Bible Strands
Matthew 7:8
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his listeners in the Sermon on the Mount, immediately following the command to ask, seek, and knock in verse 7. He grounds the promise in the reliability of his own teaching on prayer.
The words — γὰρ (gar) means for, providing the logical ground for the preceding command. αἰτῶν (aitōn) denotes the active process of asking, while ζητῶν (zētōn) denotes the active process of seeking.
The thread — The promise of divine provision echoes the covenant language of Psalms 81:10 and Psalms 81:16, where God pledges to open and satisfy. The posture of requesting mercy in Luke 23:42 demonstrates the same pattern of asking directed toward Jesus.
Why it lands — The text states that asking yields receiving, seeking yields finding, and knocking yields an opened door. It requires the reader to initiate persistent action rather than wait passively for divine response.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Cross-references
- Psalms 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.
- Psalms 81:16 But I would feed you the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
- Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
- Matthew 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
- Acts 9:11 “Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 His prayer and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself, they are indeed written in the Records of the Seers.
- John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- John 2:2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
- 2 Chronicles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.