*[[Mat 7:7-11]] KJV*
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
We tend to think of receiving the new life, or being saved, or being baptized, or living for God as some event that happened at some given point in our life; the truth is these things are continuous in the same way the Greek verb for asking, seeking and knocking are continuous.
Often these verses, those that speak of asking in Jesus name and those that say if you ask without doubting you shall have what you ask are abused by those who do not apply the full council of the word of God.
James tells us you have not because you ask not and also that we ask and don't receive because we ask amiss to spend on our own lust. In Luke our asking, seeking, and knocking is said to be rewarded with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus tells us when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead us into all truth. Also he has said he is the way, the truth and the life. If we combine this with the Spirit not speaking of his own but only that which comes from Christ.
We begin to see that our asking seeking and knocking is to the end of his life being formed in us.
So we ask Jesus to live in us(the way), we seek for his life to be formed in and through us( the truth), but it is knocking (when we see it is His life in us not anything to do with a life we produce) which we obtain by complete trust and reliance and expectancy of his life living through us.
In the culture of Jesus day when someone knocked on your door you would ask who was there. Unlike our culture where we would answer with our name, the answer would be "it is I". They knew their friends by their voice. There are many today using Jesus name to validate what they are saying, but very few use His voice. Trust in Him; if you desire bread or an egg he will not give you a stone or a serpent but His own Spirit(life giving breath) and will as Jesus would promise my sheep know my voice.
