Knocking multiple times symbolizes perfection and the timing of divinity.
So, What Does 3 Knocks Mean In The Bible?
It is about salvation
Revelation 3:20 – “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Knocking, especially three times, can be a symbol of the continuing calling to salvation.
Revelation 3:20 is a wonderful description of Jesus knocking at the door and wanting us to have another relationship with Him.
So, this invitation is not a once-off event but an unending, loving call that waits for our answer.
Perhaps those three knocks are representative of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all working together to bring us into invocation with God.
I have noticed that many people experience a “knocking” from the divine at different times in their lives.
These encounters arise from different life occasions, which makes the call of our Divine nature – persistent.
All this is the height of divinely orchestrated, calling us to knock upon that door and enter into a transformative relationship with our Creator.
When we open that door, it represents our acknowledgment of God in our lives to restore spiritual life inside.
It is about vigilance
Matthew 7:7 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
The three knocks also symbolize an invocation to continue praying with vigilance.
Part of our spiritual discipline is asking, seeking and knocking.
This three-part action of asking, seeking and knocking is a total prayer. They teach us that we must persevere and have faith as we walk down our spiritual path.
Prayer must remain a two-way dialogue, not just us asking things from God.
By knocking, we convey two things in our relationship to God: that his timing is best and that he has a plan for us.
These words are meant to be a proclamation of the reality that we desperately need Godly wisdom no less than His leading.
I have learned throughout the years that those who remain devoted to prayer and watchfulness eventually experience powerful spiritual breakthroughs.
The three knocks can represent a moment of resolve to carry on in prayer, believing that God will answer at the appropriate time.
It is about faith
James 1:3 – “Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
When I read James 1:3, I realize that is so true; we really can find joy in the process of our faith being tested because that produces perseverance.
I have observed how life can knock us, and we wonder why God does not answer immediately.
These are the situations that try our souls, but they serve as important elements in forming our spiritual paths.
The significance of three knocks demonstrates perfectly the trial in faith and wait.
If we ever knock and there seems to be no answer, it presents a difficult experience for us to keep the faith alive in trusting that God will make everything beautiful in His own time.
Knocking on the door numerous time without an immediate response does not mean that we are looking for instant gratification, it means that our faith and patience is simply growing.
On these trials of waiting, those challenges teach us to trust in God’s wisdom and timing.
Life has a way of showering us with those curve balls — debt, health problems, personal struggles and relationship issues. Most times, these trials hit us one after another.
Every knock is another test of our faith.
These are the moments when we become disheartened and wonder if God hears our prayers.
Those are hard things to hear, but they are exactly what our faith is proven and character built.
I spent countless hours talking to people who have walked through long seasons of endurance and waiting.
They have described how, even if they felt abandoned or ignored, they kept on knocking out of an inner conviction and a feeling deep down inside that God was listening.
This was because, with time, these people experienced miracles and breakthroughs that inspired them to believe in the timing of God as well as His purpose.
It is about divine revelation
Proverbs 8:34 (NIV) – “Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”
Knocking three times is also an indication of seeking revelation and guidance from the divine.
As I explained before, knocking is the metaphor for our pursuit of prayer when looking to fulfill God’s will in our lives.
Every knock is our plea to the Almighty for His word and His plan.
Not a sitting around, but seeking with intention and persistence – even of our souls.
This ongoing pursuit is crucial for that wisdom and the clarity we are looking at in life.
Something that I have found is a significant lesson in my life, but isn’t quite so unique to me is the way God guides His people.
At times, it is a silent whisper in our hearts or, through the wise counseling of others.
So we keep on knocking in this way, open to the multitude of these divine expressions.
This openness helps us to see and accept the handwork of providence, even if it is nothing like what we were looking for initially.
Knocking three times is not just a symbolic ritual but perhaps an instruction for us from the realm of spirit.
It moves us towards acting on our faith, seeking the presence and voice of God daily.
This unceasing knocking puts us in sync with that will, providing an opening for God’s wisdom to fill all parts of our lives.
It is about fellowship
Luke 24:30 (NIV) – “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.”
Hearing 3 Knocks is also an invitation for us to come together in fellowship and communion with God as well as each other.
This is a symbolic of intimate fellowship as seen when Jesus breaks bread with His disciples in Luke 24:30.
Fellowship is essential to our faith journey. Knocking three times is an invitation to open our hearts up more, inviting relationships and community in.
It is an invitation to the joys and struggles of others, a formal way for us all to wade through this difficult life together.
It is about completeness
Genesis 1:31 (NIV) – “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Three is considered the number of completeness in biblical numerology.
Each knock by God is complete. In Genesis 1:31, it says that then God saw everything He had made and indeed [emphasis added] it was very good.
As such, knocking three times can be symbolic of how God’s actions are complete and purposeful in all our lives.
God’s work in us is ongoing, meant to help us become mature and complete.
I believe that the three knocks are God’s way of telling us he is in our lives, working to help perfect us and lead us through life.
It is a promise that He who started the work in us will finish it. We find peace and assurance in this, knowing that within the divine plan, things move as they should, on time.
It is about entering into God’s rest
Hebrews 4:10 (NIV) – “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”
Those three knocks can be representative of calling in your desire to come into God’s rest.
We might think of the rest that God promises to those who believe (Hebrews 4:10).
The knock can be symbolic of our knocking on God’s door, trying to stop working something out and enter into the divine rest that is available with Him.
Rest is part of our spiritual life. It is more than just resting physically but an even deeper spiritual rest as one trusts in God for all his needs.
The action of knocking three times could be interpreted as our recognition that we need to lay down the weights that burden us and move into stillness.
I’m Bulgarea Candin Stefan and I have started Spiritual Whirlwinds to pass my learnings from my spiritual journey. Spiritualwhirlwinds.com provides a space of spiritual awakening with guided meditations, e-books, mantras, and pendulum readings.
