Dec 10 - Matthew 7:7

Jesus said,

Ask, and it will be given you;

seek, and you will find;

knock, and the door

will be opened for you.

Matthew 7:7

Today, a simple grammar lesson.

In English translations, "ask," "seek," and "knock" are simple verbs.

In English, they are translated as simple commands. Jesus says "you should ask," "you must seek," "you ought to knock." "Do this and this and this," says Jesus. "If you want your prayers to be answered and your faith to grow, you ought to do these three things."

That's a good way to read this passage!

But in the original Greek, Jesus' words will bless our prayer and our faith even more.

"Ask," "seek," and "knock" are not just ordinary present tense verbs. In Greek they are in the present-imperative tense. Most accurately they mean "ask ... and keep on asking," "seek ... and keep on seeking," "knock ... and keep on knocking"! Do you feel the urgency in this more accurate translation?!

Imagine the growth in prayer if your most heartfelt requests were not just one-time arrows aimed at heaven, "God,  help Marge" or "God, heal my marriage." Those are good. God hears even one time requests. The amount and volume of our prayers does not necessarily increase their efficacy. Nevertheless, Jesus promises a powerful fruit when we invest in a continually passionate dialogue with Father-Provider!!!

Verse 8 -- a hint at tomorrow's passage -- promises that "everyone who seeks (and keeps on seeking) will  find." Often we will find the precise answer we were hoping for. More often we will find God's more gracious provision. And always, always, always, the persistent, urgent, trust asker, seeker, knocker will find a deeper relationship. Indeed "the door will be opened."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who likes Charles Spurgeon's

summary of today's verse:

Faith asks,

hope seeks,

and

love knocks