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. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!  [Mathew 7:7-11, NASB]

Jesus’ words are both the source of incredible consolation as well frustration to millions of Christians. The main reason for this, I argue, is because of preachers who teach the bible without adequately and critically interpreting it. It is not enough to preach and teach the bible. We must train believers to think and reason theologically. I intend to do just this in this post.

Does everyone who asks really receive? Does everyone who seeks find?? Is the door opened to everyone who knocks??? That’s what Jesus says in Matthew 7. But what does our experience in this world teach us?

I think it is obvious that faith often asks, seeks, and knocks to no avail. It is fine to be pious, to be full of faith, to claim the promises of God, to pray for and expect divine assistance. But to me there is something even better than this sort of faith: unconditional faithfulness to God. Let me show you what I mean by using two passages from the Old Testament: one from Daniel, and the other from Habakkuk.

But even if He does not…

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”  – Daniel 3:16-18

This passage concerns the story of Daniel’s three friends who refused to bow down and worship some huge golden image in defiance of the orders of Nebuchadnezzar. They believed God to be able to save them. But they were committed to being faithful to the exclusive worship of God, even if this meant death for them. They were thrown into the fire, and miraculously saved from it. We can surmise that they were confident that God would save them. But more than anything they were determined to die as martyrs if need be. Obedience was better than life to them. This is a very radical way to live. Even if God did not choose to save them, they were determined to be faithful to God to the point of death.

I heard and my inward parts trembled,

At the sound my lips quivered.

Decay enters my bones,

And in my place I tremble.

Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,

For the people to arise who will invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength,

And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,

And makes me walk on my high places.

–Habakkuk 3.16-19

I’m not going to spend time going over the background to the book of Habakkuk. The words speak for themselves: he is committed to exulting the Lord, rejoicing in the God of his salvation, even when material blessings are absent, even when things are not going well. Can we do that? Can we rejoice in our God, even when we can barely pay the bills? Even when we are sick? Even when our prayers go unanswered?

Often times the words of Jesus are to be read as you would something in the book of Proverbs: as generalizations, not as binding promises that you can claim and count on them not going unfulfilled. It is a good thing to pray. It is good to seek for what we want and knock on the doors of opportunity. It is better to entrust yourself to God and not worry so much about whether your prayers are answered or not. This will often be painful, often be met with accusations of faithlessness, and often drive you  through seasons of apparent godforsakeness. So be it. Let us have the resolve of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Habakkuk.

Let us pray for a faith like Mary’s who prayed like this:

My soul exalts the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.