Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matt. 7:7.

Jesus knows how often we are reluctant to pray and how we neglect to pray. He does everything possible to get us to pray. This threefold promise embraces all of us: "Every one that asketh receiveth." If God dropped a promise down from heaven with your name on it, would you believe it? Some years ago a young man named Henry came to me. He was going through a period of doubt. He said, "If God's hand would come out in the sky every night and write the words, 'Henry, I love you,' I would believe. That is an easy thing for Him to do. Why does He not do that?"

But there are hosts of people called "Henry." How would this than know the promise was for him and not someone else with the same name, someone more worthy, perhaps? But none of us is worthy. God has no elite group to belong to. The promise is for everyone. You and I are part of that everyone. What God has promised to everyone has to include us. So believe His promise.

How do we know His promises are true? We must ask that question sincerely. Do you really want to know? We cannot get answers simply by having an argument. God does not come to us at the close of an argument on prayer. We are to be concerned with the moral and spiritual aspects. God answers prayer for our well-being. He takes it for granted that we will ask for the right thing.

Do we really desire the best things—love, peace, life, righteousness, and all the fruit of the Spirit? God will give us all this. Without these inner qualities all else goes for nothing. Should you be a mean, selfish, unloving person, yet pray for riches, and He gave them to you, then He would not be the God you really need. He would not meet your basic needs at all. The meaning of life would not be clear to you.

The door to God is always open. The man who seeks for wealth for wealth's sake will probably find it. The man who seeks knowledge with all his mind will find it. And if we wholeheartedly seek Christ's righteousness and all the fruit of the Spirit shall we not also find them?