Knock, and it will be opened

"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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."  Matthew 7:7-8

Sometimes we tend to think of God as a vending machine.  If we read our Bible enough, go to church, do all the 'right things' he'll answer our prayers. Maybe you don't really think of it quite that way, but I believe if we're not careful we'll begin to subconsciously start to view God that way. Our prayers start to be long list of needs and wants. Our relationship with God begins to lack something. Or maybe it was never there to begin with. But it should be something much deeper then that. Yes, God does answer prayers, and he gives gifts to us, but that's honestly just the surface of it.
  I love these verses because I think it gives a good picture of the progress you make when you're growing in your faith. It first starts out as just asking and receiving. Often times though we get so content in this stage we stick with it. 'I mean hey! It's like I'm getting free stuff, right? And all I gotta do for it is go to church once a week. Oh, not to mention I have a free ticket to Heaven.' Heh, not to say that that's how new (or less mature...?) Christian think. I don't want to put thoughts in their head. But I think we often see that in people. Especially in the church these days. People may very well believe in Jesus, but they don't take it much beyond that. (Note to Emily, that's what I would consider a 'lukewarm' Christian). Which is where the next step comes in... Seeking. If we seek after God, we will find him. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8a) One of my favorite verses because it is so true! The more we seek him in prayer, in his word, and in worship, the more we will find Him.
    And finally, knock. And it shell be opened. Not only do we need to seek God, but we must enter into his dwelling. However though....I think even for mature Christians we have a hard time getting from the seeking stage to the living/knocking and entering stage. And we sometimes have a tendency to slip back into the asking stage. But hey, that's why we got God right? He's not just going to let us fall, He wants us to need him to get closer to Him. But we still need to be on the lookout.
Knock and it shall be opened. An invitation for all to live the life that God wants for you. The life with Him. The more you seek God, the deeper your relationship becomes, the more you begin to see Heaven, and the more you experience it.

"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3)