This morning as I read from my Bible, I felt the need to write down & share what the Holy Spirit was teaching me.
I started reading Luke 11:5-13. “Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, & goes to him at midnight & says to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, & I have nothing to set before him”; & from inside he answers & says, “Do not bother me; the door has already been shut & my children & I are in bed; I cannot get up & give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up & give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up & give him as much as he needs.
‘So I say to you, ask, & it will be given to you; seek, & you will find; knock, & it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; & he who seeks, finds; & to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?’”
The thing that God pointed out to me was verses 8-10. In the parable, Jesus said that the man with the bread wouldn’t get out of bed to help someone who was his friend. But because the man who had the unexpected guest kept knocking on the door, kept asking for his friend’s help, because of his persistency, the man eventually got out of bed & gave to his friend as much as he needed. The key was the persistency of the man in need.
The word “persistence” from verse 8 means “recklessness; audacity; shamelessness; disregard of considerations of the man making the request; one who knows no restraint; no deference; imprudent in one’s relationship with another”. (From Lexical Aids to the New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates, Th. D.) The man banging on the door was secure enough in his friendship with the man who had the bread that he shamelessly kept bugging him until he opened the door & gave him what he needed.
In verses 9 & 10, Jesus told us to do as the persistent man did - KEEP ON asking; KEEP ON seeking; KEEP ON knocking. EVERYONE who does those things with persistence will receive, find & have doors opened.
From Luke 11, I next cross-referenced to Luke 18:1-8. “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray & not to lose heart, saying, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God & did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, & she kept coming to him, saying, “Give me legal protection from my opponent.” For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, “Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day & night, & will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’”
Jesus was illustrating that we are to pray & not “lose heart”. Just like the man who need help from his friend, the widow in this parable was persistent! She “kept coming”, relentlessly making her request for protection. The unrighteous judge who had no concern for the status or character of a man, was worn down by this widow. She kept bothering him & he got tired of seeing her & hearing her case over & over again, so he relented & granted her request just to get some peace. Jesus tied it all together by saying that if an unrighteous judge who doesn’t care about anyone but himself would give this little widow lady what she asked for, even more so God, who loves the world & everyone in the world, will hear our requests & will bring about justice.
What about that last sentence in verse 8? “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Faith in this verse refers to faith like the persistent widow. Will God find that I have a persistent, relentless faith that has the audacity to come to God over & over & over again with my requests, expecting Him to answer my prayers in His timing?
So many times I’ve heard teaching on prayer that makes it out to be something mystical, something difficult, something rote. I believe that prayer is actually quite simple - so simple that a child can do it. It’s merely communicating with our Father. Prayer is talking with God. Prayer is reading His word & listening to the Holy Spirit’s teaching about what was read. Prayer is interceding for others’ salvation. Prayer is the cry of our hearts when we can’t find any other way to express ourselves to God. Prayer is also “reminding” God of our needs & asking Him to provide in His time. God WANTS us to come to Him in prayer. Yes, He already knows what we’re going to pray before the thoughts even form in our minds. But He still wants us to go through the process of prayer. He wants to be our hero, the one who swoops in & rescues us. He wants to expresses His great love & concern for us by meeting our needs & answering our prayers. He wants our awe, our overwhelmed gratitude, our worship of Him.
God wants us to have the audacity to come before His throne of grace & ask Him to work in our lives. He wants us to pester Him in prayer! Now more than ever, I am committed to being persistent in prayer, bringing every need I can think of to His attention & begging Him to intervene so that He can receive glory, honor & praise for His amazing work.
I started reading Luke 11:5-13. “Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, & goes to him at midnight & says to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, & I have nothing to set before him”; & from inside he answers & says, “Do not bother me; the door has already been shut & my children & I are in bed; I cannot get up & give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up & give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up & give him as much as he needs.
‘So I say to you, ask, & it will be given to you; seek, & you will find; knock, & it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; & he who seeks, finds; & to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?’”
The thing that God pointed out to me was verses 8-10. In the parable, Jesus said that the man with the bread wouldn’t get out of bed to help someone who was his friend. But because the man who had the unexpected guest kept knocking on the door, kept asking for his friend’s help, because of his persistency, the man eventually got out of bed & gave to his friend as much as he needed. The key was the persistency of the man in need.
The word “persistence” from verse 8 means “recklessness; audacity; shamelessness; disregard of considerations of the man making the request; one who knows no restraint; no deference; imprudent in one’s relationship with another”. (From Lexical Aids to the New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates, Th. D.) The man banging on the door was secure enough in his friendship with the man who had the bread that he shamelessly kept bugging him until he opened the door & gave him what he needed.
In verses 9 & 10, Jesus told us to do as the persistent man did - KEEP ON asking; KEEP ON seeking; KEEP ON knocking. EVERYONE who does those things with persistence will receive, find & have doors opened.
From Luke 11, I next cross-referenced to Luke 18:1-8. “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray & not to lose heart, saying, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God & did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, & she kept coming to him, saying, “Give me legal protection from my opponent.” For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, “Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day & night, & will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’”
Jesus was illustrating that we are to pray & not “lose heart”. Just like the man who need help from his friend, the widow in this parable was persistent! She “kept coming”, relentlessly making her request for protection. The unrighteous judge who had no concern for the status or character of a man, was worn down by this widow. She kept bothering him & he got tired of seeing her & hearing her case over & over again, so he relented & granted her request just to get some peace. Jesus tied it all together by saying that if an unrighteous judge who doesn’t care about anyone but himself would give this little widow lady what she asked for, even more so God, who loves the world & everyone in the world, will hear our requests & will bring about justice.
What about that last sentence in verse 8? “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Faith in this verse refers to faith like the persistent widow. Will God find that I have a persistent, relentless faith that has the audacity to come to God over & over & over again with my requests, expecting Him to answer my prayers in His timing?
So many times I’ve heard teaching on prayer that makes it out to be something mystical, something difficult, something rote. I believe that prayer is actually quite simple - so simple that a child can do it. It’s merely communicating with our Father. Prayer is talking with God. Prayer is reading His word & listening to the Holy Spirit’s teaching about what was read. Prayer is interceding for others’ salvation. Prayer is the cry of our hearts when we can’t find any other way to express ourselves to God. Prayer is also “reminding” God of our needs & asking Him to provide in His time. God WANTS us to come to Him in prayer. Yes, He already knows what we’re going to pray before the thoughts even form in our minds. But He still wants us to go through the process of prayer. He wants to be our hero, the one who swoops in & rescues us. He wants to expresses His great love & concern for us by meeting our needs & answering our prayers. He wants our awe, our overwhelmed gratitude, our worship of Him.
God wants us to have the audacity to come before His throne of grace & ask Him to work in our lives. He wants us to pester Him in prayer! Now more than ever, I am committed to being persistent in prayer, bringing every need I can think of to His attention & begging Him to intervene so that He can receive glory, honor & praise for His amazing work.
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