Sunday February 23
The Persistence of Prayer
Luke 11:5-10
5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
The Lord is responding to the disciple’s question to teach them to pray. Jesus first gives them a lesson on the pattern of prayer and begins it with the words, “Our Father”. One for the first things we should learn about prayer is that it is based on our relationship with God. We have the privilege and honor of prayer because we are sons and daughters in His family by being “born again” through salvation in Jesus Christ. We should always picture prayer as children coming to a loving, giving, and kind father who delights in our dependance upon him.
In Luke 11:5-10, it is like the Lord is now taking His disciples up several grades, from elementary and middle school to high school. He does this by telling the story of some friends. In this lesson, the Lord is teaching the disciples, and us, that not only do we have a relationship with God as “Our Father”, but that we can also picture God as our friend who cares about us. And in His story of these three friends, He is teaching the disciples and us the importance of persistence in prayer.
In this story, Jesus did not say that God is like this grouchy neighbor. In fact, He said just the opposite. If a tired and selfish neighbor finally meets the needs of a bothersome friend, how much more will a loving Heavenly Father meet the needs of His own dear children! He is arguing from the lesser to the greater. If we intend to do much through prayer we must have some endurance. We must persist in our praying, never quit, be steadfast regardless of circumstances. If we quit after praying once because nothing happened, we will never experience answers to our prayers like we should.
There are three friends in this story. There is a friend who is on a journey. There is a friend who is without bread for this friend who is on a journey. Then there is a friend who has plenty of bread but is at home asleep with his family. How do you know someone is a true friend? You can tell by their attitude and actions toward you that they genuinely care about you and the needs you might have in your life or family.
The argument in this story is clear: If persistence finally paid off as a man beat on the door of a reluctant friend, how much more would persistence bring blessing as we pray to a loving Heavenly Father! After all, we are the children in the house with Him!
The word translated “persistence”, ("importunity" in OKJ), means "shamelessness" or "avoidance of shame." It can refer to the man at the door who was not ashamed to wake up his friend, but it can also refer to the friend in the house. Hospitality to friends and even to strangers is a basic law in the East (Gen. 18). If a person refused to entertain a guest, it could bring disgrace on the whole village. The man in the house knew this and did not want to embarrass himself, his family, or his village; so he got up and met the need on the friend on a journey. And so did the friend who had plenty of bread!
Why does our Father in heaven answer prayer? Not just to meet the needs of His children, but to meet them in such a way that it brings glory to His name. "Hallowed be Thy name." When God's people pray, God's reputation is at stake. The way He takes care of His children is a witness to the world that He can be trusted. Phillips Brooks said that prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness. Persistence in prayer is not an attempt to change God's mind ("Thy will be done") but to get ourselves to the place where He can trust us with the answer. God’s first no does not always mean it is His final no. It might mean “wait”. We will study more about this tomorrow.
Today, we need to learn that God is not only our Father, but He is our friend, who has “plenty of bread” for our every need and we should never give up on approaching Him with our request!
God bless!
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