There are these three operative principles taught us by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are so simple yet so compelling. In their beguiling simplicity lies the leap to next level attainment and solution to inertia. So powerful are these principles – three basic words, that even the new age movement has sought to appropriate them. A New York Times best selling new age author devoted a whole chapter in her new book to these principles. Only the principles were now twisted – out of context; so convoluted even the Lord Jesus would struggle to recognise them. When we’re not well versed in scriptures the “appropriators” will resell the repackaged versions to us to deceive us.
A lot of “profound” stuff out there are appropriated or processed paragraphs of scripture. Study the scriptures. Once you throw off religiousity you’ll discover the beauty of the word of God. Don’t let anyone sell you snake oil. And there are a lot of snake oil merchants out there. They “intellectualise” the word of God, complicate it to make it an exclusive proposition. Yet God wants us all to access his word. So much so the New Testament was written in street Greek. And what could be simpler than the illustrative parables of Jesus.
The three principles are the three words: Ask, Seek, Knock. Incidentally when you combine the acronyms you get the word ASK. The acronym of Ask, Seek, Knock is ASK! You must be proactive and take initiative the Lord is teaching us, even with God. The three principles are so basic and powerful every genius probably wished he’d come up with them. It’s why the new agers incorporated them into the so called “Laws of Attraction”. Again I warn you: Beware of those who hold a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They quote the word of God but deny the Word himself – the Son of God who gave his life as a ransom for all. Paul says to run from such: “Avoid all such people, turn away from them.” These people and their teachings signify what the Bible calls “end times”. On this Paul wrote: “As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 MSG.
“New Age” principles are not new. The “enlightenment” offered is the same dummy Satan sold to Eve. It’s the same old stock. It’s just repackaged and given a new title. “New Age” is old age. It’s as old as Eve. For those who care for the powerful simplicity of truth, here’s the original saying of our Lord Jesus in Mathew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” The Amplified translation of the Bible gives us insight into the mechanics of these principles: “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking reverently and the door will be opened to you.” Persistence is key: “For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds. And to him who keeps on knocking, the door will be opened.” The Lord laid down these principles as prayer directives. There is thus a place for reverential persistence in our dealings with God. We are to keep asking, to keep seeking, to keep knocking. Sooner or later our persistence will pay off.
There is an illustrated story of a persistent petitioner in scriptures. The story is found in Luke 18:1-8. The opening paragraph of the story says it all: “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1 NLT). Always pray. Never give up! This is the story: “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’ “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on, he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think but because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice – otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”
The basic moral is this: “If such a difficult individual like this judge could grant the widow’s request, how much more God! He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” Persistence brother! Persistence sister! We give up too easily. That it’s not happening does not mean it’s not going to happen. God encourages persistence in prayers: Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Persist!
If you’ll like to give your life to Christ, please pray this prayer: “Father I am a sinner. I come to you in the name of Jesus. I know he died for me. I believe you raised him from the dead. I receive Jesus today as my Lord and my Saviour. Thank you Lord. Amen!”
If you prayed that prayer, go to a Bible believing church. Tell them you just got born again. Read your Bible daily. You may start with the gospels – Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. A chapter a day is not bad! Talk to God regularly – everyday. It’s called “prayer”. Make it conversational please. God is not uppity.
Remember: Ask, Seek, Knock. Those who keep asking, seeking and knocking, receive.
© Leke Alder | talk2me@lekealder.com