Meeting guide · command 25

Ask, Seek, Knock

Persistently ask, seek, and knock, trusting the Father’s goodness and His gift of the Holy Spirit.

Read

Read the complete passage aloud.

Primary passage

Matthew 7:7–11

7 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will 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!

World English Bible

Luke

Luke 11:5–13

5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’ 7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’? 8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs. 9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

World English Bible

Jesus joins bold persistence in prayer with a comparison between flawed human parents and the Father who gives good gifts.

Discuss

Listen carefully to what Jesus says.

  1. What does Jesus command?
  2. What does this passage reveal about Him?
  3. Where do we resist this command?
  4. What is difficult or unclear?
  5. How can we pray persistently while trusting the Father’s wisdom when His answer differs from what we expect?

Practice

Choose one specific act of obedience.

Choose one kingdom-shaped request. Ask for it daily for seven days, seek any faithful action connected to it, and attend to the Father’s response.

Return

Come back and discuss what happened.

How did persistent prayer change your request, your action, or your understanding of the Father?

Close together

Pray. Then prepare to teach.

Pray

Father, teach us to ask without fear, seek without distraction, and knock without losing heart. Give us what is truly good, especially your Spirit.

Teach

Emphasize the Father’s character rather than a guarantee of every desired outcome; persistence is relational trust, not leverage.