26 Feb 26 | Trusting the Father
Jesus anchors prayer in confident trust and closes with a command that summarizes the entire covenant: love expressed in action.
The Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”
Today’s Focus
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus binds together trust and action. Persistent prayer is not manipulation but confident dependence on a Father who gives what is truly good. The disciple’s relationship with God then flows outward in active love toward others. “Ask, seek, knock” forms the heart in trust; the Golden Rule forms the life in mercy. Vertical confidence in the Father produces horizontal generosity toward neighbor.
In the Margins
This passage appears near the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:7–12). It follows warnings about judgment (7:1–6) and precedes the narrowing of the way (7:13–14). Structurally, it functions as both encouragement and summary. Jesus has already deepened the Law (anger, lust, oaths), purified devotion (almsgiving, prayer, fasting), and reoriented treasure and anxiety toward trust in the Father. Now, He addresses persistence in prayer and ethical reciprocity.
When looking at the Greek wording of this, the verbs are present imperatives (aiteite, zēteite, krouete), implying ongoing action to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. This is not a formula for obtaining whatever one desires. Within Jewish covenantal logic, prayer presumes alignment with God’s will. The movement from asking to seeking or knocking suggests an intensifying engagement. Moving prayer from a request to pursuit, taking an active approach. This directly parallels Proverbs 8 and Sirach 24, where seeking divine wisdom requires intentional pursuit.
Jesus tells us that those who ask shall receive. At a surface reading, this appears to promise unconditional fulfillment. However, within Matthew’s theology, prayer is conditioned by righteousness (6:33), forgiveness (6:14–15), and trust (6:25–34). The promise assumes filial relationship. God is addressed as “your heavenly Father.” The emphasis is not on technique but trust rooted in covenant identity. It does not mean that you get whatever you ask for, it means that God will provide, which is something quite different.
When speaking in His analogy, Jesus uses a common rabbinic argument form: qal wahomer, which means “how much more”. He is making the point that if flawed human parents give appropriate gifts, how much more will the heavenly Father give good things? The bread/stone and fish/snake comparisons may also contain visual echoes. In Galilee, certain stones resemble small loaves; some fish resemble serpentine shapes. The analogy reinforces that God does not deceive His children.
Calling the disciples “wicked” does not imply utter depravity but acknowledges human moral limitation compared to divine goodness. Jesus leaves us with a simple way to distill this down, “do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” This statement appears in various forms in Jewish tradition and typically phrased negatively: “Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.” Jesus calls on us to show active benevolence rather than mere restraint. Calling this “the Law and the Prophets” echoes Matthew 5:17. It functions as a summary statement to love the neighbor, have covenant fidelity, and live with a transformed heart.
This is a synthesis of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It is just as applicable today as it was when Jesus said it. He calls for all of us to trust in the Father and show active love towards each other. By doing this we see that vertical trust, trust in God, produces horizontal mercy, towards each other. Prayer without ethical action is incomplete. Ethical action without trust lacks foundation. Together they summarize covenant righteousness and give us an example we can live by, then, now, and forever.
Reflection Question
Where in my life am I asking God for provisio, but failing to reflect His generosity toward others?
A Small Invitation
If this reflection helped you, consider sharing it with someone who may be carrying more than they were meant to.