EXPECTING DIVINE RESPONSE

Every human being has a need or desire, driven by relationship, career, ambition, family, zeal for notable accomplishment, plans to succeed and possess, and the urge to be satisfied and fulfilled in life. For this reason, God has introduced specific or definite ways for any of these needs or desires to be divinely met and accomplished in our lives.

Reference: Matthew 7:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Asking, seeking and knocking are the three definite means of presenting our requests to God. They are various levels of making supplications to our heavenly Father in form of prayer, based on the need in our life. In short, they are definite protocols for divine responses and they require the law of desire, faith and expectation. If we learn about them properly, we can be sure to apply them in our interactions with God, and expect the right responses.

We would never experience the joy of answered prayers in asking, divine discovery in our seeking and open door in our knocking, if there was never an opportunity for asking, seeking and knocking. God creates the need for the principle, so we can engage in meaningful spiritual adventures and obtain divine responses based on our specific needs, otherwise the Christian life would be boring. So before there is any ground for asking, seeking and knocking, an impossibility presents itself as a need.

In fact, one of the good definitions of faith is the ability to remain consistent with these three areas of making requests despite circumstances. Jesus is telling us that our purpose is to receive divine response or answers, but the asking, seeking and knocking are the route to His responses. God has these three means as trusted ways of getting your desires to you. This is why Jesus assures us in the next verse saying, "For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened"(Matthew 7:8 NASB). In other words, each action will be reward accordingly.

The next verse above makes it clear that Jesus is talking about prayer: Asking from the Father, seeking from the Father, and knocking on the Father's door. Every form of asking, seeking and knocking is a seed for perfect reception, finding, and open door respectively. Therefore let's briefly consider how to apply these three means of expecting and receiving response from God.

Asking: When it comes to asking and receiving answers to your requests, you must acknowledge that there is no design for you in heaven that is small. Now your capacity to ask and receive in abundance is dependent on your mindset and room for reception. This reminds us of the story of Elisha and the widow's oil in 2 Kings 4:1-7 (ESV). In verse 6, the Bible recorded that when the vessels were full, the widow said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another." Then the oil stopped flowing. This shows that there's a mindset for asking and also for sustaining or accommodating what we ask for, and this mindset matters in receiving answers to our requests.

Seeking: Seeking here can mean to engage in the search for truth in any subject matter. It is the right channel to divine wisdom. When it comes to seeking, did you know that a lot of destinies depends on your seeking? There is always a greater, bigger and deeper realities to discover about God and the truth of His Word. This is why prayerlessness, lack of Bible study and lack fellowship with the Holy Spirit can minimize our impact. Proverbs 25:2 (NIV) says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." Seeking is more about searching and discovering the dimensions of One man and His name is Christ Jesus. Christ is a mystery. Though He's now revealed in us, we still have to keep digging into His realities, and as we dig, we'll find a well of discoveries that will shock and transform our lives and destinies. In our seeking and searching, God can place a vision in our heart, and deep down inside, we know it is for destinies' transformation.

Knocking: The principle of knocking is to hear His voice. When you knock and He hears the knock, He will open, speak to you and share His thoughts with you regarding possibilities. Hearing from God can help us to know His mind concerning any opportunity because doors are related to possibilities and opportunities. You can never hear from God and still doubt Him. His voice is an irresistible voice of assurance, victory, certainty, promotion and elevation. The principle of knocking opens you up to intense divine possibilities. The advantage of knocking is that it establishes the heart, direction and wisdom of God in your life. Jesus said, "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19 NKJV). In this regard, knocking grants you the keys of the Kingdom, which denote unlimited opportunities. Instead of just opening the door for you, the whole keys are handed over to you, so you can have access and open desired doors at will. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 7:11; John 16:24; Luke 11:9-10.

Guided Prayer: Thank you Father for positioning me to imbibe the ultimate sense of divine response through the teachings of Christ. The accurate principle of presenting my requests to you has given the right character to my manner of expectations. I'm worthy and ordained to receive answers to my asking, seeking and knocking with unusual confidence, as I delight in your perfections and meditate on the truths of your Word. By standing on the Word and understanding my right to receive, I constantly experience a change of level in every area of my life in Jesus' Name, Amen!