Q1. Ask, Seek, and Knock Continuously!

[Commissioned]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common?

They convey a desire to acquire something.

What distinguishes them from each other?

The gradual intensity each conveys.

Does one word convey more intensity than another?

Yes, "seek" seemingly conveys more intensity than "ask," and "seek" seemingly conveys more intensity than "knock."

What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

The significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs carry the idea of continuous and habitual action, and therefore stress persistency.

[iam4-1god]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

These words are a contiuous process, in our prayer life, and in our daily activities. I have found that at any given moment, the devil will launch an attack on me, and if my guard is down, I am in deep trouble. But as soon as I ask, seek, or knock, The Lord is there and I get all kinds of verses, songs, and as a real spoiler, The Holy Spirit rises up and....Well, the devil is toast!

I believe that, if we are honest with God when we petition for something-motives for asking, reason for asking, ect.- cause I have found that motive and reason can be two different things-if we are honest with Him, then He will reveal the reasoning behind the request and answer accordingly. But that is a matter for another question. Bottom line-ask, seek, knock-a continuous process. We must do these everyday, for whatever we need, and then just trust God.

[servant for Christ]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

What they have in common is continual activity. Putting our faith into action. Ask God for our needs, seek Him for the answers to our prayers, knock for Him to open the door of opportunity to be used for His kingdom. Each one increases in intensity. Each one requires more action, more progression. The significance is that it is continual. We don not stop, or give up, or even be slack. We are to keep growing in our faith by our daily walk with Christ.

[Lindap]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

They are action words. They all require us to take action. They all require different actions. I believe seek has more intensity, because it requires us to seek God until we find him. We must always be asking, seeking and knocking in search or our Lord. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find and knock and the door will be open. We must realize that these things will happen in Gods time not ours. For God has perfect timing. And he may answer in a way that is unexpected. But he always hears our petition. We must be persistent and ask, seek, knock daily,for this is what God wants us to do, to continually be connected to him in prayer.

[hanks]

Q1. (Matthew 7:7-8)

What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common?

They are commands given by our Lord Jesus and they are an assurance that whatever happens He will be there to answer our prayers. They also remind us of our utter helplessness and complete dependence as well as our desperate need of grace.

What distinguishes them from each other?

Asking implies humility and an awareness of a certain need. Seeking implies earnest petitioning, and assumes an active striving to obtain this need. Knocking implies an even greater perseverance. Here you continue to knock until our Lord opens the door and supplies our need or answers our prayer. They all imply a faith in God who can, does, and will answer.

Does one word convey more intensity than another?

There seems to be a rising scale of intensity from asking to seeking to knocking. It could be that in asking we are expressing a desire, whereas seeking is a greater desire, and knocking is again something more powerful.

What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

We are to persevere, that is to continue to ask, to seek, and to knock.

[jr4624]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

They are all ways of determining what is God's will.

Ask is specifically in prayer we are asking God to give us the blessings that are in accordance with His will. Seek includes other ways of searching for God's face and His will as well. In addition to prayer, some things would be God's Word, other believers, or circumstances. Knock is about trying to find your personal path when there seem to be multiple doors ahead to choose from. God will open the right door or make the path He wants you to take easier.

I believe that they are all meant to be ongoing, persistent actions. Seek, however, seems to be inclusive of both of the others, and as such to have more intensity.

That we should fervently ask, seek, and knock, and cotinue to fervently ask, seek, and knock to determine God's will in all cases.

[Marloes]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

1. We have to do everything in order to get contact with God.

2. Ask - pray that He will come into your life. This is the least active but even though necesary.

Seek - I have some issues that keep me from believing completely. I actively sought for answers and got some on this course. This is like not being able to find my watch. If I just sit on the couch waiting for it to come, I can wait forever. If I start looking everywhere, I will find it back.

This is very active.

Knock - it is more intense than asking.

4. It is not a command for decades ago - only for this moment - only for some day when we have the time... but for always!

[Vaiden Rochelle]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

Ask, seek, and knock all deal with being consistent in our petitions to God. Asking indicates that we ask once or occassionally and perhaps the things we are asking for are not as important as some others that we ask for.

To seek and to knock means that we persistently and fervently petition God to answer our requests. We won't give up until He answers us.

The significance of the present, continuous, and imperative tense of the verbs mean that we should never give up in our requests to God.

[home4ed]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

Ask, seek, and knock all indicate an active pursuit of something, God. While "Ask" is a petition showing submission to authority, seeking and knocking requires more action. Pursuing and moving. I think more risk is required of seeking and knocking yet all 3 are a continual practice in a christian's journey.

[wifee]

They are all aspects of prayer, in our desire to know God’s will for our lives. God will always answer our prayers. Ask is to request something from God, expecting an answer.Faith in action.Seek is a persistant searching to discover what is lost or not yet discovered. It is part of maturing process, as we sift to know God more clearly & his will in our lives. Knock is trying to test closed doors and see which ones God will open for me, my faith, my testimony. Being persistent and not giving up. Seeking to know God’s mind.

Progression distinguishes them from each other.There is an increase in the earnestness of these prayers

c)each word brings us closer to a door being opened

d)The present, continuous imperative verbs stress continued, persistent action, we are not to give up, but keep knocking until God opens the door to us the opportunity he has in mind. Faith is a growing process, being shaped daily as persistently walk with the Lord.

