"Who's at the Door?"

“An open door says, “Come in.” A shut door says, “Who are you?"   - Carl Sandburg, Doors

Depending on which side you might find yourself, a door can either let things in or keep things out. Scripture uses “doors” to illustrate the importance of sincere, continual prayer to Jesus.

Let’s examine what this means for believing Christians. It isn't enough (or fair) to petition God for something once and then be done with it. This is a sad, but all too common occurrence when it comes to prayer. 

Jesus illustrates this point in Matthew 7:7. As the verse opens we are immediately struck with, "Ask, and it will be given to you;" Are you truly praying, or simply going through the motions?

I've had some tell me they've given up on prayer because it never works for them. Allow me to emphasize: God knows exactly what we need! It may not be what "we" want or ask for, but we can trust our lives to His decision. 

When we pray, He desires to see our true faith along with a dependence on Him for our needs. Together these bring an increasing holiness in a believer's life. We must never approach Him with ulterior and/or self-serving motives.

Here, too, Jesus provides more than a template for prayer. Continual and fervent is preferred over careless, undisciplined prayer. This also applies to the attitude we bring, as well (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

Moving along, Jesus next builds on this by saying, "seek, and you will find;" (Matthew 7:7b). We are not to aimlessly follow a path, but to "seek" God Himself (Psalm 27:8; 119:2). 

God isn't hiding from us, in fact, He wants to be found. When we are focused in looking for Him in our prayers, He promises He will found (Proverbs 8:17). Unless we actively look for Him, how will we feel His presence and strength?

The verse closes with Jesus saying, "knock, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7c). Interestingly, he uses a familiar metaphor (image) for the action a need generates, and that is "knocking" on a door.

Think about it, if you needed something from another who is behind a door, what would you do? Knock! And if they didn't answer you'd patiently keep knocking until they do. Prayer works this way, too. 

As you see, there is a definite pattern here. "Ask, seek, and knock" is what God desires from us in persistent, and earnest prayer  Using our mouths, minds, and actions to communicate our love, needs, and faith to Him.

Scripture: Luke 11:9-10; Psalm 34:4; Romans 3:11; Amos 5:4; Lamentations 3:25 

Prayer: "And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him."  - 1 John 5:15 (ESV)

God bless you!

Mary