Ask, and it will be given to you! (Matthew 7:1-11)

[Stephan Choe]

March 3, 2026

Key Verse 7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

Source: https://m.blog.naver.com/52silverbell/221726462278

Those who believe in Jesus Christ pray. The Christian life is, therefore, inextricably linked to prayer. However, if we pray without the firm conviction that our prayers will be answered, our faith remains powerless and joyless. But if we pray with conviction, our faith becomes strong and fruitful. Jesus, therefore, teaches us to pray with conviction. He also teaches us to communicate our needs to God specifically so that he can fulfill them. Jesus wants to encourage us with his counsel to cultivate a blessed fellowship with him and to lead a fruitful life of faith. First, he teaches us not to judge.    

1. Do Not Judge! (1-6)  

Jesus says to us, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (1-2)

Judging others is a serious problem for everyone because we tend to point the finger at others. Yet everyone is merciful with their own guilt and always has an excuse ready. But whoever judges others places themselves on God's judgment seat. This is a grave violation of God's law.  

Jesus says about our judging: “Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a plank in your own eye? Then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (3-5)

In the Bible, Jesus Christ gave us many edifying teachings. Let's take one of the Beatitudes as an example. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

We all agree with this Beatitude. The problem is that we don't apply this teaching to ourselves, but primarily to others. We readily see the splinter in someone else's eye, but prefer to overlook the plank in our own. We should recognize and overcome our self-centeredness. We should confess our guilt as soon as possible and experience forgiveness through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We should not judge others hastily, but rather meet them with love and patience and strengthen them. Then we will realize that fellowship with other people is a blessing from God. In this way, we can experience God's kingdom here on earth.

2. Ask, and it will be given to you! (7-11)

In verses 7-8, Jesus teaches us: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Jesus explains why we can be absolutely certain that prayers are answered:

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (9-11).

According to this teaching, we should:

First, have the firm conviction that God answers our prayers with great joy.

Second, we should tell God specifically what we need.

And thirdly, we should recognize and rejoice in God's greatest gift.

First, we should be convinced that God answers our prayers with great joy.

Why do some Christians pray only out of habit or not at all? – Because they don't believe that God answers their prayers. If we aren't convinced that God answers our prayers, we either pray only out of habit or not at all. But God wants us to believe in His answering prayers and to pray with conviction.

About ten years ago, I learned that God had answered Esther's prayer. Orthopedic shoes are important to me because my right leg is slightly shorter than my left due to an injury. At the time, I wanted to have a new pair of orthopedic shoes made. My previous shoemaker was Mr. Grügelsberg at Kemnaderstraße 82 in Stiepel. However, Mr. Grügelsberg told me I had to go to a different shoemaker who is a contracted partner of DAK (a German health insurance company). Therefore, I went to an orthopedic shoe store downtown with a doctor's prescription. Esther, however, was firmly convinced that God would allow me to continue having my shoes made at Grügelsberg. And indeed, the DAK health insurance company granted her request and allowed me to continue having my shoes made at Grügelsberg. Esther had given me a good example of an answered prayer. After a few years, I was no longer allowed to have my shoes made at Grügelsberg. So I had my orthopedic shoes made at the shoemaker "Ansorge" at Kemnaderstraße 104. I believe that God also answered Esther's prayer, because I didn't have to pay the fees for changing shoe stores, even though the change usually costs about 25 euros. Furthermore, the shoe store at Kemnaderstraße 104 is just as close to our apartment as the previous one.

Just as a father or mother gladly fulfills a child's wish, God gladly answers our prayers. Of course, we should wish for something good. If we ask God for something bad, He won't give us what we ask for. Or He'll give us something better than we desire. But He gladly gives us what we ask for.

That's why Jesus says that no father gives his child a stone when it asks for bread, and no mother gives her child a snake when it asks for a fish. Rather, the father or mother gives the child bread or fish.

When I was little, my mother always brought me something delicious after celebrations like weddings. Sometimes she didn't even eat it herself so she could give it to me. I couldn't imagine my mother eating something delicious just for herself without thinking of me. When the birth of our first child, Stephan, was imminent, I asked my mother to come to Germany and take care of the baby. She gladly agreed. But God called her to heaven through a stroke. I am so grateful to have had such a mother.

Our God loves us very much, just as our earthly parents love us. He gladly gives us good things when we ask Him. We don't need to doubt this. We should pray to God with this conviction. God will gladly answer our prayer. Jesus encourages us to pray to God. God is very happy to give us what we ask for because He loves us.

Our God loves us very much. Therefore, we should tell God about our specific needs and ask Him for them.

Of course, God already knows everything we need before we even tell Him. Nevertheless, He desires that we share our specific needs with Him and ask Him for them. Why? Because He wants a personal relationship with us.

We should entrust all our needs to Him. We can never burden Him with our many requests. On the contrary, He rejoices in our many requests. He is overjoyed when we reveal our needs to Him. Even if our needs are endless, He rejoices because He wants to fulfill them for us. He has a loving Father's heart for us (James 5:11b).

He is touched when we confide even our worries to Him. Nothing is insignificant to Him. There is no experience He doesn't want to hear about. He wants to hear what we have experienced, be it our sorrow or our joy. He wants to grieve with us or rejoice with us. The relationship between God and me is so intimate, as if there were no other loving person and as if He had let His Son die for me alone.

He is touched when we confide even our worries to Him. Third, we should recognize in prayer fellowship with Christ as God's greatest gift and enjoy this fellowship.

Often, a child loves their father's gifts more than the father himself. But we should not be like such a child. Above all, we should recognize that Jesus Christ is God's greatest gift. We should gratefully accept Jesus Christ, gratefully accept his love, and enjoy fellowship with him. Matthew wrote this book with the goal that we might gratefully accept Jesus Christ as God's greatest gift and have a personal fellowship with him. Jesus wants to give himself to us so that, through the Holy Spirit, we may have intimate fellowship with God.

When we have intimate fellowship with God, we have God's kingdom and eternal life, as the Apostle John says: "What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

We live with Christ. We speak with him. We hear his voice. He is in us and with us, in our joy and also in our sorrow. He will also accompany us to the Kingdom of Heaven. Fellowship with Jesus Christ is a great privilege for us.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, God has worked tirelessly to restore blessed fellowship with us. Finally, He restored it through Jesus Christ. Thus, God has fellowship with us and rejoices greatly over us. We are now children of God (John 1:12) and one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). We are deeply united with Christ. We were crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:19) and have risen with Him (Colossians 2:12; 3:1). We are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and will one day reign with Him in glory (Revelation 22:5). We are so intimately connected with Christ. Fellowship with God is God's highest goal in Jesus Christ.

We are to recognize this blessing and enjoy it in prayer. But we are not to enjoy it alone; we are to share it with as many people as possible. We are to lead others to Jesus Christ so that they, too, may experience this blessing. Through our invitation, God's kingdom spreads. Our prayer is, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

I would like to reiterate three points of this message:

First, we should pray to God with the firm conviction that He gladly grants our request. When we have this conviction, we gladly pray to God.

Second, we should clearly state our needs. God desires to fulfill our request with joy.

Third, we should pray to God that we may have a blessed fellowship with Him. Fellowship with God is the most important blessing God bestows upon us.

May God make us into good prayers and reveal His glory through us.