Summary:
Jesus said, “Knock and it will be opened to you.” Sometimes we grow disheartened because we feel we have been knocking on the Lord’s door for a long time. But do we realise that God has been knocking on the door of our hearts too? He’s been waiting for a long time. When will we be willing to open it?

Hymn 437: Who at My Door Is Standing?

Matt 7:7-8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Rev 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

These two passages of the Bible talk about knocking. The first passage talks about us knocking on the Lord’s door. The second passage talks about the Lord knocking on the door of our hearts. We have knocked on the Lord’s door to the extent we are tired and discouraged. Still He hasn’t opened. Didn’t the Lord say to knock and it’ll be opened unto us? Why is it after knocking for such a long time He still hasn’t opened the door? Some have lost faith in the words of the Lord. Some have stopped praying.

But the Lord Jesus is telling us He’s also been knocking on the door of our hearts for so long! Have we also not opened our doors? Perhaps we may say we have opened the door of our hearts since we have accepted the baptism of Jesus Christ, have come into the presence of the Lord, knelt down and prayed to Him. Don’t all these actions show we have already opened the door of our hearts to the Lord? Yet He doesn’t open His door for us.

The reality is that we have many doors in our hearts. There are some matters in our hearts that we open the doors to most people. There are also some matters in our hearts we only open the doors to our close friends. But there are also some matters in our hearts we keep secret for no one to know. That door of our heart is shut. The door the Lord Jesus wants to enter is in the deepest recess of our hearts; this is so He can rule together with us in our lives.

Psa 139:1-3, 23-24
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

David knew God is omniscient. We know God knows all things too. Are we like David who opened the door in the deepest recess of his heart for the Lord to enter? David said to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” David thought he was someone who truly feared the Lord. On the outside, David really did seem to fear the Lord. When he sinned against God, he thought he still feared the Lord, until prophet Nathan pointed out he was the wicked man in the parable he told (2 Sam 12). Then it was as if David rose up from a dream. David likely wasn’t putting up a show as he had been leading a life of fearing the Lord from the time he was young till he grew up. The things he did showed he feared God. He also really did think he feared the Lord. When there was wickedness in him that caused him to sin, he couldn’t detect it. This is the very frightening thing about men. Some people are very proud but don’t recognise the pride in them. Some people have deep wickedness in their hearts but don’t recognise it and think they are very kind. It was only when prophet Nathan rebuked David that David began to see the wickedness and darkness in his heart. So he prayed to God to help him. Not just to forgive his sins, but also to renew him so he would have a new spirit in him. Because of this, we can understand his prayer for God not to search the outer doors of his heart, but the doors in the deepest recess of his heart.

May this help us realise that just because we have been baptised doesn’t mean we have opened the door of our hearts yet.

We open the doors of our heart one by one to the people around us. But there’s a secret chamber whose door cannot be opened. Many sins and failures stem from this secret chamber. The Lord Jesus wants to enter that door. He wants to be with us and rule in the deepest recess of our hearts. Let us learn to be like David - open the door of the deepest recess of our hearts so God can search it; so God can help us; so He can lead us into the way everlasting. If we are willing to open this door up. God is also willing, through the Holy Spirit, to enter our hearts and cleanse it. Our Lord Jesus is still knocking outside our hearts. He’s not disappointed with us. He’s still looking forward to the time we open the door of our hearts. Because of this, let’s not be discouraged as we knock on the door of the Lord. We first need to open the door of our hearts.

Although we do not have the laying of hands in prayer now (as the service is livestreamed due to the COVID-19 situation), this is a good opportunity for us to learn to kneel before God with our whole heart. According to past experiences of laying hands, the speaker has observed people praying not so seriously. Then when a minister comes to lay hands on them, they become very serious and fervent. Then when the minister walks away, it is as if they have no strength anymore to pray. There will be no ministers laying hands but remember that the Lord Jesus is before you.

You knock on His door but He’s knocking at the door of your heart. He’s been waiting for a long while. When are we willing to open up?

May the Lord be gracious to us.