Biblical Text: Luke 11v1-13
We talk a lot about prayer as Christians, so I want to take a moment to consider one of Jesus’s brief mentions of prayer in the Gospels, specifically Luke 11. It’s worth noting that although prayer is clearly important for Jesus – he teaches his disciples to pray, he goes away by himself to pray, and he prays during his emotional turmoil in Gethsemane – he really doesn’t say vast amounts about it. If you took all his references to prayer from the gospels, you could sit down and read them in about 15 minutes. As with many parts of the Christian life, it’s easy to make it more complicated than it needs to be.
In Luke 11, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and he teaches them the Lord’s Prayer. Most churches will say this every Sunday, and many Christians say it every day. It’s a good prayer, and if you’re interested I’ve written more about it here. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. It seems he wants to change our attitude towards prayer, to remind us that perseverance matters.
And so he gives us an analogy, of someone knocking on his friends door in the middle of the night, to ask for bread to feed a guest. His choice of analogy is important. In Jesus’s time most homes would have one, maybe two rooms, and families would sleep in the same bed. If someone comes knocking and asking for help, answering the door will disturb the whole family. In this case, even the hospitality that was the norm for the culture was not enough to move him. It is the persistence of the person in need that is all important. Persistence matters.
But the friend is not just persistent, he’s also shameless. He needs help and even though it’s the middle of the night, he’s going to ask.
Tim Keller said, “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3am for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.”
Jesus doesn’t give this brief analogy because God is unwilling or reluctant to help. The implication from the next part of the passage is clear. Even though the friend helps somewhat reluctantly, God helps eagerly. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” We have a God who is eager to help, to provide what we need, to answer prayer.
Jesus then compares God to parents who, even though we are evil, still give good gifts to our children when they ask. But God, our heavenly Father, is wholly good. He will give what is good, especially the Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him.
When we think of our prayers to God, it can be helpful to flip that last section around, because a continuing question in our prayer life is what do we do with seemingly unanswered prayers? As God’s children we often ask for what is good, but we also ask for what is harmful. In this case it’s like a child asking for a snake, or a scorpion, and God responding instead with a fish, or an egg. Someone once said God has three answers to our prayers: “yes,” “no,” and “not yet.” God hears our prayers, and he does answer, but not always in the ways we expect.
One brief addendum: I often hear people talking about prayer and saying some version of, “Prayer changes us.” I have no doubt that is true, and I have experienced it myself. But personally I cannot read Jesus’s words on prayer, never mind the rest of Scripture, and think that is the only thing prayer does. James claims “the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (James 5.16), and if we think that only applies to changing us, then we are missing out.
So, if you or those you know are hurting, in pain, or in need, then spend some time praying for them today. We have a God who listens, and a God who is eager to help. Go ask!
More on Prayer? I’ve written two other posts on the subject of prayer, one on the Lord’s Prayer, and another on this passage.