to worship and did things that were displeasing to God. God wanted to destroy them. Moses asked Him to relent and He did v12-14

2 Kings 20 Hezekiah v4-6 God gave him 15 years.


If we believe or fall into a trap of thinking God is distant and does not care that will radically affect our prayer life and whether or not we believe God can truly change us.


Lets start in the middle of this passage to first challenge that thought then we will look to what Jesus taught as to our attitude and how we should pray especially for a change in our lives

Vrs 9-11 Jesus uses the illustration of how we being “evil” sinful can figure out how to give good gifts to our children, how can God being good not be able to deliver.
Jesus is being kind of comical as He challenges this thought process. We have to reprogram our thinking and realize that God is good God and wants to help us, comfort us, bless us and answer our prayers

Romans 8:32 The gospel illustrates God’s grace towards us.God wants to give us the desires of our hearts but also wants to change our hearts to His desires.
But we have a responsibility when it comes to prayer.

Vrs 7-8 In these two verses Jesus gives us three attitudes that we should have in prayer it repeats them and gives us the results and repeats them.

Jesus even gives us an acronym to remember it by
Ask- Dependence -receive
Seek-Passion - you will find – A beautiful letdown
Knock-Persistence - the door will be opened

Ask=Dependence, inadequate, we do not have the power inside ourselves or the resources to control the situation.

Who can help me? Can I help myself? What does the world say?
When we ask God we are admitting that we need help and it is some thing that humbles us.

When I was younger and I had to fix my bike and could not get a bolt off that was too tight I asked my Dad and I was confident that not only would he do it but he could do it.


When you ASK God you are showing your dependence on Him.
James 4 says you don’t have because you don’t ask.
But notice prior to him saying that James 4:1. This is a relational idea, if you are going to get along with other people, you need God’s help.

What is the promise?
The promise is it will be “given to you” v8 “receive”

The million dollar question is always, why didn’t it work out or I get what I wanted?

Lets look at one of Jesus prayers Luke 22:32 Jesus prayed that “Peter’s faith would not fail” did it?
But that was part of Peter’s learning experience.

So when the answer to our prayers are not what we think they should be we have to trust God that He is in control and He will work things out the way He sees fit.
When we look at prayer like that it shows our dependence on Him


Seek=Passion or desire-Don’t get confused with emotional experiences. Look at Jesus’ passion, It was obedience to the point of death. Jesus sought to do the will of the Father.

Job 5:7-9 The counsel of Job’s friend Eliphaz is to “Seek God”

Phil 2:21 Our problem is that when we seek we seek for ourselves but God wants us to seek after Him in obedience then we will find.

When we are in prayer seeking God’s direction these are the things we have to remember.

Deut 12:4-6 seek what God chooses
The more we seek God the more we find how we should pray and what we should ask for and what His direction is in each situation. Not to spend it on our own pleasure etc.

Psalm 10:4 the wicked in pride does not seek.
Psalm 34:10 those who seek will not lack
Psalm 69:32 those who seek will live
Psalm 119:1-3 Those who seek him are obeying

You may be asking, why has God put me in this situation?
Acts 17:26-28 God has put each person in a place and situation so that they would seek Him. God wants you to passionately seek Him.

Knock =Persistence
Luke 11:5-8

When God sees our persistence in prayer he appreciates our diligence and desires to reward us. Hezzikiah & Moses