God sees that earnestness and surely answers with the very best.

God sees that earnestness

and surely answers with the very best.

 

 

 

 

 

“Then Jesus said to them: ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.”  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.”  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him the bread because of friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs’” (Luke 11:5–8).

 

 

 

(1)    As I meditated today on the passage Luke 11:5–8, I first wondered why Jesus spoke this “Parable of the Friend Who Asks” (vv. 5–8) right after teaching the prayer that the Lord taught (the Lord’s Prayer) in Luke 11:1–4.

 

(a)    There seem to be about three reasons for this (Ref.: Internet).

 

(i)       First reason, after teaching the content of prayer through the Lord’s Prayer (vv. 1–4), Jesus wanted to teach the attitude of prayer through the parable of the persistent friend (vv. 5–8).

 

·         In other words, after teaching what we should pray for, Jesus taught how we should pray.

 

-     When we think about prayer, we must remember that what we pray for (the content of prayer) should come before how we pray (the attitude of prayer).

 

(i)                 Second reason, after teaching us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread” (v. 3), Jesus wanted to visually demonstrate in a real-life situation how persistently one must cling in order to obtain that bread (the three loaves, v. 5).

 

·         In other words, Jesus was teaching that we should pray persistently and earnestly, according to the prayer He taught us.

 

-          When we think about prayer, we must remember that we should pray with faith and confidence that God answers, not giving up but praying persistently and earnestly, until “(God’s) will is done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10).

 

(ii)               Third reason, Jesus wanted to teach the importance of the close relationship between His disciples who pray and “our Father in heaven” (v. 9), the One to whom the prayer is directed.

 

·         We can see this from the parable of the friend who asks. Jesus says, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say…” (Lk. 11:5).  This shows that the two friends have a close relationship.  In other words, Jesus was teaching the very important lesson that His disciples, who pray, must have a close relationship with the Father in heaven, the One to whom they pray.

 

-             When we think about prayer here, we should also meditate on the close relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father.  Luke 10:22 says: “All things have been committed to me by my Father.  No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

 

n   This is a very important passage in which Jesus declares the unique and absolute relationship between God the Father and Himself as the Son.

 

1.       Mutual knowledge between the Father and the Son (declaration of divinity)

 

“No one knows who the Son is except the Father”  This means that only God the Father fully understands the true nature and divinity of Jesus the Son.

 

“No one knows who the Father is except the Son.”  Likewise, it shows that only Jesus perfectly knows the heart and plans of God the Father.

 

This indicates that Jesus is not merely an outstanding prophet, but one who shares the same divine nature as God.

 

2.       The unique mediatorship of Jesus Christ (the channel of revelation)

 

               “Those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  This means that human

              beings cannot know God through their own wisdom. Only when Jesus

              reveals Him can people come to know God the Father.

 

                                                   In other words, it emphasizes the exclusivity of salvation: the only way

                                                   to God is through the Son, Jesus Christ.

 

3.       Contextual meaning: humility like a child

 

                                                   Looking at the preceding verse, Luke 10:21, Jesus thanks the Father that

               this truth has been hidden from those who consider themselves wise and

               revealed to “little children.”

 

This teaches that God cannot be known through human prideful knowledge, but only those who humbly receive the grace shown by the Son, Jesus, can come to know God.

Summary: In summary, this passage contains the core of the Christian faith: Jesus is the only channel through whom God is revealed, and only through Him can we discover the love and will of God the Father (Internet).

 

(2)    Also, as I meditated today on the passage Luke 11:5–8, I became interested in the other friend whom the persistent friend went to in Jesus’ parable.

 

(a)    The reason is that this other friend did not appear to be very well-off either. The persistent friend said to him, “I have nothing to set before him” (v. 6), and the other friend replied, “My children are with me in bed” (v. 7).  These details show that this friend was not particularly well-off either.  His house reflects the typical rural Palestinian home in which the entire family slept together in one room under a single blanket (Hochma).

 

(i)       Why did the persistent friend go to this not-so-well-off friend at midnight and urgently ask to borrow three loaves of bread?  Why didn’t he go to a friend who was more well-off and ask him instead?  Was it because he simply did not have any wealthy friends?

 

·            As I meditated on this not-so-well-off friend in Jesus’ parable, I was reminded of the phrase “our Father in heaven” from the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:9; cf. Lk. 11:2).  Then I also remembered Matthew 7:11: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Compare Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are 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!”).  And James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights  …”

 

-       These are promises that God the Father abundantly provides for all our needs.

 

Philippians 4:19 - “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

 

Point: God is not stingy; He meets our needs according to His riches.

Psalm 23:1 - “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

 

Point: Because God the Shepherd is with us, we confess a state of complete satisfaction with nothing lacking.

 

Ephesians 3:20 - “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

 

Point: God gives beyond what we expect as ‘sufficient’—He gives abundantly and overflowing (Internet).

 

(3)    Finally, as I meditated today on Luke 11:5–8, I became particularly interested in Jesus’ words: “Though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” (v. 8)

 

(a)    Here I found the phrase “though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend” interesting.  Its meaning is that “persistence is more powerful than mere relationship (friendship)” (Internet).

 

(i)        Normally, if someone is a friend, he should naturally help.  However, in the parable, the friend initially did not move simply because of that relationship, since it was the inconvenient situation of midnight.  In other words, Jesus set up a situation where “the excuse of friendship alone was not enough.”  Yet the decisive factor that finally moved the friend was persistent pleading (Internet).

 

·            The Greek word translated “persistence” is ἀναίδειαν (anaideian).  It is a compound of the negative prefix ἀ (a) and αἰδώς (aidōs) meaning “shame”.  Thus, it refers to pleading shamelessly, without concern for saving face (Hochma).

 

-       This passage contains two lessons: By contrasting the reluctant homeowner with God’s willingness to give, Jesus assures us that prayers offered to God will certainly be answered (vv. 9–13).  Even if the answer is not given immediately, we must continue praying persistently (1 Thess. 5:17) (Hochma).

n  This situation—going to a friend at midnight to borrow bread—means not observing social dignity or etiquette, but rather clinging insistently despite the embarrassment of bothering the other person.  In other words, it represents an earnest attitude before God that does not worry about shame but longs only for the Lord’s mercy (Internet).

 

(b)    The phrase “he will get up and give him whatever he needs” ultimately means that just as persistence woke the sleeping friend, God will never ignore our earnest cries.  It is a promise of a sure answer (Internet).

 

(i)        It is a powerful contrast: “If even an unfriendly and annoyed friend eventually grants the request when someone asks so earnestly, how much more will your loving heavenly Father give to those who ask Him?” (Internet)

 

·            This teaching is an encouragement: “When you pray, do not hesitate because of dignity or worry. Cling to God almost shamelessly until you receive an answer. God sees that earnestness and will surely respond with the very best” (Internet).