Christians, could you please explain Matthew 7:7-8?

Question

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Mark Twain said there are "upwards of a thousand lies" in the Bible. But this is probably the biggest. How many desperate, frightened, broken-hearted parents have watched their children die while begging God to help?

I mean, as per Matthew 7:7....any pious Christian who asks for something earthly will be given it? Or is this NOT TRUE?

Answer 1

it seems to me that the bible is steeped in metaphor and myth......"Ask and it shall be given"...sounds like the original self-help manual....after all my dad used to say " Son, if you don't ask for something you're probably not going to get it...."....wasn't mark twain the chap that said "..if there are no cigars in heaven, I ain't going..."

If God started actively interfering with creation, what would happen to free-will?

Answer 2

Yes, if you isolate this verse and the following ones that clarify that it is, in fact, referring to earthly things (contrary to the assertion above) it looks quite false indeed. Jesus makes mistakes, changes, grows, inside the Gospels and not everything he teaches there can be taken on its own without reference to other known priniciples. For example, in this same chapter he says that those who called on Him he will not necessarily accept, but he will accept everyone who do His Father's will, which is stated in this chapter as doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Ergo not everyone should expect an answer at all. Rather, Jesus is talking about the availability of God and what it is like to be in tune with the universe, that when you are an integral part of the world the world responds favorably.

This is the same teaching you'd find in any Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, or Islamic congregation anywhere in the world - and most atheists I know even subscribe to this idea. But put them in the mouth of Christ enshrouded in Jewish langauge and you have a cow. As long as you know you're being inconsistent it's not a problem. But picking a verse here and there and mounting an attack is likely to verify what you set out to prove because you are data mining. The Christian religion is far more than this for those of us who practice it, and many of us practice it very poorly and often with great evil. But as a 2000 year old tradition full of philosophya nd hermeneutics one individual with a Yahoo account, some free time, and a philosophical bone to pick shouldn't expect to have cracked a nut that has oulived all philosophical attacks from within Western culture and seen one philosophy after the next perish and give way to another. Nihilism is no different.

Answer 3

First, I don't think that this verse has ANYTHING to do with asking for EARTHLY things. I have always interpreted this verse as dealing more with SPIRITUAL gifts: Knowledge of God, Strength of one's Faith, Depth of one's Love, etc. Another way of phrasing this verse could be "If you seek God and Spiritual "wealth" with a sincere heart, God will reveal Himself to you".

Secondly, sometimes there are cases (I believe) in which God knows better than WE do what is "best". A situation which may be impossibly hearbreaking and terrifying at the time it occurs may end up leading the survivor/s to do something Wonderful in life which otherwise they would never have done. (?)

Just a thought; but no, it seems that your question about pious Christians asking for "earthly" things is not what the passage is driving at, IMO.

Peace.

Answer 4

It does not say what shall be opened or what they shall receive does it?


The Lord moves in mysterious ways, my son. Now sit down and don't ask awkward questions or you will go to hell!


I am aways amazed at the lack of rational thought about the people who produce testimony of how they fell off a cliff, but prayed to Jesus on the way down and managed to survive. While totally ignoring the hundreds of others who did exactly the same but die. The only difference is that they are no longer here to tell us how unlucky they were.

Answer 5

Oh, sweetie...let me think on this one. See, in the context, ask and it shall be given to you, is speaking about prayer, as it were. Now, in the Christian faith, God has pretty much three answers to prayer. One is yes, the other no, and the third is, wait. Also, he provides us according to our needs. Asking to win the lottery is not exactly a spiritual pursuit, not that everything you pray about need have a spiritual justification or validation. But still, it's not a cure all, ask for what you want and find it on your doorstep the next day. It's an exercise in faith. There is a reason behind everything that God does, as difficult as that is to believe.

Answer 6

What you quoted has to be taken in context with this:


James 4:2-4 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society


2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Are you asking for your own selfish desires, or are you asking for that which will glorify God?

Answer 7

First of all, why do people give such credence to Mark Twain's anti-God rantings? He was no theologian. He wasn't a spiritual man or even a very nice man. Who cares what he thought of the Bible, God, or anything else?

Second, this verse is true, but it not in the way you are interpreting it. It doesn't mean that God is the slave of everyone that asks for anything. God isn't a genie that pops out of a bottle and grants wishes. These verses apply to spiritual things as well as physical things. Yes, God does give to those who ask. I've seen this happen in my life and in the lives of countless others. Does that mean that He will always do according to our will, regardless of what His eternal plan for us is? No, of course not.

Answer 8

Don't know if they were out right lies since this was written 2 to 3 generations after the life of Jesus. Being stories that were past from one to another, I am certain this was believed by the author then as it is believed by most christians today...But just because it is believed does not make it true....or for that matter false...We do know that Jesus did teach a philosophy of love and help towards one another. Not the pursuant of wealth.

Answer 9

that which he speaks of is understanding and spiritual knowledge. hes not talking about a new TV or that promotion youve been eyeing. ask for understanding, and by releasing the burden from yourself, you open yourself to understand things from Gods perspective. Seek understanding with an open and honest heart and you will find it. Knock on the door of Truth and it will be opened for you.

its a lie if you think its about material things and events in your physical existence. its the truth if you take it in the way he meant it as "those who seek the Truth are the only ones capable of finding it"

Answer 10

I think you have a bigger difficulty -- The whole "New Testament" is the selection of books deemed apropriate by a 4th century Roman commitee. On your example of Jesus' sacrifice for example "the Gospel of Judas" supports the primacy of sacrifice which you put on Paul -- but "Judas" was rejected in the final edit. So On what basis was a given manuscript rejected or accepted? How can you know that even the Four Gospels are in fact "Gospels"? Is there a gospel from his brother -- who was the leader of the Jerusalem church? For all you know, the real "Jewish gospels of Jesus" were burned by the council of Nicea and the four you have are very far from those. My own impression is that Jesus was a normal Jewish rabbi who was executed by Rome. His disciples followed him and saw his teachings much in the way that the Lubavich Hassidim see rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson. While he lived, they believed he would be Messiah but once they were sure of his death, they would see that the world had not been ready for him, and they would still follow his teachings but continue to wait for the next Messiah. IMHO - This was the nature of the conflict between the Jewish "church" under his brother and the Paulists who were starting to develop the whole cult of Jesus-Messiah-man-god.