Matthew 7:6-12: a reflection

Jesus urges us to ask, seek, and knock with confidence, assuring us that our Father in heaven gives good things to those who ask him, far more surely than an earthly father gives good gifts to his children. Ask, and it will be given you, Jesus says; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you. And he reasons: if you, 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. Jesus encourages us to come to God confidently with our requests, asking, seeking, knocking; and he grounds this confidence in the Father's goodness: earthly fathers, flawed as they are, give good gifts to their children; how much more will our heavenly Father give good things to those who ask. This shows that we can ask with confidence, for our Father gives good things to those who ask. Ask with confidence, for your Father gives good things to those who ask. God is a good Father, more ready to give than the best earthly father. Keep asking, seeking, knocking, trusting the Father's goodness. Your heavenly Father gives good things to his children who ask him.

Notice how Jesus encourages our asking and where he roots our confidence. He urges us to ask, seek, and knock, and promises that those who ask receive, those who seek find, those who knock have the door opened. He wants us to come to God persistently and confidently with our requests. And he grounds this confidence in the goodness of God as our Father. He reasons from the lesser to the greater: even earthly fathers, flawed and sinful as they are, know how to give good gifts to their children, would not give a stone for bread or a snake for a fish; how much more, then, will our heavenly Father, who is wholly good, give good things to those who ask him. This is an encouragement to confident prayer. We can be hesitant to bring our requests to God, unsure whether he will hear or give, imagining him reluctant or grudging. But Jesus assures us that God is a good Father, more ready to give good things to his children than the best earthly father; and he invites us to ask, seek, and knock with confidence, trusting the Father's goodness. We do not have to wonder whether God is willing to give good things to his children; we can ask him confidently, trusting that he gives good things to those who ask. We do well to come to God with our requests confidently, asking, seeking, and knocking, trusting the goodness of our Father who gives good things to those who ask. Ask, seek, and knock with confidence in your Father's goodness. God is more ready to give good things than the best earthly father. Do not imagine God reluctant or grudging; he gives good things to those who ask. Bring your requests to your good Father, who loves to give to his children.

That is worth taking to heart, for our Father gives good things to those who ask him, more surely than an earthly father gives good gifts, and we can ask with confidence, as Jesus urges. We can be hesitant to bring our requests to God, imagining him reluctant; but Jesus assures us that if earthly fathers give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give good things to those who ask. Ask confidently. Do not imagine God grudging or reluctant; ask, seek, and knock with confidence in the goodness of your Father, who gives good things to those who ask him. Ask, seek, and knock with confidence in the goodness of your Father, who gives good things to those who ask him, far more surely than an earthly father gives good gifts to his children, as Jesus urged us to ask and it would be given, seek and we would find, knock and it would be opened, reasoning that if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him; for Jesus encourages us to come to God confidently with our requests, asking, seeking, and knocking, and grounds this confidence in the Father's goodness, that earthly fathers, flawed as they are, give good gifts to their children and would not give a stone for bread or a snake for a fish, so how much more will our heavenly Father who is wholly good give good things to those who ask, which is an encouragement to confident prayer, since we can be hesitant to bring our requests to God, unsure whether he will hear or give and imagining him reluctant or grudging, but Jesus assures us that God is a good Father more ready to give than the best earthly father and invites us to ask, seek, and knock with confidence, so that we do not have to wonder whether God is willing to give good things to his children but can ask him confidently, trusting that he gives good things to those who ask, and we do well to come to God with our requests confidently, trusting the goodness of our Father.