Lent – Ask, Seek, Knock
Lent – Ask, Seek, Knock

Lent – Ask, Seek, Knock

February 26 – Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus told the crowds, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man 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! So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

God wants us to be dependant on Him and Him alone.  He invites us to ask in prayer for our needs and wants, and if it is in His will it, it will be given to us.  The problem is since the fall, we decided to lean on our own knowledge, allow our ego to prevent us from being humble and our pride prevents us from getting on our knees and praying.  We don’t ask because we want to do it on our own and don’t want to admit we’re failing. Jesus explains to us that if evil people know how to give good things, could we imagine how much more we will receive from our Father if we only ask Him.  We know that we should give our children good food to eat, even though they sin and do not always do the right thing. So, when we, as children of God, ask our Father for something, how can the Father who is good, give us anything less than the best and the greatest of gifts. We must let go of our pride, humble ourselves and in prayer ask God to provide everything we need to fulfill His divine plan.

We are also called to seek the Truth.  Seeking God is more than just going to church on Sundays, it is finding God and learning about Him.  We are lost in this world of sin.  Instead of following God’s way, we follow the devil’s lead through temptation, which causes struggle and doubt. This in turn causes us to stray further away from God.  In the verses immediately following these, we are told to go towards the narrow gate and the straight path – that it is the wide path which will lead to destruction, because this is the way of the world.  Seek God and He will show us the truth and the correct path to find Him.

Finally, knock and it will be opened refers to those homeless who would go door to door trying to find food and shelter. They were trying to find enough for the night, just like we do when we go knocking on other’s door and not going straight to God’s house. We also are homeless in this world, as this is not our eternal home. Instead of knocking on the doors that lead us to feed our temporary needs, knock on the door which provide eternal food (the Eucharist) and search for God’s house, which is our eternal home.  Jesus is waiting for us to knock on His door! Many would not open the door to a total stranger, but when we knock on Jesus’ door, He will open it.

All we need to do is ask, seek and knock!

Lent in Action:

Pray before all things today. Ask for God’s help before each project or problem and pay attention to how it goes today.

Pray:

Dearest God, please provide for me and my family, all of our needs. Show me the way to be humble so I can honor and worship you alone, seeking to know your way and follow the narrow path. Show me the way to the Living Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, feed me with eternal food, and guide me to my eternal home in Heaven with you, forever and ever. Amen.

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