The Parable of the Friend at Midnight Luke 11:1-13

Review Jesus used parables mostly to teach about the kingdom Jesus also used parables to answer questions and attitudes expressed by both His disciples and those opposed to Him In this lesson, we have a parable that answers a request about how to pray

Introduction Luke 11:1 –Jesus was praying in a certain place –He finished –One disciple asked Jesus to teach them to pray Jesus answered the request in three ways –He told them “how” and “what” to pray –He stressed crucial elements of “how” –He elaborated on His illustration

Setting Jesus was praying (Lk 11:1) –He often rose early to pray (Mk 1:35) –He often would “slip away” to pray (Lk 5:16) –Sometimes He prayed all night (Lk 6:12) –He prayed some long prayers (Jn 17) –He prayed some short, heart-wrenching prayers (Mt 26:36-44)

Setting A disciple asks Jesus to teach them how to pray –Certainly they knew the basics of how to pray –He wanted to learn to pray more like Jesus

A Model Prayer Luke 11:2-4 –This prayer is a teaching pattern Not a liturgy to be recited verbatim Not a formula that must be followed exactly –“How” to pray Notice the brevity of each part Notice the specificity of each part No long-winded wordings when a simple statement would do No vagueness

A Model Prayer “What” to pray –Reverence for God and His Name –Praying for the progress of His kingdom and His plan on earth –Asking for physical necessities –Asking for spiritual necessities Forgiveness for self and others Protection and deliverance from evil

The parable To emphasize an additional point on “how” to pray Lk 11:5-8 –You find yourself with unexpected company and inadequate provisions –It’s too late to go to the store (midnight) –You know your friend has food you could borrow He and his family are already in bed He would not help for friendship at that hour Yet if you persist he will help you

The meaning of the parable The point is simple –We need to be persistent in prayer –We don’t know “how” to pray unless we learn this point

Jesus’ application of the parable Luke 11:9-10 –You must ask, seek, and knock –Before you will receive, find, and have doors opened –Literally “ask”, “seek” and “knock” in Greek “Keep on asking” “Keep on seeking” “Keep on knocking” –Not a one time thing

Jesus’ application of the parable Imagine you had a hard question (e.g., a child is ill and you don’t know why) –You ASK someone, and they say “I don’t know” –Do you give up or keep asking? –Eventually you RECEIVE an answer but now you need a solution –So you SEEK out information until you FIND it –Then you need to acquire the medicine so you go and KNOCK until a door is OPENED for you

Jesus’ application of the parable We may start by praying for one thing –We may come to understand that we need to pray for another thing –If we keep praying, we will find the answer, but it may not be the answer we thought it would be –If we give up asking, seeking, or knocking, we cannot expect an answer

Jesus’ application of the parable Luke 11:11-13 Remember who you are asking –Even for earthly fathers and sons A father will meet the needs of the son –He may not meet the exact request –He may not have the bread, fish, or egg –But he won’t give something unrelated or harmful –How much more your heavenly Father? He certainly knows what we need, and will give, if we are persistent in asking Him

Conclusion Many of us know “what” kinds of things to pray for and about Many of us are lacking in persistence in our prayers Sometimes we think prayers aren’t answered, when they have been answered in the way that God knows is best Let’s trust our Father while we keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking