Why Don’t You Ask?
Sermon Title: Why Don’t You Ask?
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11
Pre-Sermon Introduction
This morning, we are going to address another aspect of the Sermon on the Mount that deals with prayer. If you are counting, you will notice that this is the second time within the same sermon that Jesus addresses prayer. That, for us as Christians, should highlight the importance of prayer.
This is not a casual thing that Christians do. It is the heartbeat of the church—the lifeblood of the Christian.
Now, you might believe that I am overstating the importance of prayer—that I am making prayer too essential. You might think, “I thought a Christian is someone who believes and trusts Christ for salvation. When you talk about all this praying, it seems like we have now become works-based.”
But if you are reasoning that way, I would ask that you reconsider how it is that you were saved in the first place.
If I were to ask you, “How is it that you became a Christian?” it is very important how you answer that question. There are many ways to answer it, but there is only one right way.
You see, when someone becomes a Christian, that decision is not self-made. And for us to understand this, we must meditate on the process of salvation. Oftentimes, when we think about salvation, we first think about justification. But before there is justification, there are other works—imperceptible to the eye and even to our minds—that God produces in us.
The first step in salvation is effectual calling.
You might ask yourself, “What is effectual calling?”
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines it this way:
Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, He does persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.”
Now, you might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with prayer?”
It has everything to do with prayer.
Because prayer is always a response to something.
When you call out to someone, you expect a response. That is the proper rule of dialogue and discourse: a call is always corresponded to with a response.
And so, when God calls us to Himself—when He effectually calls us, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, persuading us to embrace Jesus Christ who is freely offered in the gospel—we respond to that call with prayer.
The first reaction of your soul in salvation toward God is prayer.
That is the initial response.
The offer of the gospel is given to you. You are enabled to respond to that gospel by the power that God gives. And the first action you take upon responding to the gospel is that you pray.
You pray for God to save you.
You pray in repentance.
You pray in belief.
And so, this morning, we are actually getting to the heart of a life devoted to God. Because prayer is the first response of our souls to God’s overtures.
It is not memorizing Scripture.
It is not a Bible study.
It is prayer.
Jesus is going to teach us this morning this main point: Pray. Your Father is willing to answer!
So because that is true, listen carefully to what Jesus tells us.
We will read from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, beginning with verse 7 through verse 11:
Matthew 7:7-12
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
If we have been tracking along with Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, which began back in chapter 5, verse 1, we have seen that He is making astonishing claims.
He has demanded that our righteousness exceed that of the religious elite.
He has said that we cannot harbor hatred in our hearts.
He has called us to reject adultery—not merely in its physical expression, but even in its mental formation.
He has taught that our “yes” must be yes, that our word must be so trustworthy that oaths become unnecessary.
He has spoken about divorce as something not to be entered into lightly.
He has commanded us to do good to those who harm us.
He has called us to generosity, to pray without seeking attention, to fast for the glory of God, and to give ourselves wholly to the pursuit of the kingdom of heaven—finding our satisfaction in His will.
And most recently, He has told us not to be overly judgmental.
When you take all of this together—when you stack these commands one upon another—you begin to feel a sense of weight, even despair. There comes a point where you begin to realize how incapable you are of living this way. Your circumstances, your heart, your weakness—they all seem to testify that obedience to Christ’s commands is impossible.
And so the natural question arises:
How is this even possible?
The answer is: prayer.
Why?
Because prayer is primarily about spiritual realities.
We are often accustomed to thinking of prayer in terms of physical, tangible needs: pray for someone in the hospital, pray for success in a job interview, pray for health or stability in life. But what Scripture teaches is that prayer is primarily, fundamentally, and most importantly about spiritual things.
And to see that, I want us to consider our passage this morning by dividing it into three distinct ideas:
The Command,
The Scope,
The Disposition.
We will begin with the command.
The Command
What is the command?
It is this: ask, seek, knock.
When we look at this command that Jesus gives to His disciples, there are two initial observations we must make.
First, there is the incessant nature of what Jesus requires:
ask and keep on asking,
seek and keep on seeking,
knock and keep on knocking.
Second, there is the certainty of the response:
if you ask and keep on asking,
if you seek and keep on seeking,
if you knock and keep on knocking—
then the result will be this:
whoever asks receives,
whoever seeks finds,
and to whoever knocks it will be opened.
Jesus is emphasizing the intensity and persistence with which we are to obey this command.
Now, it is easy to assume that Jesus is giving us a blank check—that He is offering an open-ended promise for anything we might want.
You might remember the movie Blank Check. A young boy is hit by a car, and the driver, trying to avoid trouble, gives him a blank check. The boy writes in one million dollars. Unbeknownst to him, the man actually had that amount in his account, and the check clears. From that point on, the boy goes on a spending spree because he believes there are no restrictions.
Sometimes we approach this passage the same way. We think Jesus is saying: whatever comes to your mind, whatever you desire—ask for it, seek it, knock for it.
But upon closer inspection, we see that Jesus is tying these words to specific aspects of the Sermon on the Mount.
So the question we must ask is this:
What are we supposed to ask for?
What are we supposed to seek?
And where are we to knock?
When Jesus says ask, seek, and knock, He is using these words intentionally.
Consider the word ask.
Jesus has already used this idea earlier in the sermon. In Gospel of Matthew 6:8, He says that your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. And what is it that you need? You need the work of His Spirit in your life.
So when Jesus says “ask,” He is speaking about asking for the work of the Spirit.
You might ask, “Where do we see that in this passage?”
We see it in verse 11:
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.”
What are the “good things”?
They are not merely material—they are spiritual. They are the work and power of the Spirit.
This becomes even clearer when we compare this with Gospel of Luke 11:13:
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
So when Jesus says “ask,” He is calling us to continually ask for the power and work of the Spirit in our lives.
Because think about everything Jesus has already commanded in this sermon—these demands are impossible without the Spirit of God. We cannot obey Christ apart from His power at work within us.
So when you ask, and keep on asking, you are asking for strength, for power, for transformation by the Spirit.
It is amazing how often we try to live apart from the power of the Spirit—how much we rely on our own ingenuity and resources.
But God is saying: do not do that.
Notice how Jesus compares what is given to those who ask. He compares it to bread and fish. What do bread and fish do? They nourish, strengthen, and sustain.
So Jesus is saying that the Spirit of God is what nourishes, strengthens, and energizes you for a life of godliness. There is no other way.
The second command is seek.
This recalls what Jesus has already said in Gospel of Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
To seek means to pursue the kingdom of God and the righteousness required to enter it.
And how do you seek that?
In the same way you entered it.
Your first response to God’s work in your life was prayer—a prayer for mercy, a prayer of repentance, a prayer of faith. So the way you seek the kingdom is the same way you entered the kingdom: by responding to God’s work, enabled by His Spirit, in prayer.
Imagine, for instance, that you are traveling to a destination. Whether you are driving or flying, you must first set your direction—you aim your car toward the highway or the airport that will take you where you are going.
Prayer is the means by which, by God’s power, you set the direction of your soul toward pursuing God and His righteousness.
It is through prayer that you set your heart—your affections—on things above. It is like entering an address into a GPS and pressing “start.”
Church, seek—and keep on seeking.
This leads to the third command: knock.
At first, it may not be immediately clear why Jesus uses this metaphor. But in the first-century world, a person would approach a gate, knock on it to announce arrival, and request entrance. From the inside, the gate would then be opened.
Now consider what Jesus says in Gospel of Matthew 7:13–14: “Enter through the narrow gate.”
But to enter, one must first knock.
You are requesting entrance. You are responding to God’s invitation. You have been invited, and now you come, asking to be let in.
