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; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “(Luke 11:5-6, NKJV)
Jesus was a storyteller. When He wanted to teach a lesson, He often wrapped that lesson in a parable to help His listeners understand. One day His disciples observed Him praying. As He finished, one asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Jesus began with the basics of prayer. Today we refer to it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many of us memorized this prayer as a child. It’s really a pattern or a template of how to pray rather than words to memorize and repeat. Within just a few verses, the Lord captures the importance of worship, consecration, forgiveness, intercession, and protection.
Prayer persistence
But the Lord did not stop with these prayer basics. He continued with a parable that taught something else they needed in their prayer life: persistence.
The parable told of a man asleep when a sudden knocking at his door woke him. Like most of us when awaken at midnight, the man was startled. It was a friend with a problem. Late-arriving guests had come, but the man had no food on hand to feed them. The friend needed three loaves of bread to feed the hungry travelers. The sleeping man did not want to disturb his household by getting up, but because of his friend’s persistent pleading, he finally arose and supplied the man’s need.
“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.” (Luke 11:8, NKJV)
The parable Jesus told was not really about someone needing bread. It was a story to teach His disciples to be persistent in their prayers. The Lord went on to say, “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” (verse 9).
JUST KEEP PRAYING
Sometimes we become discouraged and stop praying when God does not answer immediately. We may think He isn’t listening or doesn’t care, but He is and He does.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (I John 5:14-15, NKJV)
Perhaps God has sometime better in mind and will bring it to pass when the time is right. Trust Him. He knows what is best for us.
It is also important that we align our prayers with God’s will. James 4:3 tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (NKJV). Ask God to reveal any wrong motives or wrong desires that are hindering our prayers.
God takes note of your persistence. Just keep on praying until the answer comes. Trust His timing and His will.
Devotion by Mary Loudermilk
