Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ¹  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ²  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ³  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

James 4:2-3

4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

¹ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

² tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

³ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.