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!
When my children were small, I laid out a challenge. We had gotten a stack of Scripture cards from somewhere. In the deck were 20 or so portions of Scripture. During our evening family couch time, I declared. We would work on memorizing these verses. When we pulled it off the whole family would pack up and go get ice-cream at the local drive-in ice-cream shop. We rarely went out for ice cream, and this excited the kids. I also laid out that I thought it would go faster if they worked on the verses together during the day. At night we would review what we already thought we knew and then add a verse until we succeeded.
One of those verses was Matthew 7:7-8. My middle child and oldest son (same kid) went the extra mile because he thought how funny it was that a father might give his son a snake. The whole idea was ludicrous to him. In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is causing us to understand that God is a good Father. This Father knows us, He loves us, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. There is NO limit to what He can give to us. His provision has NO limits. This is difficult to fathom.
My portion is to ask Him in great faith. This request cannot come in a vacuum. To be honorable this request comes in the midst of a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Sit with Him and get to know Him. Understand that He is listening. He will grant all that is good for us. He will also tell us no to things that might have some unexpected problems for our future. Trust the Father, my friends, He knows what is best. Take the time to ask. Then seek His will and if He seems silent knock until He answers you.
The night the family succeeded in the memorization challenge was likely the worst possible night. Snow had fallen heavily, and the roads were bad. But a promise is a promise. We loaded up the kids in pajamas and loaded up the van and went for ice-cream. They thought it was an awesome night until the van got stuck in deep snow about 50 feet from our house. With the help of neighbors, we pushed the van in front of our house. The memorization also helped us to get to know some of our more isolated neighbors. We had often asked God to help us be a witness to them. We sought His will and when we took action He came through.
