God is a real person, and He relates with people who honour Him.  He is a good and loving Father who cares for His children and gladly responds to their calls for help (John 16:23).  Indeed, if we do not call on our Father for help, how can we claim to be His children?  The reality of life is that we have nothing when we come into the world, and so everything we have comes from Him, directly or indirectly (1 Chronicles 29:14).  He is the ultimate provider; and when we tell Him how dependent we are upon Him - we worship Him (Psalm 50:14-15).  And so our dependency, expressed in requests and prayers, is an essential part of being in relationship with Him (Matthew 6:6).

Asking, seeking and knocking are deliberate, chosen activities.  They will only occur if we admit that we cannot find His answers, direction or welcome without Him (John 15:5-8), because there is no other way of receiving, finding and opening the treasures God intends for us.  But when we admit our frail inability to God, He responds by giving, revealing and accepting us.  That is all undeserved and part of His grace (John 1:16).  When God gives, the gifts are very good, generous, appropriate and kind.  Even though we are sinful and undeserving people, the Lord does not despise us or trick us, offering substandard benefits (Ephesians 2:20).

These verses are so obvious in their meaning that there should be no confusion.  However, the real test of understanding is whether we use the information or not.  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 practise seeking the Lord every day until it becomes second nature.