The Door Series: Thresholds of Faith

 

Session 3: Knocking in the Dark

Based on Matthew 7:7–11

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I. The Door That Does Not Open Immediately

Jesus speaks words that sound simple but are often lived in tension.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Knocking implies delay.
It assumes a closed door.
It acknowledges that what we desire is not yet accessible.

Faith is often formed not when doors open quickly, but when they remain closed longer than we expected.
Knocking in the dark is the discipline of continuing to trust when clarity has not yet arrived.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“Waiting is not a passive activity.
It is an active engagement with hope.”

The knock itself becomes an act of faith.

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II. Persistence Without Certainty

Jesus does not say knock once.
The language implies ongoing action.
Ask and keep asking.
Seek and keep seeking.
Knock and keep knocking.

Persistence is not manipulation.
It is relationship.
It is returning to God again and again with the same longing, the same question, the same hope.

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8)

Knocking is prayer that refuses to disappear into discouragement.

Thomas Merton wrote,

“Prayer does not change God.
It changes the one who prays.”

The door may still be closed, but the one who knocks is being reshaped.

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III. The Darkness That Deepens Trust

There are seasons when God feels silent.
The door remains closed.
The answer does not come.
The night stretches longer than expected.

Yet darkness does not mean absence.
It often means formation.

Children learn trust not when parents give immediately, but when presence remains steady even without answers.

Jesus reminds His listeners of this truth.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” (Matthew 7:9)

God’s goodness does not change in silence.

Dallas Willard wrote,

“Trust in God is not confidence that we will get what we want,
but assurance that God is good no matter what.”

Knocking in the dark teaches the heart to rest in God’s character rather than His outcomes.

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IV. The Door Opened by Love

Jesus ends His teaching not with technique, but with assurance.

“How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him.” (Matthew 7:11)

The door opens according to love, not urgency.
God responds as a Father, not a gatekeeper.

Sometimes the door opens outward.
Sometimes it opens inward, changing the one who knocks.
Sometimes it opens later, in a way we did not expect.

But love is always on the other side.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“God’s silence is often His invitation to deeper trust.”

What feels like waiting may be the work itself.

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V. The Invitation

Knocking in the dark is not failure.
It is fidelity.
It is the quiet refusal to walk away from God when answers delay.

Faith matures not when doors open easily, but when we continue to knock with hope intact.

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.” (Lamentations 3:25)

God honors the knock that comes from trust.

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Practicing Faith While Knocking This Week

1. Name the door you are knocking on.
   Speak it honestly to God without demanding a timeline.

2. Practice faithful persistence.
   Return to God daily with the same prayer, trusting that He hears you.

3. Release outcomes.
   Pray,
   “Lord, I trust Your goodness even if the door stays closed for now.”

4. Notice internal shifts.
   Pay attention to how waiting is shaping your patience, humility, or trust.

5. Pray for endurance.

   “Lord, teach me how to knock without losing heart.
   Strengthen my trust in Your goodness.
   Help me remain faithful in the dark.”