In Luke 11:5-8 Jesus uses the story of someone who had an apparently unexpected guest to arrive in the night; not having food in the house to set before the hungry traveler, he went to a friend’s house to ask for three loaves (some food), but this friend was not overanxious about being disturbed at midnight to comply with the request, yet because of the friends persistence he arose and ministered to the need. The truth of this parable is that of persistence in prayer, and not giving up in expectancy of the answer; it is not, nor should it be interrupted, that we are twisting God’s arm or trying to manipulate Him into catering to some personal whim! It is petitioning Him for a real need knowing that “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry” Psalm 34:15. This parable comes on the heels of Jesus model prayer teaching us how to pray in verses 1-4, where what is commonly called the “Lord’s prayer” is not merely a recitation to be repeated but is the structure of prayer to be followed in reaching out to God, and is followed in verses 9-13 showing us the intensity of heartfelt prayer; “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man” James 5:16, not just vainly repeating words, but standing in His living hope, firmly, confidently, expectantly, with praise and thanksgiving; Jesus said we should Ask, Seek, and Knock, the Greek present tense indicating continuousness as we stand firmly on His word, remembering that “this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will (His purpose and decree shown to us in His word) He hears us. And…we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” 1 John 5:14-15.
Ask, seek, and knock
By Rose Hill
Ask and ask and never give up,
The Lord is sure to fill your cup.
Seek and seek your Father above,
And He will shower you with His love.
Knock and knock some more,
For your Father is anxious to open the door.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.