March 23, 2018 BECAUSE OF HIS PERSISTENCE
Luke 11:8 “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 as much as he needs. 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.”
In Luke 11, one of the disciples of Jesus asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and what Jesus taught about prayer is crucial for us just as it was for His disciples of that day. What we know as the ‘Lords’ prayer’ was the very first instruction on how to pray—“Father, hallowed be Thy name…..” In verses 5-13, Jesus gives additional insight and instruction regarding prayer, and interestingly enough, in this passage, we find just one key element to effective prayer. (As always, Jesus in just a few words, conveys truth in a way that cannot be misunderstood.) When we think of prayer, “Ask and it will be given to you” is likely the first thought that comes to mind. However, as we read verses 5-13, the obvious is that the man needing food for his unexpected guest felt a sense of urgency and need-and that is the element that is often missing in our prayers. We tend to ask God for something and then almost immediately forget about it, and perhaps ask again in a few days or in a few weeks. We learn from this section of scripture that persistence is a key element of effective prayer. Persistence comes as a result of having a sense of urgency and realizing our need, and the kind of prayer we see here is a prayer that is born out of a sense urgency and need. God is a God who enjoys responding to prayer that comes from a heart of need and dependency on Him. When we pray, or make a request to God, our prayer should have an element of being desperate for God and realizing that without His responding to our prayer, we are helpless. We must understand that just as a parent at times does not give what a child ask because what he is asking for would not be good for him, or it is not the right time to give what he ask, at times God will not give us what we ask for because it would not be for our good, and/or the timing is not right. A part of prayer is actually discerning what God desires for us, and then praying according to His will. (Jesus said and did what He saw the Father doing-we can learn about prayer from that statement.) We also learn from scripture that God responds to the ‘effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man’ as seen in James 5:16. Because we are righteous in Him, God is pleased when are righteous in all our ways. So, let us not take prayer lightly, but when we pray, let us do so out of a sense of need, urgency, and total dependency on Him, and let us keep on asking until we receive what we ask for. In essence, prayer is trusting God and is a means of expressing our dependency on Him. When we pray as we should, we are acknowledging that God is our only hope. Finally, the good news is that God always gives us what we need and what is best for us-let us trust Him whether we get the request we ask for or not. Sometimes, in God’s grace, He says ‘no’. Let us be aware of our need and let us be persistence in prayer.
John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”
Blessings,
Buddy
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