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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 17 - Persistent Friend
Persistent Friend
Luke 11:5-13
5 And [kai] he said [epo] unto [pros] them [autos] , Which [tis] of [ek] you [humon] shall have [echo] a friend [philos] , and [kai] shall go [poreuomai] unto [pros] him [autos] at midnight [mesonuktion] , and [kai] say [epo] unto him [autos] , Friend [philos] , lend [chrao] me [moi] three [treis] loaves [artos] ;
6 For [epeide] a friend [philos] of mine [mou] in [ek] his journey [hodos] is come [paraginomai] to [pros] me [me] , and [kai] I have [echo] nothing [ou] [hos] to set before [paratithemi] him [autos] ?
7 And he [kakeinos] from within [esothen] shall answer [apokrinomai] and say [epo] , Trouble [kopos] [parecho] me [moi] not [me] : the door [thura] is [kleio] now [ede] shut [kleio] , and [kai] my [mou] children [paidion] are [eisi] with [meta] me [emou] in [eis] bed [koite] ; I cannot [ou] [dunamai] rise [anistemi] and give [didomi] thee [soi] .
8 I say [lego] unto you [humin] , Though [ei kai] he will [egeiro] not [ou] rise [egeiro] and give [didomi] him [autos] , because [dia] he is [einai] his [autos] friend [philos] , yet [ge] because [dia] of his [autos] importunity [anaideia] he will rise [anistemi] and give [didomi] him [autos] as many as [hosos] he needeth [chrezo] .
9 And [kago] I say [lego] unto you [humin] , Ask [aiteo] , and [kai] it shall be given [didomi] you [humin] ; seek [zeteo] , and [kai] ye shall find [heurisko] ; knock [krouo] , and [kai] it shall be opened [anoigo] unto you [humin] .
10 For [gar] every one [pas] that asketh [aiteo] receiveth [lambano] ; and [kai] he that seeketh [zeteo] findeth [heurisko] ; and [kai] to him that knocketh [krouo] it shall be opened [anoigo] .
11 If [de] a son [huios] shall ask [aiteo] bread [artos] of any of you [humon] that is a father [pater] [tis] , will he give [epididomi] [me] him [autos] a stone [lithos] ? or [ei kai] if he ask a fish [ichthus] , will he [epididomi] for [anti] a fish [ichthus] give [epididomi] [me] him [autos] a serpent [ophis] ?
12 Or [e] [kai] if [ean] he shall ask [aiteo] an egg [oon] , will he offer [me] [epididomi] him [autos] a scorpion [skorpios] ?
13 If [ei] ye [humeis] then [oun] , being [huparcho] evil [poneros] , know [eido] how to give [didomi] good [agathos] gifts [doma] unto your [humon] children [teknon] : how much [posos] more [mallon] shall [didomi] your heavenly [ouranos] Father [pater] [ek] give [didomi] the Holy [hagios] Spirit [pneuma] to them that ask [aiteo] him [autos] ? KJV-Interlinear
5 And He said to them, 'Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and from inside he shall answer and say,' Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' 8 'I tell you, even 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 as much as he needs. 9 'And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10 'For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. 11 'Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 'Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?' NASB
You cannot extract certain verses form the Bible and then expect them to work in a manner which fits your convenience. Here is a very good example. Prayer is commanded. And continued prayer especially is commanded in order to gain results.
Prayer has its rules and we need to understand that we need to comply with those rules in order for our prayers to be effective.
For example, no unbelievers prayers will ever be heard, nor acted upon save one, and that is when they express faith in Christ. That is merely a request to be admitted as it were, into the family of God. Then once inside that family, as a child, then more interaction is possible. But again there are more rules to be considered. One has to be in fellowship.
We cannot approach God unless we are clean. Sin in our life is filth. It is the worst part of excrement and vomit and so forth. No one can enter into the Throne room of God while filthy in such a fashion. To try, is the quintessence of arrogance and disrespect. So a good washing is required.
God provides us with the means of washing and that is through confession of our sins, which in turn are then cleansed away. The mechanics of this are listed in 1 Jn. 1:9.
Now we have another restriction in our prayers. That is the historical setting and plan which God has approved for mankind. We cannot ask for that to be thrown out obviously, just to serve our desires. So prayer has to be consistent with Gods plan.
This then is the background for this parable of the persistent friend.
Jesus has just completed giving instructions for prayer. All prayer is offered to the Father and to no one else. Angels, ancestors, rocks, stars, animals and such cannot hear your prayers and they certainly cannot answer them.
So Jesus teaches us here that importunity, or being consistent and persistent toward God with your prayers, as well as being in compliance with all the rules for prayer, will yield results in your favor.
Psa. 34:6
6 This poor man cried and the LORD heard Him, And saved him out of all his troubles. NASB
Matt. 7:7
7 'Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. NASB
Isa. 62:6
6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; NASB
This parable gives the example of the friend who comes knocking on the door in the middle of the night. The friend asks for something minor. His house in not burning down. His wife is not having a baby. There is no medical emergency. The request is very insignificant to say the least. He merely wants a couple of loaves of bread, and it is the middle of the night. He certainly could have waited until morning.
You were asleep in bed. Your children and servants are all asleep and you are awakened by your friend. You turn Him down. 'Go away. Do you know what time it is?' But the friend does not relent, but keeps on knocking. What do you do? You give Him what he wants, just to get rid of Him and so you can get back to sleep. Being persistent gains results.
Now Jesus points out that since mankind is evil, and since this kind of persistence over something insignificant results in success, then how much more so will your success be with God, if you offer the same approach with Him?
God is infinitely more generous, infinitely more patient, and infinitely more able to provide much more, than a mere human friend.
The prerequisite? Keep on praying. Keep on praying in the proper fashion. That is, be in fellowship, offer your prayers in a manner which is consistent with the function of mankind. You cannot interfere with the volition of others - that is you cannot ask for someone to love you. That interferes with their right to make a decision.
Offer your prayer in a manner which is consistent with human history. You cannot ask for the Rapture to occur right now when God has it scheduled for some other time in the future.
Offer your prayer in a manner which is consistent with your own personal life. Don't ask to be nine feet tall so you can play pro basketball and be the best there ever was.
Asking for the things that you need is not unreasonable. Asking for a better life is not unreasonable. But remember to combine your prayer activities with spiritual growth. Through spiritual growth, then you are more able to know what things you should pray for. Being in compliance with Gods will, will also have an impact on your prayer life. For example, if you are consistently compromising, greedy or selfish, then what kind of answer would you expect from God? Zip!!
So pray and pray often. Pray and pray in a fashion which is consistent with the rules of prayer. Pray and do not stop nor let up in your continued prayer to God. One prayer a month will not cut it. Prayer should be daily - in the morning when you get up from bed, at each meal, before and after each Bible study, at bed time and perhaps even more often if it fits your daily schedule.
Warning - do not close your eyes and pray while you are driving down the road, working with heavy equipment, etc. Common sense is also an integral part of prayer. Don't be stupid. Don't be rude. Certainly don't be putting on a show for others. Prayer is a private matter between you and God the Father. You should keep most of your prayers private. And only in appropriate public settings should you make your prayers heard by those present - such as at dinner time when you give thanks.
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