<P> The verse presents prayer as certain to be answered, and the following verses explain why this is . This of course cannot mean that every demand made of God will be met in full . Fowler notes that in Matthew 6: 5 - 13 Jesus has already laid out some rules for proper prayer . These verses thus cannot apply to all prayer, but only those who truly seek God . Christian theology has long tried to address the issue of prayers that seem unanswered . One notion is that God only gives good gifts . Even if you ask for something that will harm you, he will not provide it . Thus a prayer for wealth may not be answered, as such wealth may damage one's spiritual soul . </P> <P> In Matthew 6: 8 Jesus also states that prayer is not necessary as God knows what a person needs even before they ask him . Fowler feels that while prayer is not useful to God, it is useful to humans . If we do not have to toil through continuous prayer before receiving God's grace we will grow soft . The metaphor could also be one for religious study . Schwiezer notes that Rabbis of the period and the Qumran community both put important stress on the pursuit of religious knowledge . Both groups believed that the true believer should strive to get to know God and the Law . The asking, seeking, and knocking, may be searches for knowledge just as much as for aid . This verse can thus be read as a support for inquisitiveness . A third view, rejected by almost all scholars, is that these verses are outlining a specific religious ritual involving asking, seeking, and knocking, and that the verse is not a metaphor at all . Luz notes that this alternate interpretation was central to Gnosticism, and this was one of the defining verses of that branch of Christianity . To Gnostics the continuous seeking for the hidden God was a central part of their faith . By contrast most other Christian groups describe believers as those who have found God, not those who are still seeking . The verse is elaborated upon by saying 92 in the Gospel of Thomas . </P> <P> The common English expression "Seek and Ye Shall Find" is derived from this verse . </P>

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