Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Matthew 7:7
Charles Stanley points out a couple of observations here – we are commanded to ask – and to ask repeatedly!
He says “Ask, seek, knock” when you pray. That is, he says, ‘I’m giving you directions as to how to pray.’ You don’t sort of wabble and just say, “Now Lord, you know I’ve got some needs, and want you to bless him and her and Lord the Bible says you already know what I have need of before I ask, so I’m gonna just trust you and just sort of, you know”–and we just sort of mosey along and we don’t get down to business in prayer. Now one of the reasons Jesus has made this very clear and very specific in these steps he’s given us, is because that prayer is not really all that simple when you begin to evaluate it, on the one hand.
Secondly, prayer isn’t just talking to God, prayer becomes work. And prayer demands diligence. And when he says “Ask, seek, knock” Jesus is saying there’s a sequence of events. And there’s something going on here more than just something verbal. Now why did he put it in that fashion? And why did he not simply say, “Pray, and you will receive”–period, and let that be it? Because he wants us to understand the true nature of prayer, that it is more than asking. Because there are times when you and I ask and we don’t get exactly what we ask for. There are times when we ask when we don’t get what we ask for. There are times when we ask and there’s a delay. And so Jesus is teaching us here the very vital steps in an effective prayer life.
https://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/bibleway.htm
