Do you have Matthew 7:7-12 memorized? If not, work on reciting it before you begin today’s study.

Matthew 7:7-12: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ‘Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

We must come to God in humility. In doing so, we understand that as we ask God in prayer, our priority is to seek Him and His will. As we persevere in the journey, continuing to knock, God will provide for us, but His provision may look different than we expect.

How have you experienced this in your walk with God? Because change in Him is a process, we can feel frustrated when things don’t look as we expect them to. Understanding we can try softer rather than harder and try different because God is at work gives us the courage to keep moving forward to knowing and becoming like Jesus. We ask God for what we want, but we come back to the truth that He loves us and will give us what we need. In love, God’s priority is to help us know Him more and grow us more and more into His Son’s character.

Maybe you have tried to change, but you feel like you have gotten nowhere in the journey to know and become like Jesus. Imagine a woman incredibly hard on herself for not overcoming an issue of unforgiveness in her life. Picture her focused on it to the point of despair. Visualize her heaping shame upon herself and refusing to receive grace in her walk with God. In her anguish, God sends a close friend to remind the woman what she has overcome with God in the journey. The friend helps her recall different struggles from her past. For example, at one time, the woman spent much of her days angry with her husband and children. Now the people who know her rarely witness anger. The conversation with the friend helps the woman see how God has been faithful to help her overcome anger. She realizes God will also be faithful in her journey to learn forgiveness.

Think back over the time in which you have known Jesus as your Savior. In what ways are you more like Him than who you were when you first gave your life to Him?

Celebrate with God in prayer over some of the good changes that have happened with Him in your life.

Talk with a family member and/or friend and spend some time celebrating!