What does Matthew 7:8 mean?

In the previous verse, Jesus commanded His listeners to ask, seek, and to knock, with the promise that each action would be rewarded (Matthew 7:7). In the following verses, He makes it clear that He is talking about prayer: asking from the Father, seeking from the Father, symbolically knocking on the Father's door. Some commentators suggest these words imply a progression. It's possible that "asking" means making a request, "seeking" implies persistence or fervor, and "knocking" represents continued and ongoing persistence.

In this verse, Jesus doubles down on the promise. Everyone who asks of God receives an answer. Everyone who seeks Him finds Him. The door is opened to everyone who knocks. By including everyone, Jesus shows that God's responsiveness to prayer is not based on the goodness of the one who prays, but on the goodness of God. We all know that among everyone, some are unworthy. God knows that among everyone, everyone is unworthy. Jesus shows that His Father does not only respond to the prayers of the super-religious, like the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). He is ready to respond to the sincere asking, seeking, and knocking of each of His people.

That universal sense of God's response is especially important when looking at the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). Elsewhere, the Bible explains that there's enough evidence of God in each person's life that they should be seeking God (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1). Those who want God will react to that evidence by searching for Him, and they will find Him.

That also means the context of God responding to the prayers of "everyone" is ultimately grounded in the context of Jesus Himself. He is quoted by John as saying, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Some requests are reasonable only from those who can legitimately call God Father. They also presume the person is approaching the "ask, seek, and knock" concept in a truly godly way (Matthew 6:9–13).