This message focused on Jesus’ invitation to ask, seek, and knock. Evalyn Wilk taught that knocking represents persistence in prayer and refusing to settle for “I tried once.” Declan Lucich reminded us to seek Jesus first, because true peace and healing are found in Christ, not in the world’s solutions. Camille Waelty taught that asking is an active part of prayer, and that God gives good gifts to His children while also caring about our motives. Pastor David Lien closed by reminding us that God is a good Father who cares for us, protects us, and remains faithful even when we do not fully understand what He is doing.

Full Transcript…

00:00:05:08 – 00:00:12:14
Unknown
Awesome. I really feel like your expectations should be lowered.

00:00:12:17 – 00:00:36:14
Unknown
But I was asked to speak on knock in Luke 11 five through 13 and my original thought was, well, what is a knock? It’s repetitive and it’s persistent. It shows that you care enough, and you want the attention of the person whose door you’re knocking on. And I was reading this and like, that seems pretty simple. And you can kind of see where I’m going with that.

00:00:36:16 – 00:00:55:06
Unknown
But I was reading the parable that Jesus used as an example, and it kind of confused me at first because it was about a man who went to his friend’s house asking for bread in the middle of the night, and his friend was reluctant to give him the bread because he didn’t want to get up. He was already in bed.

00:00:55:08 – 00:00:59:01
Unknown
Me too. But.

00:00:59:03 – 00:01:33:16
Unknown
I was, like I said, confused on this because this man was reluctant and he didn’t really have the best attitude. And that like that goes against what Jesus teachings are about God’s love. And then I looked at it a little closer. And this is why I love Jesus’s teachings, because he uses parables. And it isn’t that God is reluctant to answer, or that he even has a bad attitude about it, but it’s called conditional reasoning.

00:01:33:16 – 00:02:02:05
Unknown
It’s an if then statement. So if a man who is reluctant to give his friend bread because it was the middle of the night still gave his friend bread because he was persistent, then why would our father, who who loves us eternally, eternally and everlastingly, why would he not come to our immediate aid if we had that same exact persistence in prayer?

00:02:02:08 – 00:02:35:04
Unknown
Well, this seems so simple, but this persistence is, in a way, becoming lost in our world. Many have gotten to the point where they’re just okay with mediocrity, and they’re okay because they tried one time, and it’s okay because they tried, right? And this can be seen in so many people’s, like so many aspects of people’s lives, whether it’s the lack of persistence in the pursuit of a career you tried once in your dream and it didn’t work out, so you just stopped.

00:02:35:10 – 00:02:44:10
Unknown
Or maybe it’s a lack of persistence in the effort you put in to maintain a relationship. You tried. It’s over.

00:02:44:12 – 00:03:05:08
Unknown
I personally have fallen a victim to this. In my walk with God. I realized I was reading this and I’m like, this is so good for me to read because I didn’t realize how often I have knocked one time on the door, and I’ve heard one time and I’ve waited and gotten confused on why God didn’t answer me.

00:03:05:10 – 00:03:35:20
Unknown
And I don’t know about you, but if someone knocked on my door one time, I probably wouldn’t answer because that just shows that that person doesn’t really want my attention. They don’t have that urgency. They don’t have that want. So it’s that repetition and that persistence that shows that you want God’s attention. You want him. That’s what he wants, is that he’s sitting there and he’s waiting for you to knock on that door.

00:03:35:23 – 00:03:43:03
Unknown
And.

00:03:43:06 – 00:03:47:22
Unknown
Anyway.

00:03:47:25 – 00:04:16:00
Unknown
It’s that repetition in that persistence that shows that you want God. So don’t get stuck in the mediocre. I tried once, I prayed once, where is God instead? Be persistent and continue knocking because he wants you. And it’s that faith that he’s on the other side of that door waiting for you. He loves us so much, and as long as we’re persistent with that continual knocking, then kill.

00:04:16:00 – 00:04:25:03
Unknown
Answer. Yeah. That’s it.

00:04:25:06 – 00:04:58:10
Unknown
Awesome. Thank you. Evelyn. Persistence. There’s no excuse, right? Stay persistent. That’s awesome. All right. The second speaker at of the junior high is Declan Lucic.

00:04:58:13 – 00:05:29:04
Unknown
All right. Are you guys ready? All right. So it’s the same verse. Luke 11 nine. All right. And I got seek and you will find. So I say to you ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. This is a great verse because it explains what will happen if you seek what is good or what is not.

