Lu 11:9 -

And I say unto you: ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

What does knock mean, and how does it differ from ask and seek?

geo

George writes:

Lu 11:9 - And I say unto you: ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

What does knock mean, and how does it differ from ask and seek

As far as I know, "knock" is just another way of saying the same thing as "ask" and "seek" in this context. The emphasis is on the prayer of petition, and to keep at it with one's best efforts - thus the exhortation to ask, seek, and knock. The promise of a response is given to each accordingly: you will receive, you will find, the door will be opened.

Yet in another Scriptural passage, those who knock at the door find that the door is not opened to them - see Luke 13:25 where the evil ones who have not entered by the narrow gate try to enter but the master of the house does not heed their knocking and says: Depart from me for I do not know you!

And in yet another use of the word "knock" we see it used about Our Lord Himself! Now it is He who is knocking at the door of our own hearts! See Revelation 3: 20 - "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens to me I will come in and we will sup together!"

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could say about Our Lord's knocking: knock and it will be opened unto you?

Come, Lord Jesus!

From Gerard Serafin

>George writes:

>>Lu 11:9 - And I say unto you: ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

>>What does knock mean, and how does it differ from ask and seek

>As far as I know, "knock" is just another way of saying the same thing as "ask" and "seek" in this context.

So does it mean another "activity"? "Asking" would seem to be a 'verbal', "seeking" to be a 'mental/visual', and "knocking" to be a 'physical' activity.

>The emphasis is on the prayer of petition, and to keep at it with one's best efforts - thus the exhortation to ask, seek, and knock.

And the Greek text has these in the present tense, with the import of "Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking", affirming your understanding of exhorting us to "keep at it" - Yet my question has to do with the three elements of the "it" that we are to "keep at". If it is, say, the Jesus Prayer and other petitionary prayers [and I have almost no doubt that it is], then to what in petitionary prayers does "knocking" refer? 'Asking' is pretty self evident in a petition, being the praying itself, and 'seeking' as well, being the activity of attentiveness or watchfulness, yes? But then comes 'knocking'... Making noise that is neither verbal nor watchful, although these are not excluded... Is this referring to fasting and askesis in general, perhaps??

>The promise of a response is given to each accordingly: you will receive, you will find, the door will be opened.

It is strange to me how I always thought I understrood these exhortations and their rewards instinctively when I first read them, and now, years later, taking a closer look, there seems to be more going on than the metaphors.

>Yet in another Scriptural passage, those who knock at the door find that the door is not opened to them - see Luke 13:25 where the evil ones who have not entered by the narrow gate try to enter but the master of the house does not heed their knocking and says: Depart from me for I do not know you!

Adding "Ye workers of iniquity..."

So what does it mean 'to be knocking'? Maybe is is the end event of the progression of first asking, then seeking, and then, finally, having asked and received, having sought and found, then and only then, can one knock that it be opened... And I am getting this uneasy sense that I am way overcomplicating the matter!

geo

ps - Nice to 'see' you again, Gerard!

Dear George and Gerard,

I'm still overwhelmed by the events, personal and public, involving World Youth Day!

But I wanted to share with you, Friends in the Lord Jesus, my own heartfelt belief that "knocking" is all about a very strong and affirming faith and constancy in prayer for the important things that are necessary in our lives lived in Christ.

These are the forgiveness of sins, the empowering by means of the Holy Spirit and His Anointing to discern God's Will for how we are to serve Him in this life - and then the courage to go out and just DO IT!

I knock now for these gifts, and I knock for them for yourselves and all the members of this Forum now.

Alex

The difference between seek and knock concerns itself with intensity of desire.

We may seek something, but if we find it, there may not be a desire to embrace it. I think this is why the Lord saved the work knock as the last in this triad of action.

We are to look (seek) for God, but when we find Him, there is to be TOTAL abandonment to His will. There are many who search for meaning in life and hear the gospel, but like the rich young man, once they hear what it involves, they do not bother to knock.

Knock means an overwhelming desire for intimacy; that is why Jesus tells us to keep knocking, and why He knocks on the door of our hearts.

I hope this helps.

In His Service,
Walter Metrick

A sinner saved by Divine Mercy