I've been having a dry spell in my spirit lately. I know it is because I have not been deeply in the Scriptures of late. I guess this is what happens when you enter a new year without any real goals or plan to read the Bible. I have been grazing...consuming a little here and there...but not deeply studying and not consistent.
Today I prayed "Adoni, give me more of you." And then I picked up my "God box" and looked at the first verse in it...and it was really yesterday's verse that I had seen and put back in the front. God knew that yesterday's sustenance was really for today. Here is the passage: "Everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Mt 7:8 (forgive the King James, to those of you who did not cut their teeth with it as I did. I don't use the KJV on a daily basis but my "God-box" is all KJV so that is why I chose to use it today.)
Back to the passage in Mt. 7.:
It seems to me, that "he that asketh, receiveth" refers to prayer...and I've heard ministers and others who are conversant with Greek, that the tense used in this passage is referring to a continual, habitual, asking , seeking and knocking. It can be translated "He who keeps on asking will receive. He who keeps on seeking will find, and he who keeps on knocking can enter."
How can we practically develop the practice of these actions?...So asking refers to prayer...constant, persistent prayer. Seeking refers to Bible reading and studying. And to him who knocks? it could mean intercessory prayer but I really don't think that that is the case. I think it means to welcome God into our hearts and lives...To spend time with him and to seek to be filled with his Spirit.
There is a famous tract or mini booklet called "My Heart's Christ's Home." Here is a link with the entire tract in it:
http://navigatorsdetroit.com/MHCH.pdf
I would encourage you to google it and purchase several to give to people and to keep for yourself.
In the link above is a famous painting of Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts. I think this is not so much referring to nonbelievers --I think Jesus knocks on the hearts of believers also. And he comes in and makes himself a home there and aids us in cleaning it up...even the secret closet where our most private, persistent sins are kept. He waits for us daily in the study to meet with us; for us to converse with him, to explain how to clean out the mess of our hearts and lives and to just enjoy his presence and to worship there with him.
This knocking encapsulates both the asking and the seeking. And did you notice?...It is not him knocking on the door of our hearts in this verse. No, we are to be knocking on the door of Jesus's will and worshiping there with him.
That is not to say that Jesus never knocks. If we wander, if we get lazy, if we entertain sin...he will politely knock and point these things out to us and to invite us to take out the trash and dirty laundry: to clean up his habitation.
There is a verse that says "Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit." We cannot ask God to live among the sins and sinful habits we acquire...or maybe have lugged these around since childhood and never turned them over to his Spirit to handle.
Ask. Seek and knock. Never stop.
I would encourage you to look over the link I sent above. I read it just now and found (alas) that many of the thoughts I've described here were already discussed in that article. Truly "there is nothing new under the sun." So maybe, my thoughts here were for me. But I hope they have also blessed you.
Today I prayed "Adoni, give me more of you." And then I picked up my "God box" and looked at the first verse in it...and it was really yesterday's verse that I had seen and put back in the front. God knew that yesterday's sustenance was really for today. Here is the passage: "Everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Mt 7:8 (forgive the King James, to those of you who did not cut their teeth with it as I did. I don't use the KJV on a daily basis but my "God-box" is all KJV so that is why I chose to use it today.)
Back to the passage in Mt. 7.:
It seems to me, that "he that asketh, receiveth" refers to prayer...and I've heard ministers and others who are conversant with Greek, that the tense used in this passage is referring to a continual, habitual, asking , seeking and knocking. It can be translated "He who keeps on asking will receive. He who keeps on seeking will find, and he who keeps on knocking can enter."
How can we practically develop the practice of these actions?...So asking refers to prayer...constant, persistent prayer. Seeking refers to Bible reading and studying. And to him who knocks? it could mean intercessory prayer but I really don't think that that is the case. I think it means to welcome God into our hearts and lives...To spend time with him and to seek to be filled with his Spirit.
There is a famous tract or mini booklet called "My Heart's Christ's Home." Here is a link with the entire tract in it:
http://navigatorsdetroit.com/MHCH.pdf
I would encourage you to google it and purchase several to give to people and to keep for yourself.
In the link above is a famous painting of Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts. I think this is not so much referring to nonbelievers --I think Jesus knocks on the hearts of believers also. And he comes in and makes himself a home there and aids us in cleaning it up...even the secret closet where our most private, persistent sins are kept. He waits for us daily in the study to meet with us; for us to converse with him, to explain how to clean out the mess of our hearts and lives and to just enjoy his presence and to worship there with him.
This knocking encapsulates both the asking and the seeking. And did you notice?...It is not him knocking on the door of our hearts in this verse. No, we are to be knocking on the door of Jesus's will and worshiping there with him.
That is not to say that Jesus never knocks. If we wander, if we get lazy, if we entertain sin...he will politely knock and point these things out to us and to invite us to take out the trash and dirty laundry: to clean up his habitation.
There is a verse that says "Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit." We cannot ask God to live among the sins and sinful habits we acquire...or maybe have lugged these around since childhood and never turned them over to his Spirit to handle.
Ask. Seek and knock. Never stop.
I would encourage you to look over the link I sent above. I read it just now and found (alas) that many of the thoughts I've described here were already discussed in that article. Truly "there is nothing new under the sun." So maybe, my thoughts here were for me. But I hope they have also blessed you.
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