00:05:29:06 – 00:05:57:11
Unknown
In Psalms 34 it says, turn away from evil and do what is good. Seek peace and pursue it. This is simple, but it’s a lot easier said than done. All men sin by seeking their own strength for solutions to their problems, instead of seeking God for help. God requires us to turn away and seek peace and pursue it.

00:05:57:18 – 00:06:28:29
Unknown
All right. I need someone to answer this. Now. Who is the Prince of Peace? Yes. All right. Jesus. I was hoping you’d know that. All right. So when we seek peace, we see Jesus. And that leads me to my next verse. Deuteronomy 429. But from there you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul, all our heart and all our soul.

00:06:29:02 – 00:06:55:22
Unknown
Jesus wants our focus fully on him. I’m going to tell you one of the miracles Jesus did for a woman and how it relates to seeking. Luke 1113 ten through 13 as he and it’s Jesus speaking was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over 18 years.

00:06:55:24 – 00:07:19:21
Unknown
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, woman, you are free of your disability. Then he laid his hand on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God. This woman didn’t get any better going to the synagogue for 18 years. She sought out the synagogue to heal her.

00:07:19:23 – 00:07:32:00
Unknown
She was not healed until she sought out Christ. It is a rule, with few exceptions, that what a man fishes, for he is most likely to catch.

00:07:32:02 – 00:08:00:20
Unknown
So we should never seek man’s solutions for healing of sin or illness. You will stay ill or sinful unless we go and seek God. And that leads me to my last verse. Second Chronicles 714 and my people who bear my name humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways. Then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.

00:08:00:23 – 00:08:19:19
Unknown
It is not until we seek Christ Jesus that we will be healed. So I challenge you today to stop seeking all that the world has for healing. Like working out, eating salad, you know.

00:08:19:21 – 00:08:31:16
Unknown
Yeah. So seek the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you.

00:08:31:19 – 00:08:52:13
Unknown
Okay. Thank you. Declan. And we’re salad. All right. Knock, seek. Let’s see who’s gonna preach about the next thing. I think it’s going to be Camille Welty.

00:08:52:15 – 00:09:02:11
Unknown
Oh, right. Big hand for Camille.

00:09:02:13 – 00:09:24:04
Unknown
Hi. If you do not know me, my name is Camille. And today I’m going to be talking about the word asked in Matthew seven seven through eight says ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives. And he who seeks finds, and him who knocks, it will be opened.

00:09:24:06 – 00:09:50:17
Unknown
Jesus’s disciples asked him about how to pray, and. And in his verse, Jesus is teaching them about prayer. The word asked in the Bible means to request, desire, big question, or call out for an answer in order to ask. It is necessary to use your word. To ask is in an action involving our voice. We ask when we pray.

00:09:50:20 – 00:10:12:22
Unknown
In Luke 11 five through eight, Jesus tells his disciples a story to teach them about prayer. Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat. And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, don’t bother me.

00:10:12:22 – 00:10:36:05
Unknown
The door is locked for the night and my family are all in bed. I can’t help you, but I tell you this though. He won’t do this for friendship sake. If you knock long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. Lesson number one prayer should be persistent. Don’t give up.

00:10:36:05 – 00:11:01:29
Unknown
In this example, the request was answered because they wouldn’t stop. Sometimes we pray for something and it can’t take months or years. But God is faithful and I tell you, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. In Luke 1111 through 13 says, your fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?

00:11:02:01 – 00:11:28:14
Unknown
Instead of if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not. So if you’re. If so, if you’re sinful, people know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more would your heavenly father give to the Holy Spirit of to those who ask him? Lesson number two what God wants to give good things to his children.

00:11:28:16 – 00:11:53:17
Unknown
If human fathers don’t give their kids things that will harm them, then of course God who loves will give good things to his children. God doesn’t want to hold withhold the good things from you. Which brings us to our third point about asking. In James four two through three, the Bible says, yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

00:11:53:18 – 00:12:21:18
Unknown
And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your movie motives are all wrong. Because you won’t. You want only what will give you good predator. Lesson number three prayer should be from the heart and in the line with God’s Word and character. Some people just ask for selfish thing. They just want God to grant their all their wishes.

