Reading: Luke 11:5-13
And he said unto them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?” And he from within shall answer and say, “Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.” I say unto you, “Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” And I say unto you, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
In the last passage, Jesus teaches us, His disciples, how we should pray. In this passage, we can see the other side of prayer, how the Father listens to us.
The Lord shows us two examples that notably illustrate what He wants to tell us. The first of them is that of the man who had already gone to bed (him, his family, even his animals) and locked his house. A neighbor in the middle of the night insists on asking him for something to eat for an unexpected guest. The one who has been awoken, despite not wanting to do it, ends up getting up because of the persistence of the other.
The second example is that of a father who, in spite of his limitations, always tries to give his children what he thinks is best for them.
So, how can we say that God must not be willing to listen to our prayer?
He is not like one who is sleeping; His ears are always willing to hear us; He is pleased when we turn to Him in prayer.
The author Tim Keller expresses it like this, “The only person who dares to wake up a king at 3 in the morning asking for a glass of water is his young child. We have that type of access in prayer.
And how can we say that God must not be willing to give us the best? If a human father in his limited knowledge gives his children what he thinks is good for them… How then would our Heavenly Father, who truly knows what is good for us, fail to do the same?
Let us seek the Lord in prayer, trusting in this: He hears us… and He answers our prayers perfectly. And sometimes (if you are a parent, you know it well) that means a “no.”
Meditate: Go the Lord in prayer with confidence. He hears you, He knows what is best for you, and He wants to give it to you. Let’s pray more!

Translation By: Emily Stader