Ask and Be Blessed!
Ask….Seek....knock (Matt.7:7)
Never has a verse been more misunderstood, misconstrued and abused than these words of Jesus which forms our opening text.
Vast numbers of people have treated and indeed continue to treat this Scripture as though it were an blank cheque, issued to materially prosper all who choose to appropriate it. Others insist that the message of the text is that men should persist in troubling heaven with their desires until they get whatever they want. Both schools of thought have prevailed among men so that so-called “Christian ministries” have been discovered to be founded upon these principles.
Let it at once be said that neither position is a correct exposition of our Lord’s intent when He announced those words. The Son of God did not descend from heaven to show us a spiritual way of amassing financial wealth, neither did He come only to better our lives with material things through the avenue of religion. Christ Jesus is no minister of sin. It is impossible that He would take up the body of flesh just to awaken desires of greed and to tell men that heaven approved of such desires. If nothing else, the Scriptures faithfully document the stern denunciations of The Lord and His apostles over the attitude that seeks to amass wealth and accumulate material substance. Ye cannot serve God and mammon, at once reveal the attitude of men towards money. Money is another deity, when it becomes the focal-point of human devotion.
Well might we ask, if this verse had been of the character of an blank cheque that makes us heirs of earthly wealth, and of sound health only for the asking, apart from medicinal means, what then is there to look forward to? Why wait for the coming of the Lord, since all tears, sickness, sorrow and poverty can be done away with in the present?
For those who declare that the text preaches persistence in prayer, if by that is meant, that I should continue to present my own desires and cravings, and I shall surely be heard based on my insistence, then I say, something is disastrously wrong. The experience of Israel furnishes us with an illustration of the consequences of such deadly games. He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul—Ps.106:15. It follows then that there is a asking that brings about damnation. Israel’s prayer was answered but to their spiritual detriment. In another instance, these people asked persistently for a king [1 Sam.8:5], the answer eventually came but it was to their national shame, I gave you a king in my anger and took him away in my wrath—Hos.13:11. Insisting doggedly on receiving the desires of our hearts in prayer is a direct violation of the teachings of Jesus [Matt. 6:7].
Passing over the commentaries of men and returning to our opening text itself, we pause to ask, what does the verse mean? Why did the Lord Jesus ever utter those words? The command is given to ask but what are we to ask for? In order that our understanding may be fruitful, we need to refer to the broader context of which we find the words as expressed by the Lord.
The Lord Jesus in ascending the slopes of a nearby mountain, had flung the beatific vision before the consciousness of His disciples; and the multitudes present at the foot of the mountain had heard Him. The principles which the Prince of Jehovah was uttering surpassed the demands of the law. Men were yet to satisfy the demands of the Mosaic requirements; and here was One declaring other standards that made the law appear easier to deal with.
By the provision of the law, an eye could go for an eye, but within the premises of this new dispensation even resistance was to be avoided [Matt.5:39]. There was to be no room for amassing wealth [Matt.6:19-20], the seat of desire was to be garrisoned with purity of motive [Matt.5:27-28]. Evil was to be reciprocated with good, and love was to be the new social bond [Matt.5:44]. Swearing to emphasize a truth was forbidden [Matt.5:36-37] Censorious comments about others were to be discouraged [Matt.5:22], Spirituality must exceed mere ceremony if it was to be valuable [Matt.5:20] Alms and prayers were to be offered but not for self-advertisment [Matt.6:3-8] Generally, conscience must be void of offence toward God and toward man. In summary, Character not comfort was declared to be the goal of Christianity.
Such searching requirements provoked the amazement of the audience. The principles declared by the Lord revealed a set ethics which by nature men were not inclined to. And though from the standpoint of the Lord, these were only the basics in commencing a life of intimate relationship with the Lord, to the vision of mankind it was absolutely impracticable. The glorious ideals were undoubtedly noble and greatly to be desired, but they were beyond human reach. The new “Rabbi” was both lovable and accessible even by the basest of men but His terms were most difficult. There was nothing in human nature that could encourage all such “other-worldly” behavior among the sons of Adam.