00:12:21:20 – 00:12:53:19
Unknown
They ask for things like riches, or to win all their basketball games or to be popular. God knows what this good for you and he will provide everything you need, but he is looking at your heart and so if you need something, just ask and you will get your answer.

00:12:53:21 – 00:13:00:27
Unknown
Good job. Let’s have a hand for all our preachers.

00:13:00:29 – 00:13:20:07
Unknown
And there’s my child coming up. Coming up again, persistently knocking and asking and seeking. Always on my mind. Never a dull moment. Come here buddy.

00:13:20:09 – 00:13:27:15
Unknown
All right. He’s he’s my. I didn’t even plan that. I mean, it’s like the Lord’s like, here’s a sermon thing.

00:13:27:18 – 00:13:52:11
Unknown
Well, I mean, I wanted to pick him up, right? I was like, yeah, you get him out of here. Sometimes I think that that’s why Jesus said, sometimes you evil fathers will. You’ll still give a nice piece of bread instead of a piece of granite to your kid, you know. But who is our ABBA? Who is he? What kind of God is he?

00:13:52:13 – 00:14:01:24
Unknown
God is good all the time to everyone, without exception. Or he’s not good at all.

00:14:01:26 – 00:14:27:24
Unknown
He is good. There is no dark God behind his back. There is no Two-Face in God, right? You know, Batman villain. Two-Face. There’s no Two-Face. There’s no dark side. There’s just someone that cares about his kid, and his kid is going over there, and he gets concerned because the kid can break things that have a cost to them.

00:14:27:27 – 00:14:54:13
Unknown
And so he has to shepherd us back to the middle. But he still wants us to be free, even though we could get hurt. But he’s not going to let us do irreparable damage to ourselves or to his creation. Okay. Look at that. Look at that. Okay. See, there’s there’s like a sphere where we can do damage that he permits, but he’s not going to let it be irreparable.

00:14:54:15 – 00:15:21:02
Unknown
Okay? There’s a certain boundary that he’s going to set. You can disown him. You can disregard him, but he’s not going to disregard you. You can get upset that he takes care of you because you don’t think that he’s taking care of you and you don’t understand. You don’t really know what’s going on. Do you? You have no idea what’s happening.

00:15:21:05 – 00:15:36:28
Unknown
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Samson. All right. So do you see how God is? He’s not upset, but he’s going to take care of you, okay? And he’s willing to take care of you.

00:15:37:00 – 00:15:45:04
Unknown
And we just think we know. All right? I don’t know why this is happening and why Don isn’t getting him, but.

00:15:45:06 – 00:15:58:17
Unknown
Thank you. Holy spirit. All right. Oh. There’s auntie. It’s okay. You could be here. I’m just trying to close the service here. All right.

00:15:58:19 – 00:16:07:21
Unknown
Sometimes. Yeah. I don’t know what that’s worth, but maybe it helps somebody. I don’t know.

00:16:07:24 – 00:16:10:27
Unknown
Yeah.

00:16:10:29 – 00:16:31:26
Unknown
Did you know that God’s always been a father? Did you know God always hasn’t always been a king. He had to create something to become a king. Did you know he hasn’t always been a judge? Someone had to do something wrong before he could judge it. Do you know he has always been the father of his son, Jesus?

00:16:31:29 – 00:16:51:17
Unknown
That’s who God is. That’s the primary revelation that Jesus brought, is that we call him ABBA. So that’s who God is. He’s a good father, and he’s your good father. Even if you’ve been screwing up a lot. You can’t change him to not be your father. That’s not something you have the power to do. So, father, we thank you for these words today.

00:16:51:19 – 00:17:16:06
Unknown
That we can persistently seek after you because you are willing and able to meet our needs. And you’re with us even when we don’t sense you. You are caring for us even when we don’t think that you are. Lord, you’re giving us freedom and you are protecting us from harm. If we just continue to seek your face, we know that in the end you will work all things together for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose.

00:17:16:06 – 00:17:31:20
Unknown
So we bless your name today, and we thank you for this time in your presence. In Jesus name. Amen. All right. Well, we’re going to go to fellowship. If you’re new, we have a free meal for you. Come on over, grab some coffee, grab some food, and we’re going to continue to hang out. Go get your kids. Oh, wait.

00:17:31:20 – 00:17:33:09
Unknown
You already have them. We’ll see you later.