As one commentator puts it: to knock means to knock on the narrow gate that leads to life, and it will be opened—God will permit the one who asks to enter into eternal life.
How do you knock and keep on knocking so that you will enter eternal life?
This is not an anxious, doubt-filled prayer. Rather, Jesus is shaping our discipleship by helping us acknowledge our weakness—our tendency to wander, our proneness to leave the God we love.
Just because we have attended church all our lives does not mean we do not need saving from ourselves.
So when you knock and keep on knocking, you are acknowledging your weakness:
“Father, guard me from making peace with sin.
Father, guard me from deceiving myself.
Father, help me to choose the narrow way.
Father, help me to love You and seek Your reign in my life.”
Church, knock—and keep on knocking.
Main point: Pray. Your Father is willing to answer!
Many people say that God does not answer prayer.
But these prayers—God answers all the time. Minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, God is answering them.
When you ask for His Spirit,
when you ask Him to help you seek His kingdom,
when you knock, desiring to enter through the narrow gate and pursue Him rather than your own desires—
God answers that prayer.
Always.
The reason we are often disillusioned with prayer is because our requests are focused almost entirely on comfort in this life.
But here is a prayer you can pray every day—and God answers it faithfully.
So let me ask you:
When you pray, do you pray for spiritual blessings?
Or are your prayers confined to material things?
It is not that God does not care about material needs—Jesus has already taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
But what dominates your prayer life?
Are your prayers occasional and superficial, or are you praying for real heart change?
I don’t know about you, but the longer I am a Christian, the more I realize my need for God’s grace.
I once assumed that as I grew, I would become less dependent on God—like a child who eventually grows independent of his parents.
But I am finding the opposite.
The way to heaven is to depend on Christ more and more—to lean on Him, to ask and keep asking, to seek and keep seeking, to knock and keep on knocking:
“Lord, let me in.
Do not leave me in my rebellion.
Do not forsake me in my hardness of heart.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when we pray this way—when we ask, seek, and knock—would you do so daily? Hourly? Continually?
And if you are here and you are not a Christian, will you respond to God’s invitation this morning—His offer of grace and mercy through His Son?
Will you respond in faith?
God is saying to you: come to Me and have life. Repent of your rebellion and believe that there is salvation for you in Jesus.
God is saying to us: will you see that your deepest need—and the deepest need in this world—is spiritual, and that I alone am able to supply it?
God is saying: ask, seek, knock.
Why?
Because look at the scope.
The Scope
What is the scope of the invitation?
It is this: everyone who responds—everyone who has faith in God and His promises.
In verse 8, Jesus says:
“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
The invitation is to all who would respond—to all who would seek, to all who would knock.
Here, Jesus is not restricting prayer by nationality, by racial distinction, or by political affiliation. He is saying that everyone who responds to the overtures of the gospel—everyone who responds to God’s extension of mercy—everyone who asks—will receive.
As a matter of fact, the only requirement is faith.
So you might feel weak this morning, discouraged, confused. You might be struggling with a sense of self-worth. You might be trying to understand how things are going to come together.
But it does not matter—the invitation is: come.
Come if you have placed your hope in Jesus.
Come if you know your need for a Savior.
Come if you understand that the most fundamental resources you need are not found within yourself.
Come.
The story is told of Corrie ten Boom, who traveled and spoke about how God strengthened her, sustained her, and kept her through the horrors of the Holocaust.
On one occasion, after she had finished speaking, a man approached her—an officer she recognized from the concentration camps. As he came near, he extended his hand to greet her.
She recounts that in that moment, though no one else could see it, she experienced an intense internal struggle. As she thought about what this man had done—to her and to her sister—she said she mechanically extended her hand. And as she did, she prayed:
“God, I will extend my hand, but You supply the power.”
And He did.
She experienced the power of reconciliation in such a way that it left a lasting impression on her soul.
What was she doing?
She was asking.
She was pleading for God’s power.
