Since people often ask, see, and knock but don’t receive, what was Jesus asking people to do?
Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock. — Matthew 7:7– The Discussion Bible
If we don’t seek, we won’t find. The reward of discovery only comes to those who are willing to pursue, to press on, even when answers seem hidden or distant. It’s in the persistent knocking that faith is forged and our relationship with God deepens.
Hidden in Plain Sight
Many of us remember childhood games like Hide and Seek or Find the Thimble. In those games, we knew what we were looking for—but not where it was. We searched high and low, guided only by clues like “you’re getting warmer” or “you’re cold.”
In the same way, God invites us into a divine search. He is not cruelly hiding from us but is often hidden in plain sight, waiting to be found by those who will seek him with sincere hearts.
In the thimble game, “warmer” meant you were closer. “Colder” meant you were moving in the wrong direction. That’s a picture of how the Holy Spirit guides us today. This spiritual “temperature sense” is real. Sometimes, we feel stirred during worship, Scripture reading, or prayer. These are divine clues that we’re getting “warmer.” When we chase worldly desires and feel spiritually numb, we’re getting “colder.”
God Wants to Be Found
What child would keep playing a game that could never be won? The joy of seeking is fueled by the confidence that there will be a reward. That’s exactly what faith is. Faith believes God wants to be found. Even in discouragement, he gives us reasons to keep going. He provides just enough encouragement, like the thimble in plain sight, to keep us seeking.
Discovery isn’t a one-time event. You don’t find God once and say, “That’s it. Done!” Just like we return to the game because of the joy of finding, we return daily to God because his mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23).
Prayer becomes the daily game of discovery, not a wish list for blessings but an intimate seeking of the God’s presence.
The Process Builds Relationship
Think of a couple who only values the wedding but not the marriage. It’s the daily walking, learning, forgiving, and loving that builds true intimacy. The same is true with God.
The apostle Paul said he kept pressing on to obtain the prize for which Jesus took hold of him (Philippians 3:12). He knew that the ongoing process was an essential journey that transforms us from glory to greater glory.
Never Give Up Asking, Seeking, Knocking
Sometimes we lose heart. The path seems too long, or we feel stuck. But remember, God isn’t hiding to be cruel. He is leading us through a process of choices that we alone can make, which refines our character and deepens our faith.
Even when we feel cold, lost, or confused, God is still nearby. Sometimes he withholds the “thimble” for a moment longer, not to frustrate us, but to deepen our hunger and sharpen our discernment.
Too often, church teachings focus on the prize—Heaven, blessings, healings—without emphasizing the value of the “how,” which is found in the process of the seeking, the praying, and the journeying one step at a time. We do well to teach the love of discovery—to delight in our daily walking with the Lord. That’s where growth happens. That’s where trust is formed. That’s where transformation becomes real.
Success Guaranteed
The only true failure is to stop searching. God’s call is constant, his Spirit always nudging. The tragedy isn’t in not finding. It’s in no longer caring to look.
Stay in the game. Ask if you’re getting warmer. Be honest in prayer. Let Scripture be your map, the Spirit your guide, and God’s presence your great reward.
In our pursuit of God, let’s remember that we don’t just find him once and stop. No, the process of discovery continues. We finding him in new ways. If we believe in the value of the treasure, then we must trust the value of the search. Keep seeking. Keep knocking.
And never forge that God wants to be found.
Seeking Treasure
I once heard a tale that was told to me twice,
Of a treasure that sparkled and shimmered so nice.
But no map was given, no path marked in red—
Just a whisper that said, “Go where you are led.”
The journey, they said, is the start of the prize.
So I laced up my shoes, and I opened my eyes.
I searched in the morning, I searched in the night,
Sometimes in the dark, sometimes in the light.
I looked under rocks and I peeked in the trees,
I prayed in the silence and knelt on my knees.
When I felt like I’d found only questions, not clues,
I’d ask, “Am I colder, or warmer, in my shoes?”
The answer would come like a breeze on my face,
Or the warmth in my heart in a quiet, still place.
I learned not to rush. I learned not to race.
For walking with Jesus is best at his pace.
Some folks would say, “Just ask for your prize.
Why bother with the journey? That’s not very wise.”
But I knew that just asking for stuff
Would never ever be quite enough.
For God is a treasure, a presence, a guide,
Not hidden in anger, but gent inside.
He’s found by the seeker who won’t cease to try,
Who asks with a whisper and knocks with a cry.
Each morning I rise and begin it anew,
With questions and hope for what God will do.
Although I still stumble and sometimes feel blind,
God smiles and says, “Child, just seek and you’ll find.”
So if you’re watching and waiting and wondering why
Your prayers seem to drift like clouds in the sky.
Just know that God hears you. He’s not far away.
He’s cheering you on every step of the way.
So seek him with joy, and don’t ever quit.
You may not see much, but you’re growing with it.
And one day you’ll see, and I know it is true,
The treasure you seek has been seeking you.
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