In Matthew 7:7–8, Jesus gives one of the clearest invitations in Scripture:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

This message was carried through three simple but powerful words: knock, seek, and ask. Each word reveals something about prayer, faith, and the character of God. Through Evalyn Wilk, Declan Lucich, and Camille Waelty, we were reminded that following Jesus is not passive. We do not drift into deeper faith. We ask. We seek. We knock. And we do all of it with confidence because God is not reluctant, distant, or annoyed by His children.

Pastor David Lien closed the message by bringing us back to the heart of it all: God is our Father. He is good. He cares. He gives freedom, protection, correction, and provision. We can persistently seek Him because He is willing and able to meet our needs.

Knock: Persistence Shows Desire

Evalyn Wilk opened by focusing on the word “knock” from Luke 11:5–13. A knock is repetitive. It is persistent. It shows that we care enough to keep coming to the door. It shows that we actually want the attention of the person on the other side.

Jesus tells a parable about a man who goes to his friend’s house at midnight asking for bread. At first glance, the story can feel confusing. The friend inside the house seems reluctant. He does not want to get up. He is already in bed. But Jesus is not saying that God is reluctant to answer us. He is using a comparison.

If even a tired, reluctant friend will eventually get up because of persistence, how much more will our heavenly Father respond to His children?

God is not annoyed by our knocking. He is not bothered by our prayers. He is not withholding Himself because He has a bad attitude toward us. He loves us eternally and everlastingly. Our persistence in prayer is not about convincing God to care. It is about revealing that we truly want Him.

Don’t Settle for “I Tried Once”

Evalyn also pointed out something deeply practical: persistence is becoming lost in our world. Many people try once, fail once, pray once, or ask once, and then assume the door is closed forever.

We can do this in our dreams, our relationships, and even our walk with God. We knock one time, wait, and then grow confused when we do not immediately see the answer we expected. But one knock does not always show urgency. One knock does not always show desire.

Prayer is not meant to be a one-time transaction. It is relationship. It is continual trust. It is choosing to return again and again to the Father who loves us.

The encouragement is simple: do not get stuck in the mediocre mindset of “I tried once.” Keep knocking. Keep praying. Keep coming to God. He is not absent on the other side of the door. He is waiting for His children to come to Him with faith.

Seek: Look for Christ, Not Just Solutions

Declan Lucich continued the message by focusing on “seek and you will find.” He connected this to Psalm 34, which says to turn away from evil, do what is good, seek peace, and pursue it.

Seeking is not passive. It means turning away from one direction and moving toward another. It means refusing to look to the world as our first source of healing, peace, and answers.

Declan asked the question: Who is the Prince of Peace? The answer is Jesus. So when we seek peace, we are really seeking Christ.

That is a powerful correction for our lives. Many times, we seek our own strength first. We look for solutions in ourselves, in people, in routines, in effort, or in the world’s wisdom. But Scripture calls us to seek the Lord with all our heart and all our soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29 says that we will find the Lord when we seek Him with all our heart and all our soul. Jesus does not want part of our attention. He wants our focus fully on Him.

Healing Comes When We Seek Jesus

Declan used the story of the woman in Luke 13 who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She had been in the synagogue, but she was not healed until she encountered Jesus. When Jesus saw her, He called her free, laid His hands on her, and she was restored.

The point is not that church gatherings are unimportant. The point is that the building itself does not heal us. Religious routine does not heal us. Human strength does not heal us. Jesus heals.

We can be near spiritual things and still need to personally seek Christ. We can know the language, attend the gatherings, and be around the people of God, but the invitation is deeper: seek Jesus Himself.

Second Chronicles 7:14 reminds us that God responds when His people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their evil ways. Seeking God involves humility, repentance, prayer, and trust.

So the challenge is clear: stop seeking the world first for healing. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ask: Prayer Uses the Voice of Faith

Camille Waelty brought the message to the word “ask.” She explained that to ask means to request, desire, question, or call out for an answer. Asking involves our voice. We ask when we pray.

Prayer is not only thinking about God. Prayer is bringing our hearts before Him. It is speaking to Him. It is requesting, calling out, and trusting that He hears.

Camille returned to the story in Luke 11 of the friend asking for bread at midnight. The request was answered because the person would not stop knocking. From this, she gave a clear lesson: prayer should be persistent. Don’t give up.

Sometimes we pray for something and it can take months or years. Waiting does not mean God is unfaithful. Delay does not mean God is absent. Jesus teaches us to keep asking.

