Psalms 27:8

27:8 My heart tells me to pray to you, ¹ 

and I do pray to you, O Lord. ² 

Jeremiah 29:13

29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ³ 

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ⁴  to the Lord God ⁵  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁶ 

Matthew 6:33

6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ⁷  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ⁸  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ⁹  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ¹⁰  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 11:9-10

11:9 “So ¹¹  I tell you: Ask, ¹²  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ¹³  will be opened for you. 11:10 For everyone who asks ¹⁴  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door ¹⁵  will be opened.

Luke 13:24

13:24 “Exert every effort ¹⁶  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ¹⁷  Jesus ¹⁸  told them a parable to show them they should always ¹⁹  pray and not lose heart. ²⁰ 

Hebrews 11:6

11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹ tc Heb “concerning you my heart says, ‘Seek my face.’” The verb form “seek” is plural, but this makes no sense here, for the psalmist is addressed. The verb should be emended to a singular form. The first person pronominal suffix on “face” also makes little sense, unless it is the voice of the Lord he hears. His “heart” is viewed as speaking, however, so it is better to emend the form to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”).

² tn Heb “your face, O Lord, I seek.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 24:6; 105:4).

³ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

⁴ tn Heb “face.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

⁶ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

⁷ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

⁸ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

¹² sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

¹³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.

¹⁵ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

²⁰ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).