"... Having been duly entrusted and warned, the listeners are ready to approach the Father. They are told that if they will, one at a time, ask, seek, and knock (in other words, when a threefold petition is made), “it shall be opened to [them]” (Matthew 7:7). Each one must ask, and each one (pas) who asks, having reached this point, will receive and be received (see Matthew 7:8). Here again, the theme of seeking God, as well as another instance of triadic intonation, is reencountered in the Sermon. The admonition to seek (zēteite) God is salient in the Psalms. Psalms 69:32 invites, “Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive (ekzētēsanta ton theon, kai zēsesthe).” Using Psalms 105:4, “seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually!” as illustrative, Guelich comments that “to seek occurs frequently in the Old Testament with God and his will as the object.” (See, for example, Deuteronomy 4:21; 1 Chronicles 16:10; 22:19; 2 Chronicles 11:16; 12:14; Psalm 34:10; 77:2; 105:3) ..."