Luke 11:5-8 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? (7) And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. (8) I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Last week, we started chapter 11 and it opened with his disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. So Jesus obliged by using the model prayer or what is commonly known as the Lord’s prayer as an outline. But his lesson on prayer didn’t end there. without pause, He continued by giving the illustration in our text today.
In this parable, Jesus describes a person in need of supplies late at night, for a traveler stops by and they have nothing to feed their traveling guest. Jesus says that the host goes to a nearby neighbor to borrow what they need to feed the guest. Because it is late at night and the neighbor is already in bed, he is unwilling to help his friend. However, the neighbor finally relents due to the relentless nature of the asking.
When we keep this story in the context of: “Lord, Teach us to Pray”, we can learn that God wants and expects us to pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
The God we serve is a generous and loving God and wants to help us, lead us and unburden us from the things of this life that can bring us down.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
The Bible goes to great lengths to demonstrate how much our God knows us, cares for us and ultimately will help us if we are faithful to him. But the most powerful passage along those lines is this
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
This passage says it all. God loves those that follow him like a Father loves and cares for a child. Therefore, like my earthly father, if I go to him and ask for his help, he will certainly do what’s best for me. God then encourages us to pray for those things that are on our minds and cause us to be discouraged.
I have heard an old saying that I believe this passage supports: “If it is worth worrying about, it is worth praying about”. Feel free to go to God as much as you need!
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
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