In Matthew 16:19 Jesus tells his disciples that He was giving them the keys.
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
So why in Matthew 7:7-11 did he encourage us to keep knocking?
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.8For 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.9Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone?10Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent?11If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!
You will love this answer!
Because until we have knowledge of the KEY we can't get inside. There is no condemnation in asking, seeking or knocking because we were promised that we would get our answers to prayer. Whoo hoo! That is good news! BUT after you get the answer or God hands you a key then it would be pretty silly to keep standing outside waiting for God to answer the door that he has already answered to you.
So many of us have been taught that if an answer does not come then it was just not God's will for us to have it.
Proverbs 13:12 says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick but the desire comes it IS A TREE OF LIFE!!!" Then we can spread the good news that God heals and God saves and restores our brokeness. We must hold on to hope that God does open that door and He has provided everything we need for life and godliness.
I have had a picture in my mind for weeks now of FRESH OIL and FRESH WINE flowing constantly from the throne of God. I asked God what it meant. He told me it is not people's sin or weaknesses that stop the flow of fresh wine or fresh oil but it is their mindsets or wineskins that can't hold the fresh wine or fresh oil. Remember how Jesus said the old wineskins would burst if you put fresh wine inside...we NEED to go to God's Word and have our minds renewed until we can understand God's love and grace toward us so we can hold the new wine.
