Michael Appelt

We all encounter moments in life when we stand before a door—uncertain, yearning, ready for something to shift. Whether we call it transformation, awakening, or growth, the experience of reaching beyond ourselves is deeply human.

In one ancient text, Jesus offers this promise: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” It’s a line that has echoed through centuries—but the longing behind it is older still.

This essay begins with that promise but travels far beyond it. It weaves through wisdom from different religions, philosophical traditions, and even modern science to explore a universal truth: that when we truly seek, something responds. And when we knock, something in us—and in the world—can open.

1. Asking – The First Step of Transformation

To ask is to admit a need. It is the beginning of spiritual humility—the recognition that we are not complete on our own. James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). But there is a condition: “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt.”

Asking is not begging; it is the confident act of a child approaching a loving parent. Transformation begins when we bring our questions, our uncertainties, and our brokenness to the One who has promised to listen. It is a declaration of openness—a willingness to be changed.

2. Seeking – The Journey of the Heart

But asking is only the beginning. Jesus says we must seek. Seeking is more than a question—it is a pursuit. Jeremiah captures the intensity of this search: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

To seek God with our whole heart is to move beyond superficial curiosity. It is to journey through the wilderness of the soul, to confront our doubts, to wrestle with silence, and to keep moving. Transformation happens not all at once, but in the persistent turning of the heart toward God—even when the path is unclear.

3. Knocking – The Boldness to Persist

Finally, Jesus tells us to knock. Knocking is active. It carries the rhythm of hope: a steady sound against a closed door. It implies not only desire, but expectation—that someone is there, and that the door will not stay closed forever.

“Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9). This promise invites persistence. When the door doesn’t open right away, many stop. But those who keep knocking—through prayer, through tears, through faith held together in silence—find themselves standing before a door that eventually opens.

4. God’s Response – An Open Door and an Invitation

In a striking reversal of roles, Jesus also says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20). It is not only we who knock—God also knocks. The divine encounter is not one-sided. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, waiting for us to respond.

“If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” This is no mere transaction—it is communion. Transformation happens when God steps into our space, not to command but to dine with us. It is intimacy that changes everything.

5. Living the Answer – A New Path

Jesus promises that whatever we ask in His name, He will do—“so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). The answer is not always what we expect. Sometimes the door opens to a path we didn’t imagine. But it always leads to something greater: a life shaped by grace, rooted in love, and empowered to live out God’s purpose.

To ask, seek, and knock is to open ourselves to a transformation that doesn’t just fill our need but reshapes our desires. It brings us into alignment with God’s heart.

6. A Universal Invitation: The Seeking Spirit Across Faiths

The promise of “Knock, and the door will be opened” is profoundly Christian, spoken by Jesus to encourage faith, persistence, and trust. And yet, the heart of this invitation—the idea that sincere seeking leads to divine response—is echoed across the world’s great spiritual traditions.

In Judaism, the same words resonate: “You will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). The Psalms are filled with cries to God—and answered prayers.

In Islam, the Qur’an affirms, “I am indeed near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me” (Qur’an 2:186). The act of calling on God with sincerity is sacred and transformative.

In Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita records the words of Krishna: “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Seeking the Divine is both an inward journey and an act of surrender.

Buddhism, though non-theistic, offers a similar arc. The path to enlightenment begins with a longing for truth and ends with transformation of heart and mind. As the Dhammapada says, “You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way.”

And in Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib promises, “Those who search with love, they find the Lord.” Repetition of God’s Name and a life of service and devotion open the way to union with the Divine.

Across cultures, names, and beliefs, the pattern is familiar: a soul seeks, knocks, and finds. Transformation is not a Christian idea alone—it is a divine truth etched into the human heart. Christ’s words are not diminished by this universality; they are magnified. They ring out as part of a sacred chorus: that when the heart reaches for God, something always answers.

7. The Search for Truth – A Philosophical Companion

Beyond religion, philosophy, too, affirms the necessity and nobility of seeking. From ancient Athens to modern existentialism, asking questions, seeking truth, and confronting mystery are central to the philosophical life.

Socrates, the father of Western philosophy, declared that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” His relentless questioning mirrored the spiritual quest—an intellectual knocking on the door of truth.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave presents a journey from illusion to reality. The soul who escapes the shadows and ascends toward the light is transformed—not unlike the believer who seeks and finds.

Existential philosophers like Kierkegaard and Sartre place responsibility on the individual to seek meaning and live authentically. For Kierkegaard, faith is not certainty—it is leaping into mystery, a knock on the door of the divine unknown.

In Eastern philosophies, transformation comes not through external answers but through inward awakening. The Buddha taught that truth must be personally discovered. In Daoism, the seeker aligns with the quiet, flowing way of the universe. In Vedanta, the discovery is that the seeker and the sought are one.

Even modern philosophers, like Ricoeur and Levinas, speak of transformation through encounter—whether with mystery, with the Other, or with our own depth.

Philosophy, like faith, does not mock the seeker. It honors the one who asks boldly, seeks honestly, and knocks persistently—believing that something, someone, or truth itself will respond.

8. The Mystery of Reality – A Glimpse Through Physics

While physics is a science of measurement and equations, its most advanced discoveries invite us into a mystery as deep as any sacred text. At the frontier of our understanding, the physical world turns out to be far more dynamic, interconnected, and unpredictable than we once imagined—echoing the humility and wonder at the heart of Jesus’ invitation to ask, seek, and knock.

