Matthew 7:7-12 New International Version (NIV)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

I used to own a small retail shop, and I came to recognize at least three different types of shoppers.  There are the browsers– they had no clear idea of what they were looking for, and they spent their time looking at items and chatting.  They may have ended up buying items, but they were just as likely to pick up an item, consider it, and then cast it aside if something else caught their eye, or their friends were ready to leave.

Then, there were the lookers.  They would pick up certain items, look at the price, look at the color and size, hold it up, try it on (if it can be worn); they may even ask their friends’ advice.  They had a particular need or desire, and they were looking for an item that would suit– or at least come close.

But the seekers– look out!  They marched in, came right up to the counter and asked a host of specific questions.  “Do you have_______________?”  They had a description of the item they were seeking– size, color, brand or label–often very specific and they insisted that nothing else would do.  If I assured them that I did not have that item in stock, they turned tail and walked away.  If I said that I had something similar, they may have let me bring it out for inspection–reluctantly– but one glance was all it took for them to make up their minds.  If I suggested something else, they were likely to shake their head(s) and walk away.  They may have come back in a week or month, or even the next year, looking for the same item, or something else, but they came with the same pulsing energy, and excitement.  Price was generally no object.  The fact that I didn’t have the item they were looking for did not diminish their excitement or desire to find “that one item” that brought them through my door. They may have walked out with nothing, but I was treated to several minutes of description of a special item: what made is special, how long they had been looking, all the close-calls and “might-have-beens.” I learned a lot about antiques and collectibles I had never heard of before our encounter!

We live in a world of browsers– in fact, our search engines/internet information-gathering applications are called “browsers”.  We enter a keyword, the application brings back dozens or thousands of possible sites, and we “browse” through our options until we find one that seems to give us the information we want or need.  This is fine if we are looking for general information.  It becomes frustrating if we are looking for an exact website, unless we know its domain name or URL.

In pursuing prayer, and “seeking” a closer relationship with God, sometimes, I stoop to browsing– I’m not really seeking His face, just looking around for encouragement or validation or a vague warm, fuzzy “feeling”.  God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  Earnestly, diligently, fervently.  We are not called to browse idly, but to seek boldly.

I used to work with teens.  Sometimes I would organize a scavenger hunt, or a treasure hunt.  Teams would form, clues or lists would be given, along with a time limit.  Students would run, climb, dig, crawl, scamper, push, sweep, turn things over, and under, and all around–all in the pursuit of a clue or an item for a game.  How much more might we see God’s response if we brought this kind of energy and passion to our prayer life?

I think I have some seeking to do…