I AM A BLESSED CHILD OF A GOOD AND GENEROUS FATHER

“7 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, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 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 good things to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, my father and mother gave me a very special and unexpected gift at Christmas. My father painstakingly built a miniature Noah’s ark out of wood and my mother hand-stitched stuffed animals to place in the ark. It wasn’t until I was much older that I came to appreciate how much of a labor of love this must have been for them to carefully construct and create such a wonderful gift. We did not have a lot of money in those days, so they used what they had to express their love for me.

As I write this article, I am wondering how many children today have parents who are basically good and generous to bestow good gifts upon them? I also wonder how many people in Jesus’ audience in Matthew 5-7 had experienced the goodness and generosity of their earthly fathers when it comes to the bestowal of good gifts upon them? Before I get ahead of myself, let’s back up to this scene on a mountainside where Jesus was teaching His disciples surrounded by a multitude of people (Matthew 5:1-2).

Christ had just talked to His disciples about sharing the good news of His Kingdom with unbelievers. He compared their unbelieving audience to “dogs” and “pigs” (7:6). Pigs in Jesus’ day were unclean, wild, and vicious animals. Likewise, the dogs in that day were not domestic pets like we have today. They were also unclean, wild, and despised. Jesus warns His messengers that unbelieving people may respond to the good news of the Kingdom like pigs that “trample under their feet” the “pearls” thrown before them or like dogs who “turn and tear you in pieces” when you give them special gifts (7:6b). Christ is cautioning His messengers to be discerning when sharing the good news of His Kingdom with a lost world. Some people will reject their message and turn against them. Therefore, they must be wise about approaching hard-hearted people and rely on the Holy Spirit to prepare those people before sharing more of the message with them (cf. John 16:8-11).

It is in this context that Jesus instructs His followers to pray to their heavenly Father Who is the exact opposite of their persecutors. Christ says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (7:7). The words “ask” (aiteō), “seek” (zēteō), and “knock” (krouō) are all present imperatives which would be translated – “keep on asking … seeking … and knocking.” Do not give up no matter how strong the opposition. Jesus is saying to “ask” your Father in heaven for what you need. “Seek” your Father for what you need. “Knock” on the door of Your Father’s house so He will open and give you what you need. God has a huge storehouse of blessings in heaven to give you, but you must ask Him for them to receive them. And these blessings are not necessarily monetary. They may be in the form of favor with those you witness to. He may bless you with protection or boldness as you share the gospel with the unsaved. He may give you assurance when you are plagued with doubts or security when you feel extremely vulnerable.

Christ emphasizes the certain results of persisting in prayer, “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” (7:7-8). There is no doubt in Jesus’ mind that persistent prayer “WILL BE” answered. His promise allows no room for uncertainty. He does not say they “might be” or “may be” answered. He says they “WILL BE” answered! Why is Jesus so certain of answered prayer? Is it because of our performance or godliness? Our worthiness? Not at all. It it because of the character of our heavenly Father.

Jesus asks His audience, “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent” (7:9-10)? As I read these verses,I wondered if Jesus may have paused for a few seconds after He asked these questions to scan the faces of His audience. Might there have been some faces that winced in pain? Faces that were covered with confusion because they did not have a father who was there to meet their needs? Or if their father was there, he did not give them wholesome (“bread”) or nutritious (“fish”) food for them to enjoy. Instead he used his resources to buy things to medicate his own pain such as alcohol or a prostitute.

Some of you reading this article may be fatherless. You did not have an earthly father who displayed any degree of goodness and generosity towards you. This has left you with deep father wounds in your soul. The idea of a loving and generous father seems foreign to your thoughts and experiences. It is difficult for you to approach your Father in heaven with any sort of expectancy that He will hear or answer your prayers.

Whether our earthly fathers were good and generous or not, Jesus wants His followers to know that their heavenly Father exceeds the goodness and generosity any decent father on earth displayed. Jesus turns to look at the fathers in His audience and He says to them, “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 good things to those who ask Him” (7:11)! Jesus’ point is if our selfish and self-absorbed (“evil”) earthly fathers did not give disappointing (“rock”) or dangerous (“serpent”) gifts when asked for what is wholesome (“bread”) and nutritious (“fish”), how much more will our Father in heaven Who is perfect in goodness and generosity, “give good things to those who ask Him?” (7:11b).

This is why He encourages us to persist in “asking … seeking … and knocking.” Not because of our goodness, but because of the good and loving nature of our Father Who is in heaven. He delights in giving His children good gifts.

Notice the phrase “your Father in heaven” (7:11). Before you can pray like this, you must know God as your Father. Not know about Him, but know Him personally. How? The Bible says, “If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin…” (Galatians 3:21-22a NLT). We cannot become God’s child by obeying God’s laws. God’s laws actually reveal our sinfulness and that we are slaves of sin. No matter how much good you have done, you are still a sinner. You fall short of God’s standard of perfection and deserve to be punished. When we realize we cannot save ourselves from sin, then we will be more open to receiving the promise of eternal life through faith in Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:3-6).

“So we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ… For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:22b, 26 NLT). To know God as your Father requires faith in Jesus Christ. For example, just as you trust a chair to hold you up through no effort of your own, so you must trust Christ, through no effort of your own, to give you everlasting life. Once you do, it does not matter when Jesus returns, you will have a home in heaven with Him. You won’t have to panic when some preacher starts predicting the end of the world because you have the assurance you will live with Jesus forever because of your faith in His promise to give eternal life to whoever believes in Him (John 3:16).

Child of God, if you are not asking your Father in heaven to give you good things you are living below average!But when you ask the Father for more and more blessings, you are asking Him to engage in one of His favorite activities. After all, God loves to give and He has a storehouse full of blessings to give you, but You must ask Him for them. When we ask our Father in heaven to bless us, we step forward into another life. And as God blesses us, He wants us to share those blessings with others.

Prayer: Loving Father in heaven, when I awake in the morning, it is with eagerness that I enter into Your presence to soak up Your goodness and grace towards me through Jesus Christ. So many things on earth have distorted my perception of You as my Father in heaven, but I am learning to trust what You say about Yourself in the Bible. I need Your grace to renew my mind in such a way that I may see You as You truly are – a good and loving Father Who delights in lavishing His children with good and perfect gifts from above. It is a fairly new thought for me to think that when I ask You to bless me, I am asking You to engage in one of Your favorite activities. With Your help Father, I am committed to persevering in prayer knowing that You are perfect in goodness and grace. You delight in lavishing me with Your many blessings. Please lead me to the people You want me to share Your blessings with. Oh, how I praise You for being my Father in heaven! And I thank You for loving me more than I ever thought possible. I look forward to talking with You again. With much love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.