Bewilderment characterized the faces of the people. The teaching of the Nazarene was good and true but His conditions were too difficult, if not impossible. To borrow the expression of the multitude on another occasion, This is a hard saying who can understand it—Jn.6:60. Their assessment was right. We must not hasten to condemn them. So corrupt is the human nature that there was no way it was going to enter into the experience which the Lord had just declared, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God—Rom.8:7-8
But grace transcends law in that it supplies what it demands. Before the crowds began to withdraw in despair from another beautiful, and what they thought was a powerless preaching, the Lord spoke words that brought relief and encouragement. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you—Matt.7:7. He said in effect, “It is true that my conditions are impracticable by mere human resolve. But this has been taken into consideration. I am not come to merely unveil unattainable ideals. Others have so done. But If ye be willing, ye shall not find this impossible. There exists power from another realm, stronger than that which seeks to spoil and mar your personalities. I reveal God’s way and God’s way can be realized by God’s power. Only ask!
Note it well, ask and not decree as those who abuse the verse are accustomed to, but ask for your heavenly Father desires to give you good things [Mtt. 7:11].
Good things. That is the nature of that which the Father would be pleased to give those who would seek to obey Him not wealth of which Christ Jesus would later denounce with satirical sternness [Mk.8:36].
Until now God still requires that we conform to His image. His desire for us is that with each passing day, we may be renewed and renovated in mind and in body towards a realization of His glorious purpose for us. Perhaps you have read the Bible and have attained a comprehension of the claims of Jesus Christ and the entire Biblical revelation towards the formation of character.
Nevertheless your story has always been one of failure. In spite of your sincere resolves you continue to encounter defeat when assailed by lusts and passions. In the inner chambers of your being you’re determined to maintain godly calm in the presence of provocation, you have decided to resist uttering words capable of mauling another man’s reputation. In your sober moments you have concluded that you’ll always forgive, you will never complain nor murmur and you have succeeded for days in the strength of your resolve but in the end, you find that this doesn’t always last.
A person whom you spent the night praying for, sees you in the morning and fling some derogatory remarks at you and you are provoked to losing your resolution only to later weep in self-pity when you are alone.
This is bound to continue, my friend, but only as you permit it. The strength to experience godly existence comes only from the Lord. And that’s why we are encouraged to ask, for His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue—2Pt.1:3 We are encouraged to draw near and ask for, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up or us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?—Rom.8:32
Much need no more be said. There is a blessing in asking as Christ directs us, for faithful is He who has promised. Thus to you my brothers and sisters, and all who like me have come to realize the claims of God upon men and are conscious of weakness and failure but desire to live according to the principles of holiness. The promise is unto you, to your children and unto all whom the Lord our God shall call. Ask and be blessed
Vast numbers of people have treated and indeed continue to treat this Scripture as though it were an blank cheque, issued to materially prosper all who choose to appropriate it. Others insist that the message of the text is that men should persist in troubling heaven with their desires until they get whatever they want. Both schools of thought have prevailed among men so that so-called “Christian ministries” have been discovered to be founded upon these principles.
Let it at once be said that neither position is a correct exposition of our Lord’s intent when He announced those words. The Son of God did not descend from heaven to show us a spiritual way of amassing financial wealth, neither did He come only to better our lives with material things through the avenue of religion. Christ Jesus is no minister of sin. It is impossible that He would take up the body of flesh just to awaken desires of greed and to tell men that heaven approved of such desires. If nothing else, the Scriptures faithfully document the stern denunciations of The Lord and His apostles over the attitude that seeks to amass wealth and accumulate material substance. Ye cannot serve God and mammon, at once reveal the attitude of men towards money. Money is another deity, when it becomes the focal-point of human devotion.
Well might we ask, if this verse had been of the character of an blank cheque that makes us heirs of earthly wealth, and of sound health only for the asking, apart from medicinal means, what then is there to look forward to? Why wait for the coming of the Lord, since all tears, sickness, sorrow and poverty can be done away with in the present?
For those who declare that the text preaches persistence in prayer, if by that is meant, that I should continue to present my own desires and cravings, and I shall surely be heard based on my insistence, then I say, something is disastrously wrong. The experience of Israel furnishes us with an illustration of the consequences of such deadly games. He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul—Ps.106:15. It follows then that there is a asking that brings about damnation. Israel’s prayer was answered but to their spiritual detriment. In another instance, these people asked persistently for a king [1 Sam.8:5], the answer eventually came but it was to their national shame, I gave you a king in my anger and took him away in my wrath—Hos.13:11. Insisting doggedly on receiving the desires of our hearts in prayer is a direct violation of the teachings of Jesus [Matt. 6:7].
Passing over the commentaries of men and returning to our opening text itself, we pause to ask, what does the verse mean? Why did the Lord Jesus ever utter those words? The command is given to ask but what are we to ask for? In order that our understanding may be fruitful, we need to refer to the broader context of which we find the words as expressed by the Lord.
