God is a real person, and He relates with people who honour Him. One way to respect His sovereignty is to recognise that we have nothing when we come into the world, and so everything we need comes from Him. He is the ultimate provider and when we tell Him how dependent we are upon Him - we worship Him. And so our dependency, expressed in requests and prayers, is an essential part of being in relationship with Him.

Asking, seeking and knocking are deliberate, chosen activities. They will only occur if we recognise there is no other way of receiving, finding and opening. But when we admit our frail inability to God, He responds by giving, revealing and welcoming. That is all undeserved and part of His grace. When God gives, the gifts are very good, generous, appropriate and kind. He does not despise us or trick us, offering substandard benefits (even though we are sinful and undeserving people).

These verses are so obvious in their meaning that there should be no confusion. However the real test of understanding is whether or not people use the information. Sadly there are very many believers who do not. They have needs, so they worry; they feel lost, and so they generate activity rather than seeking direction; they feel shut out, but do not ask the Lord to open the door. Despite all of Jesus' teaching, many people behave as though they have no Heavenly Father, or that He does not love them, or that He is not kind and generous.

The antidote to such wrong beliefs is to repent and then be obedient. So when a need occurs, ask the Lord for help; when something important is hidden from you, seek it through prayer rather than self-effort; and when a door is shut, ask the Lord to open it. Do not be simply passive or fatalistic; be active and ask God. In the same way that spiritual inertia becomes a habit which prevents us moving on, so active and expectant praying can and should become a habit. Start today and practice seeking the Lord every day until it becomes second nature.