Be Bold in Prayer

Scripture: Luke 11:5-8 (NIV)

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Devotion:

            The scripture for today coms right after Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord’s prayer. Jesus after teaching them this prayer has more to teach his followers about prayer which he proceeds to do. This parable that the Lord gives to his disciples would have been slightly humorous to them. This short parable, however, delivers quite a blow for the kingdom. It leaves the reader wondering what God’s intentions toward those are who come to Him in prayer.

            The cultural context of this parable is important. In Israel at the time Jesus lived many families lived in one room houses. The parents and the children would all sleep in a single bed. This made getting up in the middle of the night quite a chore. Involving the possibility of waking the entire family in the process of getting out of bed. It is no wonder that the friend is reluctant to get up and get anything for the one knocking at the door.

            Is this what God is like when we come to him with our prayer requests? Does He consider our prayers to be a bother? In the remainder of this section of scripture Jesus goes on to teach that God is not at all like this reluctant friend. In verses 9 and 10 Luke writes:

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)

            Now we know that God is not a heavenly vending machine. He does not answer every petition we make to Him the affirmative and immediately. God’s answers to our prayer may be yes, no, or wait on my time. There was a personal matter that I had been praying for, for many years before God finally granted my request. There are many petitions of mine that I am still waiting on the Lord for an answer. We can know that our God will answer each prayer in His time and in His own way. Let us praise our God.

Prayer:

            Lord God Almighty, thank you for hearing and answering our prayers. Help us to trust that you are a loving and forgiving God who will always be looking out for our best interest. While it may seem to us that the heavens have turned to brass and our prayers bounce off the gates of heaven, never being heard or acknowledged, we must know that God hears each prayer and will respond in His own time. Let us lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving that we have a living and active God. Amen.