Quantum Physics – Openness, Uncertainty, and Possibility

In classical physics, the universe seemed predictable, mechanical. But quantum mechanics shattered that view. At the quantum level:

Particles do not have definite positions or paths until they are observed—seeking changes reality.

Two particles can be entangled—connected across vast distances so that changing one instantly affects the other.

Outcomes are probabilistic, not fixed. There is no certainty, only potential. Knocking doesn’t guarantee control—but it opens possibilities.

Isn’t this strangely close to faith? In both quantum physics and the spiritual journey, we walk not by certainty, but by trust in what cannot fully be seen.

Relativity – Time, Space, and Perspective

Einstein’s theory of relativity shows us that time and space are not fixed—they bend, stretch, and change depending on our perspective. A moment to one person might be hours to another. There is no single, objective frame of reference.

This invites a deep spiritual parallel: the seeker’s journey is shaped by where they stand, what they carry, and how they move. Transformation is not linear—it is relative to the soul’s path, to grace, to divine timing.

The Big Bang – A Beginning from Nothing

Modern cosmology tells us the universe had a beginning—a sudden, explosive emergence from apparent nothingness. All matter, space, and time burst forth from a singularity. This scientific story echoes the biblical one: “Let there be light.”

From the void, came everything. Is this not the same mystery behind Jesus’ promise? From the simple act of asking… comes a gift. From the persistence of seeking… comes light. From a knock… comes a door flung open to a new reality.

Bridging Science and Faith

Physics does not answer the question of why—only how. But its discoveries humble us. They remind us that reality is more surprising, generous, and interconnected than we thought. That mystery is not something to be solved, but entered. That the very fabric of existence responds when we look, when we seek, when we reach.

Jesus’ promise is not contradicted by science—it is echoed in the very structure of reality:

When we knock, something changes. Something opens. The world responds.

9. The Biology of Becoming – Mind, Brain, and Transformation

While faith speaks of soul and spirit, biology and psychology speak of neurons, patterns, and behavior. At first glance, they seem to live in different worlds. Yet when we explore how transformation happens—how a person truly changes—we discover powerful parallels. Science does not reduce the mystery; it helps us see how the inner door begins to open.

Neuroplasticity – The Brain That Changes

Modern brain science has revealed an astonishing truth: the brain is not fixed. Through a process called neuroplasticity, our thoughts, habits, and even deeply ingrained beliefs can be rewired.

When we ask questions, engage in reflection, or experience new insights, we literally stimulate new neural pathways.

When we seek—practicing prayer, meditation, or contemplation—those pathways grow stronger through repetition and focus.

When we knock, especially through perseverance in difficult emotional or spiritual work, the brain adapts. Change becomes embodied.

This shows us that transformation is not only spiritual—it is physiological. The invitation of Jesus is echoed in our biology: the act of reaching out begins to reshape us from the inside.

The Psychology of Change – Desire, Meaning, and Growth

Psychology, especially in areas like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and humanistic psychology, teaches that people grow when they begin to:

Recognize harmful patterns

Believe change is possible

Take consistent steps toward meaning and purpose

The process of asking, seeking, and knocking aligns with this psychological framework:

Ask – Acknowledge dissatisfaction, question assumptions.

Seek – Pursue deeper values, develop new habits, explore new narratives.

Knock – Commit to the process, face resistance, press on with hope.

Psychologist Carl Rogers said, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Acceptance opens the door—but the longing for more is what knocks.

Spiritual Practice and the Brain

Studies on meditation, prayer, and mindfulness show tangible effects:

Reduced anxiety and stress

Increased empathy and compassion

Activation of areas of the brain linked to self-awareness and connectedness

In this way, spiritual seeking has measurable effects. The heart’s journey is mirrored in the mind and body. We become more centered, more open, more able to love and receive love. The door opens not just in heaven—but in our brain, our body, our behavior.

Embodied Faith

Science reminds us that transformation is not disembodied. God created the brain, the nervous system, and the intricate connection between thought, emotion, and action. So when Jesus invites us to ask, seek, and knock—He speaks not just to our souls, but to our whole being.

The biology of becoming affirms a profound truth:

The soul’s journey reshapes the self. The knock at the door is also a signal in the brain. The path to God is also a path through the human heart and mind.

10. The Door Is Still Open

The promise remains. It is not locked in history, nor limited to a few. Jesus does not say might—He says will. The door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Wherever you are—whether at the beginning of your search or weary from a long journey—the invitation stands. The door is not closed to you. Knock. Keep knocking. The One who hears is faithful. And on the other side of that door is not only an answer, but a transformed life.

A Final Reflection: What My Dog Taught Me About Asking

After writing these words, I found myself thinking about my dog, Eldorado. He doesn’t know theology or philosophy. He’s never read a sacred text. But he lives out the first part of Jesus’ promise with pure simplicity: “Ask, and it will be given to you.”

When Eldorado wants something, he asks—without fear, without overthinking. A nudge. A look. A quiet confidence that good things come when you reach out in trust. He doesn’t analyze the outcome. He just believes.

And more often than not, he receives.

There’s something sacred in that. A creature so connected to the present moment. So unburdened by doubt. So ready to trust that the door will open.

Maybe the invitation to ask, seek, and knock isn’t just for saints, mystics, and scholars. Maybe it’s also for those who still know how to trust like animals do—with humility, expectancy, and joy.

Eldorado reminds me: asking is not weakness. It’s wisdom. And it just might be the beginning of everything.