Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 7:8

"for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." — Matthew 7:8 (ASV)

Thus far the Sermon on the Mount lays down the righteousness, sincerity, humility, purity, and love expected of Jesus’ followers; now it assures them such gifts are theirs if sought through prayer. In three imperatives (“ask,” “seek,” “knock”) symmetrically repeated (v.8) and in the present tense to stress the persistence and sincerity required, Jesus assures his followers that, far from demanding the impossible, he is providing the means for the otherwise impossible. Far too often Christians do not have the marks of richly textured discipleship because they do not ask, or they ask with selfish motives (James 4:2– 3). Like a human father, the heavenly Father seeks to teach his children courtesy, persistence, and diligence.