The Lord Jesus in ascending the slopes of a nearby mountain, had flung the beatific vision before the consciousness of His disciples; and the multitudes present at the foot of the mountain had heard Him. The principles which the Prince of Jehovah was uttering surpassed the demands of the law. Men were yet to satisfy the demands of the Mosaic requirements; and here was One declaring other standards that made the law appear easier to deal with.
By the provision of the law, an eye could go for an eye, but within the premises of this new dispensation even resistance was to be avoided [Matt.5:39]. There was to be no room for amassing wealth [Matt.6:19-20], the seat of desire was to be garrisoned with purity of motive [Matt.5:27-28]. Evil was to be reciprocated with good, and love was to be the new social bond [Matt.5:44]. Swearing to emphasize a truth was forbidden [Matt.5:36-37] Censorious comments about others were to be discouraged [Matt.5:22], Spirituality must exceed mere ceremony if it was to be valuable [Matt.5:20] Alms and prayers were to be offered but not for self-advertisment [Matt.6:3-8] Generally, conscience must be void of offence toward God and toward man. In summary, Character not comfort was declared to be the goal of Christianity.
Such searching requirements provoked the amazement of the audience. The principles declared by the Lord revealed a set ethics which by nature men were not inclined to. And though from the standpoint of the Lord, these were only the basics in commencing a life of intimate relationship with the Lord, to the vision of mankind it was absolutely impracticable. The glorious ideals were undoubtedly noble and greatly to be desired, but they were beyond human reach. The new “Rabbi” was both lovable and accessible even by the basest of men but His terms were most difficult. There was nothing in human nature that could encourage all such “other-worldly” behavior among the sons of Adam.
Bewilderment characterized the faces of the people. The teaching of the Nazarene was good and true but His conditions were too difficult, if not impossible. To borrow the expression of the multitude on another occasion, This is a hard saying who can understand it—Jn.6:60. Their assessment was right. We must not hasten to condemn them. So corrupt is the human nature that there was no way it was going to enter into the experience which the Lord had just declared, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God—Rom.8:7-8
But grace transcends law in that it supplies what it demands. Before the crowds began to withdraw in despair from another beautiful, and what they thought was a powerless preaching, the Lord spoke words that brought relief and encouragement. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you—Matt.7:7. He said in effect, “It is true that my conditions are impracticable by mere human resolve. But this has been taken into consideration. I am not come to merely unveil unattainable ideals. Others have so done. But If ye be willing, ye shall not find this impossible. There exists power from another realm, stronger than that which seeks to spoil and mar your personalities. I reveal God’s way and God’s way can be realized by God’s power. Only ask!
Note it well, ask and not decree as those who abuse the verse are accustomed to, but ask for your heavenly Father desires to give you good things [Mtt. 7:11].
Good things. That is the nature of that which the Father would be pleased to give those who would seek to obey Him not wealth of which Christ Jesus would later denounce with satirical sternness [Mk.8:36].
Until now God still requires that we conform to His image. His desire for us is that with each passing day, we may be renewed and renovated in mind and in body towards a realization of His glorious purpose for us. Perhaps you have read the Bible and have attained a comprehension of the claims of Jesus Christ and the entire Biblical revelation towards the formation of character.
Nevertheless your story has always been one of failure. In spite of your sincere resolves you continue to encounter defeat when assailed by lusts and passions. In the inner chambers of your being you’re determined to maintain godly calm in the presence of provocation, you have decided to resist uttering words capable of mauling another man’s reputation. In your sober moments you have concluded that you’ll always forgive, you will never complain nor murmur and you have succeeded for days in the strength of your resolve but in the end, you find that this doesn’t always last.
A person whom you spent the night praying for, sees you in the morning and fling some derogatory remarks at you and you are provoked to losing your resolution only to later weep in self-pity when you are alone.
This is bound to continue, my friend, but only as you permit it. The strength to experience godly existence comes only from the Lord. And that’s why we are encouraged to ask, for His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue—2Pt.1:3 We are encouraged to draw near and ask for, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up or us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?—Rom.8:32
Much need no more be said. There is a blessing in asking as Christ directs us, for faithful is He who has promised. Thus to you my brothers and sisters, and all who like me have come to realize the claims of God upon men and are conscious of weakness and failure but desire to live according to the principles of holiness. The promise is unto you, to your children and unto all whom the Lord our God shall call. Ask and be blessed
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