[Highohfaith]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

They are all verbs which require our action. We must ask to receive, knock to receive, and seek to receive gifts from our Father in heaven.I think knock is the most important, because it indicates we must keep knocking, for the door to the Fathers Kingdom to open to us. We must know God first before we can seek God's righteousness with all our hearts.Then we can ask with confidence, and it will be given to us according to God's will.. The imperative tense of these verbs denote that we must continually do these three things so God will hear our prayers. Never give up. Petition the Lord with all our heart, always.

[Raph]

Q1. (Matthew 7:7-8)

What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common?

The words "ask", "seek" and "knock" all indicate desire that would be met.

What distinguishes them from each other?

What distiguishes them from each is the way how the desire is met.

Does one word convey more intensity than another?

I think they convey the same intesity.

What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

The significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs is to stress continued, persistent action.

[tgandy]

The words ask, seek and knock are all action verbs which indicate a desire would be met. Ask seems is a simple petition with a promise that you what you ask for will be given.  Seek indicates a searching for something that is either lost or has not yet been discovered.  Knock  indicates a door is closed and one must knock to have someone open it. Knock to me, is the verb that conveys more intensity than the other two.  It means what we have ask for, what we have sought we have found.  Now we knock to have it opened for us.  These three words stress a continued persistent action until what we have sought is achieved.

[DebLam3teach]

Ask, seek, and knock are all petition words describing different types of prayer to get our desires met.

 

  Ask:  expecting an answer or receipt of a request. We are told to ask, learning God's mind and ways in the process like children do with their parents.  "Can I have some candy?"  No- or wait until after dinner- or only a few pieces now.

  Seek:  denotes searching for something lost or not yet discovered. Requires persistence as the process of seeking can be frustrating when answers seem delayed in coming.  The process is also purifying as we learn patience and obedience while seeking the Lord Himself, not just what we want.

   Knock:  very persistent and proactive prayer.  Looking for doors of opportunity to open by God.  Courage is needed to pray this way, but also a willingness to experience a lot of trial and error as we wait to see which doors God opens to us.

 

I think seeking and knocking require more focus and intensity than simply asking.  ????

 

The commands are in present tense imperative, meaning it is a continuous command, not a one time prayer:  KEEP asking; KEEP seeking; KEEP knocking.  These are the HABITS of prayer.

 

[Eager Bver]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs? 

 

You are to do something.  Ask is a request; seek is to look for something; and knock is to ask that a door be opened.  Knock has more intensity because you don't know if the door will open.  You have to keep on asking, seeking and knocking until it happens.  

[webster52]

What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? They all involve/contain a petition and a promise, and in each case we can expect an answer. Also in each case we must exert effort, continued effort if applicable.

 

What distinguishes them from each other? In asking, seeking, and knocking three different senses being considered here. Asking is verbal; Christians are to use their mouths and petition God for their needs and desires. And believers are to seek with their minds—this is more than asking; it is a setting of priorities and a focusing of the heart. To knock involves physical movement, one in which the Christian takes action.

 

Does one word convey more intensity than another? For me it’s asking. We cannot expect to get an answer if we don’t ask. It is us communicating (praying, talking to) our Father, building an intimate, personal relationship with Him. It makes me feel cared for, loved, and secure being able to speak to Him about my life.

 

What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs? It stresses continued, persistent action. "Keep on asking, and it will be given you; Keep on seeking, and you will find; Keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you."
 

[JoanG]

These three words are action words. They require us to move and be involved. We need to act on them. We are not able to be passive in our search for God in our lives. The type of commitment on our parts distinguishes them. Neither of them is more important than the others. These need to be constant on going actions on our part. We need to be faithful in all of our quests to find God and to know what he wants us to do with our lives.

[Old Jerry]

The things that the words “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” have in common is that they are all looking for something. The thing that distinguishes them from each other the action that is required to perform them. The significance of the present, continuous, imperative tenses is that we are to keep on doing the action that is required to accomplish the task.

[Karen11]

On 12/19/2007 at 10:57 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?

They are the three things that Jesus wants us to do earnestly.

One we use our voice, one we use our site, one we use our physical touch.

No

To never give up, to never stop searching.

[Irmela]

1.1  What do the words "ask", "seek", "knock" have in common.

They indicate desire that would be met.

1.2 What distinguishes them from each other?

Ask is a simple petition. The answer is not so simple ... could be yes, no, not yet.   But we are still to ask and expect an answer. James 4:2 ... You do not have because you do not ask.

Seek indicates a search for something. Matth 6:33 Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then all these things will be given you. .......... DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR SEARCH.  Seeking is a maturing and a sifting process. With the seeking comes a promise. .......... In Is 55:6 we read SEEK THE LORD while HE may be found, CALL UPON HIM while He is near.

Knock is to strike a surface noisily to attract attention.  This is either for doors (opportunities) to be opened or be re-opened.   We are to continue knocking until God opens the opportunity He has in mind.

1.3 Does one word convey more intensity than another?

All three should be of the same intensity until an answer is received.

1.4 What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperitive tense of these verbs?

It is a continuous action, it does not stop.

[Lisa Wolf]

Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs? 

All three words, ask, seek, knock are words that signify pursuing something we want.  They are different in that ask = a request that may or may not be granted; seek = look for, chase, hunt for something you have not yet attained; knock = permission to enter.  I think the intensity in word meaning increases from ask = mild, seek = ernest pursuit, knock = I want in.  The verb tense is significant as you taught in this section because it is God letting us know to persevere, pursue, and don't give up.