She was seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
She was knocking—asking God to help her respond to evil with the same mercy and forgiveness that He had shown her.
So what is the circumstance you are facing this morning?
What is staring you in the face that you cannot overcome, that you cannot shake, that you cannot cast off?
Maybe there is a persistent sense of guilt.
Maybe there is constant regret over past actions.
Maybe there is even animosity toward God and His purposes.
Maybe you are struggling to believe that God is working all things for His glory and your good.
Maybe there is apathy—an indifference toward God, His Word, and His purposes—that you cannot shake.
Whatever it is, begin—even if it feels mechanical.
And God will supply the power.
Main point: Pray. Your Father is willing to answer!
So the question is:
Why don’t you ask?
Why don’t you call upon God this morning?
Why don’t you entrust your soul to His care—whether for the millionth time or for the first time?
Because He is a loving and compassionate God.
If we could picture faith—if we could make it visible—it would look like this: a person praying, calling out to God in response to His invitation.
So again, the question is:
Will you respond this morning?
Will you recognize the importance of prayer?
Will you delight in the opportunity God gives you to ask, to seek, and to knock?
Because everyone who asks will receive.
Whoever seeks will find.
And to whoever knocks, it will be opened.
How is this so?
Because of the disposition of our loving Father.
The Disposition
What is the disposition?
It is this: it comes from a good and loving Father.
From verses 9 to 11, Jesus uses an illustration from everyday life, arguing from the lesser to the greater.
He says: if one of you has a son who asks for bread, will you give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a serpent?
The obvious answer is no.
Then, in verse 11, He makes the argument:
If you, who are less than God—how are you less? Because you are beset by sin—you who are evil, instinctively know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?
We tend to fall into two errors in the Christian life:
Either we think we do not need God’s help,
or we assume that God does not want to give us help—that He is frustrated with us.
But here, God presents Himself as a Father to His children—as though you were a small child, barely able to put one foot in front of the other.
In this disposition, we see three remarkable realities about our Father.
- He is good
Verse 11 says, “If you then, who are evil…”—the implication being that God is not.
Even though we are sinful, we still know how to give good gifts to our children. And yet, if we are honest, we would admit that we fail. Not because we lack desire, but because of the sin that still dwells in us.
But God is not like that.
God is good.
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Because God is good—because He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love—
- He knows how to give good gifts
I remember when I was young, I wanted a board game. I asked my dad—and I kept asking. And one evening after a church service, I came home and found that gift waiting for me.
God does that—multiplied infinitely.
When we pray, God knows what we truly need. He will never give us what we do not need, and that itself is an act of grace.
Imagine a child who sees a bottle of cleaning solution and thinks it is apple juice. He begs for it, cries for it, insists on having it. Would a good parent give it to him?
Of course not.
And that is the goodness of God: He answers our prayers in ways that truly benefit us—giving what is necessary, what is right, what is good. God does not give harmful gifts.
- He delights to give
Look at the middle of verse 11: “how much more…”
Take the love of an earthly father—and multiply it beyond measure.
That is the heart of God toward His children.
God does not check a balance sheet before giving grace.
He does not keep a running ledger of how much mercy He has already dispensed.
He does not lose anything by giving to us.
He has a disposition to give.
And as you ask and keep on asking,
as you seek and keep on seeking,
as you knock and keep on knocking—
the God who has promised to be with you now and forever will continue to be merciful.
Main point: Pray. Your Father is willing to answer!
So this morning, we are called to heed the command:
Ask.
Seek.
Knock.
Conclusion
Will you ask your gracious heavenly Father?
Will you seek the righteousness and the disposition of heart that your soul needs?
Will you knock—and keep on knocking—asking God to guard you from rebellion and persistent sin?
This morning, the invitation is clear.
And it is for all who place their hope in Jesus Christ:
Come.
Ask.
Seek.
Knock.
Because you have a Father in heaven who gives good things to those who ask Him.
Let us pray.