Ask, Seek, Knock - Reflection on Matthew 7:7-8

In recent years, my prayer of discernment has often consisted of, “Lord, I pray that you would open and close doors that I might have clarity in knowing Your will.” Sounds pretty good, right? Well, I’ve slowly come to the realization that my mentality in praying this “open and close doors” prayer is flawed. Yesterday, as I prayed with Matthew 7:7-8, my eyes were opened to see how God desires for me to ask, seek, and knock.

I’ve been blessed to receive unexpected gifts before. I’ve run across some surprisingly neat treasures by accident. And I bet that if I’d stand on the front porch of someone’s house for long enough, they’d eventually see me and come out. Having said this, I’ve received many more gifts that I’ve actually asked for. I’ve found a lot more things by taking the time to look for them. And knocking on the door to someone’s house seems to get a few more responses than just awkwardly standing there.

So what’s this have to do with discernment? Well, as I prayed, I saw myself walking down a long hallway lined with doors on either side. The doors were labeled with each of the options that I was currently discerning. I was surprised to see that all of the doors were closed which clearly means…death?!? No, well, not yet at least. Rather, it quickly became clear that unless I were to knock or try the doorknob it would be virtually impossible to tell which doors were locked or unlocked. Pretty obvious, I know.

Similarly, God desires for us to know His will, and He certainly has the power to open doors that we haven’t even tried to open ourselves. However, God doesn’t treat us like robots that require specific commands to complete any task. In His infinite love for us, God most often entrusts us with the responsibility of actually asking, seeking, and knocking. Here in lies the difference between active and passive discernment. For much of my life, I’ve stood their awkwardly in front of doors and become frustrated when they didn’t magically open or when I came to find out that they’d been locked all along. Now I’m actively discerning God’s will by first praying, then knocking and trying the doorknob, and finally by trusting that God will lock and unlock those doors according to His plan for my life.