“I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
World English Bible
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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“I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
World English Bible
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Proverbs 2:3-5, Proverbs 8:17, and Matthew 7:8 / Luke 11:9-10 promise that anyone who seeks God will find him — ask and receive, knock and the door opens. Psalm 18:41, Proverbs 1:28, Lamentations 3:8 and 3:44, and Luke 13:24 directly contradict this: God refuses to answer, shuts out prayer, hides behind a cloud, and tells seekers they will not be able to enter.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Theology
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
The contradiction targets importunity — persistent, repetitive petitioning in prayer. Matthew 6:7-8 directly condemns it, with Jesus telling the disciples not to babble like the Gentiles because the Father already knows what they need before they ask.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Law & ethics
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Luke 11:9 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/luke/11/9?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).