- The friend is a little grumpy about waking up (understandably, so—it’s midnight and the home is likely a one-room place. If you’ve ever tried to get several children and animals to sleep, you can imagine how complicated it would’ve been to get everyone to sleep. He would’ve had to get up, light a lamp, unbolt the heavy door, get bread... It makes total sense for the sleeping man to say something like, “Seriously? I just got the kids to sleep—I’m not waking everyone up just because you didn’t plan ahead for your guest...”) ---BUT, Jesus says, “I tell you, even if he doesn’t give bread for the sake of friendship, because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”
- Persistence. I’ve also seen this word translated as “shameless
impudence” or “unembarrassed boldness” “extreme, excessive perseverance”…In
other words, Jesus says that the grumpy sleeper might not hand bread over for
the sake of friendship, but he’ll at least do it to make the annoying guy go
away. That cracks me up.
...And in verse 9 where Jesus says to seek, ask, knock and the door will be open—he seems to mean the same kind of boldness. The ‘knock’ Jesus uses—it doesn’t mean that it happens once. The verb actually means “keep knocking” ---*knock******** and the door will be opened. - “Be persistent in prayer” is one interpretation of this
parable (kind of like the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18)… “You want to learn how to pray?” says Jesus, “Then
pray. Keep praying at all hours. Pray at midnight, pray in the morning, pray in
the car, you can even pray in the bathroom…just keep praying.”
- Compare Luke 11:1
(“teach us to pray!”) to Luke 5:33 where Jesus’ disciples are accused of
NOT praying: “John’s disciples fast
and pray,” said the Pharisees, “but your disciples eat and drink….” àon
this note, it’s interesting that the disciples are just now—in Luke 11--asking Jesus about prayer. They have already
done some intense things thus far (healing, preaching, casting out daemons,
etc…) The question of prayer here in Luke 11 might be linked Jesus’ response to
the Pharisees back in chapter 5 (“The days will come when the bridegroom will
be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days…’). Perhaps this
inquisition about prayer foreshadows and anticipates Jesus’ departure.
- The prayer that Jesus teaches here in Luke 11 (the
Lord’s Prayer) is one that brings us
together as a church through time and space…but this way of praying also lines our hearts and prayers up with Jesus.
- In a small group this past week,
someone admitted that prayer is something they often take for granted: “It’s
often something we do maybe once a month in church and we’re good; but prayer
needs to be a part of our whole life. Something we actually do on a regular
basis. My wife and I prayed together this past week and it made a huge
difference in our lives.”
- There isn’t an easy answer for how to pray. There’s no singular step-by-step process which lines out the ‘right way.’ Nor, I believe, is there an authentic ‘wrong’ way.
“Our Father who art in heaven, Daddy, Abba, help us to honor your name. Establish your ways here on earth just like they are in heaven. Give us food for today—and forgive us because we are forgiving other people too. And protect us from evil and temptation.”