God Gives Good Gifts to His Children

Camille then pointed to Luke 11:11–13, where Jesus says that earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to their children. If a child asks for a fish, a good father does not give a snake. If a child asks for an egg, a good father does not give a scorpion.

If imperfect people know how to give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give good things, especially the Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him?

This teaches us something important about God’s heart. He is not trying to harm His children. He is not withholding good things out of cruelty. He knows what is good for us, and He knows what would hurt us.

Prayer is not about using God to get every selfish desire fulfilled. James 4:2–3 warns that sometimes we do not receive because we do not ask, and sometimes we ask with wrong motives. God cares about our hearts. He cares about whether our prayers line up with His Word and His character.

The invitation is not to ask selfishly, but to ask sincerely. Bring your needs to God. Trust His heart. Trust His wisdom. Trust that He knows what is good.

The Father Behind the Door

Pastor David Lien closed by bringing all three words together: ask, seek, and knock. Then, through a simple moment with his child, he reminded us what kind of God we are praying to.

God is not a dark, double-minded, two-faced Father. He is good all the time, to everyone, without exception. He gives freedom, but He also shepherds us back when we move toward harm. He allows us to make choices, but He does not abandon us. We can disown Him, disregard Him, or misunderstand His care, but He does not disregard us.

This matters because our view of God shapes our prayer life. If we believe God is irritated, we will stop asking. If we believe He is reluctant, we will stop knocking. If we believe He is distant, we will stop seeking.

But Jesus reveals God as Father. God has always been the Father of His Son, Jesus. That is not a temporary role. That is who He is. And through Christ, we are invited to call Him Abba.

So we ask because He is Father. We seek because He is worth finding. We knock because He is good and He answers.

Practical Application

1. Keep knocking even when the answer is not immediate.

Do not let one unanswered prayer become the reason you stop praying. Persistence is not unbelief. Persistence can be faith in action.

2. Seek Jesus before seeking the world’s solutions.

Bring your needs, questions, pain, and confusion to Christ first. Let Him be your source of peace, healing, and direction.

3. Ask with a surrendered heart.

God invites us to ask, but He also cares about our motives. Pray honestly, but also pray with a heart that wants His will, His Word, and His character.

4. Remember who is on the other side of the door.

You are not praying to a reluctant neighbor. You are praying to a good Father. He loves you. He hears you. He cares for you even when you do not fully understand what He is doing.

Conclusion

Ask. Seek. Knock.

These are not just prayer instructions. They are invitations into relationship with the Father. God is not hiding from His children. He is not annoyed by our persistence. He is not withholding Himself from those who truly seek Him.

So do not settle for “I tried once.” Do not stop at religious routine. Do not assume God is distant because the answer has not come in the way or timing you expected.

Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking.

The Father is good. He is willing. He is able. And He is with us, even when we do not sense Him.

Discussion Guide

Short Summary

Ice-Breaker Questions

Have you ever knocked on a door and wondered if anyone heard you? What happened?
What is something people often seek for peace or comfort before they seek God?
When you were younger, what was something you asked your parents for over and over again?

Discussion Questions

Evalyn said that knocking is repetitive and persistent. What does persistence in prayer look like in your life right now?
Why do you think people often stop praying after asking God only once?
Declan said that when we seek peace, we seek Jesus because He is the Prince of Peace. What is the difference between seeking peace as a feeling and seeking Jesus Himself?
The woman in Luke 13 was near religious activity, but her healing came when she encountered Jesus. How can we make sure we are seeking Christ, not just religious routine?
Camille taught that prayer should be persistent and from the heart. How do we balance honest asking with surrendering our motives to God?
Pastor David emphasized that God is a good Father, not a dark or two-faced God. How does your view of God affect the way you pray?
Which word do you feel God is highlighting most for you right now: ask, seek, or knock? Why?

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You that You are good, faithful, and near. Thank You for inviting us to ask, seek, and knock. Teach us to be persistent in prayer without losing heart. Help us seek Jesus first instead of running to the world for peace, healing, or answers. Purify our motives when we ask, and align our hearts with Your Word and Your character. Remind us that You are not reluctant, distant, or annoyed by us. You are our good Father, and we trust that You hear us, care for us, and work all things together for our good. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Ask, Seek, Knock: Trusting the Good Father Who Answers