Read: Luke 11:5-13
5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though 
he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence[1] he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
In Luke’s gospel, after Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer as a model of how to pray, Jesus told this story. Traditionally, many have seen this as a parable about persisting in prayer. The idea is that the man comes to the door at midnight and his friend is in bed. He keeps knocking on the door until finally his friend gets fed up and begrudgingly gives him what he wants.
The application is that we should pray persistently because eventually God will give us what we want. This is bad theology! We cannot wear God down until he begrudgingly gives us what we want! There are times when God has us wait until he answers our prayers; but if we ask for the wrong thing, he won’t eventually give it to us if we just pray enough! While Scripture does teach that we should “always pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1), this parable has a different purpose.
I believe Jesus intends us to understand the parable this way:
A man has unexpected guests arrive very late – a common occurrence in first century Palestine where there were no phones and very hot, dry conditions. The community probably had only one oven for baking bread. The man knew who had made bread that day. To set stale bread or partial pieces of bread before his guest would be considered rude. He goes to his neighbor fully convinced that asking for this basic need would not be refused.
He knocks on the door, calls out his need and his friend says, “Nope. Sorry, I’m in bed.” The man would continue on to the next neighbor and tell him, “Sorry to bother you, but Joe over there refused to help me. Can you believe it? What a jerk!” And by morning, everyone in the village would know what a stingy person Joe is. He would be persona non grata and completely shamed in the community.
Therefore, Jesus says, “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence (in avoiding shame) he will rise and give him whatever he needs. Do you see the difference? The man inside is a man of honor. He will not act in a way that would bring shame. He will do the right thing. He will give him, not just bread, but anything he needs.
Now we see how the parable makes sense! God is even more honorable than that man in bed. He always does what is right and will always avoid bring shame on himself. If we ask, seek, or knock, God our Father will answer us. We will find him. We will open the door to us. He is a good, good Father.
Good earthly fathers know that if a child asks for a fish, you don’t give them a serpent. Or if they ask for an egg, you don’t give them a scorpion. How much more will our heavenly Father give us good gifts if we ask? How much more will he delight to give us his very Spirit to dwell within us to lead us and guide us?
This is our motivation to pray! We have a Father in heaven whose character is perfect. We have a Father in heaven who does the best things in the best ways. We can pray with confidence knowing that he may not give us what we ask for, but he will answer and what he does give is always best!
What motivates you to pray? What keeps you from praying?
In light of this parable, how should knowing God’s character influence your prayer life?
What does Jesus identify as the kinds of things we should be praying for?
Reflect on your prayer life. What could you do this week in light of this passage? How might this parable provide a model for prayer?
[1] Different translations have a hard time with “his persistence”.
NIV has “the man’s boldness” and applies it to the man at the door.
ESV has “his impudence” with a footnote saying it could be “his persistence” both of which could apply to either the man at the door or the man in bed.
NAS translates it “his persistence” and its footnote is “his shamelessness”. Again, it could apply to either person. Kenneth Bailey suggests, and I agree, that “his persistence” applies to the man in bed. He is one who persists in avoiding shame. As we’ll see, I think this makes better sense – and theology!