Perhaps one of my most favourite and helpful scriptures is taken from Matthew 7:7 where Jesus says:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

What an amazing promise to those who trust in God!

This scripture is about prayer. Sometimes I can be overwhelmed by prayer — by the needs of so many— not to mention my own, the church, the community, the world… sometimes I don’t know where to start. And there have also been times, when I don’t even know how to pray about certain things. Have you ever felt that way too?

Well this amazing verse in Matthew 7:7 has not only given me incredible guidance on how to pray, it gives me assurance of what will happen when I do.

Here’s what I have gleaned from this text regarding prayer and our faithful God:

First it says to ASK. Don’t be afraid to go to God, don’t hold anything back from God. When we go to God we are actually exercising our faith because we are believing that God has the answer for what we are asking for. So ASK and it will be given to you.

It then says to SEEK. The greek word for seek is zētéō which means to crave or demand something from someone. So Jesus is literally telling us to seek Him for an answer because when you do you will find it because the answer is found in Him.

And lastly we are to KNOCK and the door will be opened to you. And I believe that Jesus is using this illustration to underline the point that we are to go to God in prayer expecting that God will answer. And God will because God says as much:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

God’s word never returns void!

God will answer you according to God’s faithful love and mercy.

So today don’t overthink prayer. Do as the scripture tells us, ASK, SEEK and KNOCK. Trust and believe that God will answer you.