Ask, and it shall be given you

The first six verses of this chapter centre around two exhortations: the first, ‘judge not’; the second, ‘give not’. The first concerns the treatment of brethren, a warning against applying to our brother a standard we have failed to apply to ourselves, something that is so easy to do, 1 Sam. 12. 1-12. The second exhortation concerns conduct towards the unregenerate and profane, the folly of setting sacred truth before those who have neither the desire, nor capacity, to receive it - men like Herod to whom the Lord answered nothing, Luke 23. 9.

The next section of Matthew chapter 7 concerns the Father’s treatment of us, vv. 7-11, and our treatment of others, v. 12. The words ‘ask’, ‘seek’, and ‘knock’ are, in the Greek text, all in the present tense, denoting what is to be ongoing and constant, and thus importunity in praying. Again, the content of the request is not specified, so the emphasis is upon the attitude to be adopted in prayer, rather than on any one specific request and the assurance is given that all who pray thus shall receive. We are not however to assume that we can ask for anything we like, and are guaranteed to be given it. Paul prayed three times for the removal of the ‘thorn’ in his flesh, but instead of its removal the Lord said, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee’, 2 Cor. 12. 7-9. Other scriptures connect answered prayer to the petitioner keeping His commandments, asking according to His will, and asking in faith, 1 John 3. 22; 5. 14; Jas. 1. 6. The thrust of the Lord’s assurance in Matthew chapter 7 is simply that a dependent and persistent spirit of waiting upon God will not be disappointed. Now, if such praying will result in a receiving, what kind of answer can we expect? If men who are inherently ‘evil’, members of Adam’s fallen race, know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more can we expect God, who is intrinsically holy, to give good things to His children, especially when we remember He knows what we have need of, Matt. 6. 32? The concluding two verses of today’s reading draw a contrast between two ways: one leading to life; the other leading to destruction - a reminder to us that to wait upon God and to live in prayerful fellowship with God is the pathway of life.