Bringing It to God

READ

There's a moment in Matthew 7 where Jesus doesn't just teach about prayer — He invites us into it. Right in the middle of His teaching on judgment, mercy, and the Golden Rule, He pauses and says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (v. 7). 

It's as if Jesus knows that everything He's been asking of us — the self-examination, the humility, the compassion — is too much to manufacture on our own. So He doesn't just leave us with a command. He points us to a Father who gives good gifts. Today, we're not just reading about this passage. We're bringing it to God. 

Take a moment to read Matthew 7:1-12 slowly, and come ready to pray.

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

REFLECT

One of the most transforming things we can do with Scripture is let it become our prayer. Not just reading about God, but talking to God through what He's said. Matthew 7:1-12 gives us a lot to bring to Him.

Start with the hardest part: the log.

Jesus asks, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (v. 3). That question isn't rhetorical — it deserves an honest answer. And the most honest place to answer it is in prayer. Because the truth is, most of us don't even know our own logs. We've lived with them so long they've started to feel like just... us. Our defensiveness. Our tendency to assume the worst about people. Our habit of holding others to a standard we quietly exempt ourselves from. We don't always see these things clearly. But God does.

Praying through this passage means asking Him to show us. Not in a way that crushes us, but in the way a good Father gently points out what a son or daughter can't quite see on their own. Show me, Lord, where I'm judging. Show me what I'm missing about myself. Show me the log. That kind of prayer takes courage, but it also takes trust — trust that the One who shows us is the same One who forgives us, restores us, and doesn't walk away.

Then there's the Golden Rule in verse 12: "Do to others what you would have them do to you." Bring that one to God too, but make it personal. Think about the specific people in your life who are hardest to love right now. The coworker who gets under your skin. The family member you've been avoiding. The friend who let you down. Now ask yourself — what would you want if the roles were reversed? And then ask God to give you the courage and the grace to actually offer that. Because here's the thing: the Golden Rule isn't something we can white-knuckle our way into. Real, consistent, costly love for others is the fruit of a life being changed from the inside out by the Holy Spirit.

And that brings us back to verses 7-11. Jesus doesn't just offer permission to ask — He promises a response. "For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (v. 8). This is not a blank check for every request. It's an invitation into relationship with a Father who is attentive, generous, and good — far better than even the best earthly parent (v. 11). When we pray through this passage, we're not just asking God to help us be nicer people. We're asking Him to do what only He can do: change the way we see, change the way we love, and make us into people who naturally lead with mercy instead of judgment.

That kind of change starts in prayer.

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.

• What specific "log" do you sense God might be asking you to honestly examine today? Take a few minutes in prayer and ask Him to show you clearly and gently.

• Think of one relationship where you've been quicker to judge than to show mercy. Using Matthew 7:12 as a guide, what would it look like to treat that person the way you'd want to be treated? Bring that person by name to God in prayer.

• Jesus promises that those who ask, seek, and knock will receive, find, and have the door opened (vv. 7-8). What's one thing you need from God right now to live out what this passage is asking of you? Are you willing to ask?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:

Father, we come to You not because we have it all figured out, but because You invited us to ask, seek, and knock — and we believe You answer. Search us today. Show us, with gentleness and truth, the places where we've been quicker to judge than to show mercy, quicker to point out the speck than to address the log. Forgive us for the times we've held others to a standard we wouldn't want held over ourselves. Give us the grace to live by the Golden Rule — not out of sheer willpower, but out of lives that are being transformed by Your Spirit. Thank You that You are a good Father who gives good gifts, and that the gift we need most — a humble, compassionate, merciful heart — is exactly what You long to give. Amen.