Matthew 7:7-8 (NKJV)
"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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
This portion of scripture gives us what I believe are three levels of prayer. As one matures in their walk with Jesus their prayer life should grow as well. Within these three levels we see the acronym “ASK (Ask, Seek, Knock)". I want to break down each level and provide scripture to hopefully bring some clarity to the life of prayer for a child of God.
Ask:
When we ask someone a question it requires a response, correct? That response is normally verbal, and to receive a response in this manner one must hear. Can we see in scripture anything regarding hearing that would provide one with something needed to first come to Jesus, or to continue building upon their foundation of Him?
Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Scripture is clear that we do not initiate looking for God, He is the one that first comes to us.
John 6:44 (NKJV)
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
So what is the initial work of the Holy Spirit to bring someone to Jesus?
John 16:8-11 (NKJV)
“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Normally conviction is followed by judgment. When the Holy Spirit works, there is an in between step: the revelation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which can satisfy the judgment for the convicted person. What I have seen is when the Holy Spirit begins to work on a heart that person will begin to start asking questions. Many times they are asking themselves questions that at that point they have no answer for. The Lord in His goodness has a divine plan by which that person will encounter one of His children and at that point the person usually begins asking questions. By which the Lord's vessel should be yielded and walking in such close communion with the Lord they will simply speak the Word of God. Through this encounter the hearer's faith begins to stir. This stirring should take them to the next level and that of seeking!
Seek:
What is the place one should begin this level of seeking Jesus? In the Word of God through prayer with a heart postured to come to know Jesus! Why? Because Jesus is the Word and this is eternal life!
John 17:3 (NKJV)
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 1:1, 14 (NKJV)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Can we see elsewhere in scripture anything about seeking?
Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)
"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
And what happens when one finally finds Jesus and truly sees Him?
Isaiah 6:1-7 (NKJV)
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged."
Acts 9:3-7 (NKJV)
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
It is through this encounter of seeing Jesus, that one rightly responds in repentance. Can we see this in scripture?
Job 42:5-6 (NKJV)
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
Similar to the game of hide and seek, when you find who you are looking for you win. So when someone is truly seeking Jesus and they find Him, the correct response is to surrender to His lordship, and through this they are born again. In this divine exchange the Holy Spirit is now dwelling inside!
Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)
“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Ezekiel 36:27 (NKJV)
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
One of the greatest hindrances the enemy brings to a born again child of God is that the Lord is somehow far from them. This is one of the greatest lies that the believer must recognize and stand against! Many enter into their time of prayer and because they don't feel a certain way, or they don't get “the tingles, or bumps” they think God isn’t there… Many in fact spend so much time doing a bunch of religious stuff thinking they are getting Jesus to come near they lose out on so much time communing with Him.
Knock:
The third level is that of knocking. I want to show two passages of scripture that I believe give a wonderful revelation to this level of prayer and communion.
Matthew 7:8 (NLT)
“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
What door could Jesus be referring to here? I believe it is the door we see in Revelation chapter four, the door into the throne room!
Revelation 4:1-2 (NLT)
“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.”
Understand beloved this is where we are seated.
Ephesians 2:6 (NKJV)
“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
Just like the four living creatures who are covered with eyes and have been looking at Him forever, so He desires us to set our eyes upon Him. These living creatures have four faces, that of a Man, Lion, Ox, and Eagle (Ezekiel 1:10; Rev. 4:7), which are each revelations of Jesus, and so they are a direct reflection of Who they look at (2 Cor. 3:18)! Beloved, catch this!!!
Jesus wants to reveal these wonderful truths of His nature, through His Word and prayer, in order to impart wisdom and knowledge to His people! Revelation 3:7 says “...He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” The key of David is the master key to unlock divine revelation and resources into the earth. Jesus is the divine door opener and closer. Those who are faithful He will unlock new doors and those who are not faithful He will in fact shut doors!
A life of prayer should be one of fascination with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Our minds cannot fully comprehend the majesty, mercy, love, grace, justice, severity, and wrath of God. This is why He must continue to bring His people through seasons of revelation. Where He is manifesting His nature and glory in measures we are able to handle.
We see something wonderful in the commands of how the Passover Lamb was to be eaten in Exodus 12:10 which says, “You shall let none of it remain until morning…”. We are commanded to eat the whole Lamb, not just the pieces we prefer or enjoy, but all of it! Jesus is so wonderful, but His Word will confront us, not to be mean, but to root out everything that hinders greater intimacy and knowledge of Him!
Scripture says He is the potter and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8), and just as the clay spins on the potter's wheel and with each pass the vessel is formed, so it is with us. With each rotation Jesus imparts to us a new measure of His nature and it gets formed in us, and can then be seen by others. This is maturity and growth, we must not allow ourselves to get complacent, we must stay moldable in the Hands of the Lord!