Luke 11:9-10 And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.… [That, namely, which restricts the value of prayer to the influence it exerts on the man who prays.] On this thing, Dr. Bushnell says, "Prayer becomes a kind of dumb-boll exercise — good as exercise, but not to be answered." Let the Saviour's words be carried out in the various figures used, on this theory, and its absurdity becomes at once apparent. 1. He bids us "ask." Imagine a child asking for some favour, or for the relief of some want, and standing, hour after hour, repeating his requests, and being told by the father: "Go on asking, my child; it does you much good to ask. The longer you ask, the more good it will do you. Do not expect to receive anything, however, as the principal benefit of asking is that, by and by, you will not want anything, and will cease to make any request." 2. Jesus bids us "seek." Imagine a mother seeking a lost child. She looks through the house and along the streets, then searches the fields and woods, and examines the river-banks. A wise neighbour meets her and says: "Seek on; look everywhere; search every accessible place. You will not find, indeed; but then seeking is a good thing. It puts the mind on the stretch; it fixes the attention; it aids observation; it makes the idea of the child very real. And then after a while, you will cease to want your child. 3. The word of Christ is "Knock." Imagine a man knocking at the door of a house, long and loud. After he has done this for an hour, a window opens and the occupant of the house puts out his head, and says: "That is right, my friend; I shall not open the door, but then keep on knocking. It is excellent exercise and you will be the healthier for it. Knock away till sundown, and then come again, and knock all to-morrow. After some days thus spent, you will attain to a state of mind in which you will no longer care to come in." Is this what Jesus intended us to understand? No doubt one would thus soon cease to ask, to seek, and to knock, but would it not be from disgust? (W. W. Patton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. |
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