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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

We Pray Wednesday: Ask, Seek & Knock - Part 1



 Written by Pastor Shannon Foote
 
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7

In this message, I will define these terms in the following manner: “Ask” is for gifts from God. “Seek” is for opportunity by God. “Knock” is for growth in God.

According to this verse, knocking is required to walk through the closed doors that may come in the path on which our opportunity is revealed. When we seek for that opportunity, the question we are longing to answer is: “God is this the way that you want me to go?” Funny thing, the laws of physics will not allow you to knock on doors you cannot reach. You see, you have to follow the path that God has determined for you in order to reach that door. If I enter a large room containing several exit doors, I may be able see that the doors are closed doors, but I cannot knock on them from across the room. In life, there will be times when we have several doors in front of us; there may be more than one door that would lead to the right destination. Some of those doors will open to paths with will be more difficult than necessary. This reinforces the importance of doing all three; ask, seek, and knock. Now, if I were to stand across the room, I would not be able to knock any of those doors. All too often we will convince ourselves that if we were to put forth the effort to reach the door, it would not open anyway; thereby, eliminating any opportunity for growth. God did not say look for closed doors. He said, “Knock and it shall be opened.”

In the sixteenth chapter of book of Acts we find the Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey with a man named Silas and two younger men named Luke and Timothy. They are in the region known as Macedonia in one of its larger cities, Philippi. A new church is about to be established, but it will require Paul and his team to “Ask, seek, and knock.”

Acts 16:13-14 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

“Ask”
There was a gathering of people where “Prayer was wont to be made.” (Acts 16:13) Those four men on a mission to plant a church attended this prayer meeting to ask God for a specific gift: a place for lodging and supplies for sustenance nearby the city to allow them to remain in close proximity while they established a church in the city of Philippi. The meeting place of the prayer meeting being “by a riverside” does not offer much insight to establish the size of group it was simply a common place for a gathering for folks to go and to pray. The prayer was heard by God and at least one other person, Lydia. “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. It seems to me, when she heard them asking God, He worked in her heart to offer a generous gift in answer to their prayer. Lydia, a seller of purple, (probably a wealthier person) is now ministering to the Apostle Paul and his men. Our God is absolutely amazing! When asked - God didn't just give them a cave and a stone, offering basic accommodations; NO! He made reservations at the best bed and breakfast in Philippi. So, when they went where “Prayer was wont to be made” they made their request known to God, and God provided them with a wonderful gift.

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