Fasting From Sugar, Feasting On God's WordSample

Day Seven

Keep Knocking

Scripture: Matthew 7:7

I love how the Amplified translation of the Bible explains exactly how we are to ask for and seek the Lord: persistently persistent. Over and over again we are to ask God to set us free, to speak to our hearts, to convict and transform us. Tirelessly, we are to pray for those we know and love. Though we grow weary of crying out and calling out, this is how we are to ask for healing from the Great Physician and good blessings from the Giver of all good gifts. Over and over and over again: “Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 amp, emphasis added). 

God hasn’t invited us to a one-and-done type of conversation. He’s inviting us to a “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) sort of dialogue. An eternal back and forth. If there are things that you hoped to hear and receive from the Lord in your life but haven’t yet, keep asking. Keep knocking. Keep seeking. 

Jesus was so committed to teaching us this persistently persistent method of prayer, He illustrated it in a parable. The parable of the persistent widow, found in Luke 18:1–8, paints a picture of a woman who pleaded for help before a judge who didn’t fear God or care about the needs of others. Over and over again, day in and day out, the widow returned to the judge, begging for his help. Eventually the selfish judge agreed to help her, not because he loved her but because he loved his own peace and quiet. 

How much more will the eternal judge, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, respond to your persistent prayers, for He loves you beyond measure. 

The door will be opened to you if it’s the door God knows is best. Ask and keep on asking. Because His ear is inclined toward us perpetually, we can pray persistently. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for never giving up on me. Thank You for giving me the strength to keep praying and keep trusting and keep clinging to Your goodness, even when I struggle with my sin and the temptation to worship other gods, like sugar. In Jesus’s enduring and endurance-strengthening name, Amen.