I was home alone one evening when someone started knocking at my door. We have a rather unwelcoming “No Solicitation” sign posted on our door, and it was past the time for a postal delivery. And yet, the knocking persisted. Generally, I don’t answer the door when I’m home alone, but I peeked around the corner and saw that it was our friendly neighbor, looking exceptionally apologetic.
“Do you have a corkscrew we could borrow?”
We did, and I gave it to him, and sincerely told him to knock anytime.
The parable Jesus tells in today’s reading is about a persistent neighbor, only this one is knocking and knocking and knocking at midnight, after the whole house had already gone to bed. Some commentaries call this parable humorous, a quality we don’t always assign to Jesus’s words, but in this case, the story plays out a bit like a sitcom.
A man and his family are asleep in bed, when a neighbor starts knocking. Eventually, the man gets up, begrudgingly, not out of the kindness in his heart, but because of his friend’s “shameless boldness” (Luke 11:8).
The point Jesus is making is not that we should be hospitable at all costs, even dragging ourselves out of a warm bed in the middle of the night to give our neighbor some bread. He’s telling us we should approach God with the same shameless boldness of the knocking neighbor in the parable. Some translations call it the neighbor’s “impudence,” or “shameless audacity.” These are not words I typically think of when I pray.
I am learning, however, to be persistent in prayer, praying the same things over and over again—not out of disbelief, but out of belief and faith. Every night, I pray the same words over my daughters: “Please show them how much You love them. Give them hearts that love You, eyes that see You, ears that hear You.” It’s not laziness, but persistence. Over and over, I ask, seek, and knock at God’s door in prayer.
Jesus’s illustration of persistent prayer follows the Lord’s Prayer, a tangible example of how we should pray every day. His answer to the disciples’ request, “Teach us to pray,” is two-fold. First, pray for things like these. Second, pray persistently.
Yesterday, in Luke 10, we read about how Jesus came to reveal the Father. Today, He shows us how we can speak to the Father. Jesus invites us to know Him. And through Him, we’re invited to know the Father, too, to pray to Him without ceasing.
May we ask, seek, and knock with persistence and faith, knowing that God will always answer for the good of all those who love Him, and to make known the riches of His glory (Romans 8:28; 9:23).
Melanie Rainer is a bookworm from birth who makes her days writing, editing and reading in Nashville, where she also joyfully serves as the editor of Kids Read Truth. She has an M.A. in Theological Studies from Covenant Seminary, spends as much time as she can in the kitchen, and can’t wait until her two daughters are old enough to read Anne of Green Gables.
I am praying boldly for a miracle for 8 children here in our city in China who were recalled from foster care back to their orphanage due to tightening restrictions. They have all been with their foster parents for 7-8 years and have different special needs and are very confused and hurting. The Chinese New Year is upon us and and the place is understaffed. Please pray with me!!!
heather and vicki, i am keeping your husbands in my prayers as well! peace and blessings to you <3
Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.
It’s refreshing to know that God is willing to fulfill our prayers, with the caveat that the request must be made through consistent prayer and dialogue with him. Through prayer we show him that our eyes are opened and we are full of life. Any questions we may have through seeking His face and hearing His word He is able to lead and guide us to the answers. Let us not forget that the walk with his is daily and not a sprint to the end.
“Daily walk , not a Sprint to the end”. That’s totally true…A small step everyday.
This devotional reminds me of the one thing I haven’t been doing as persistently—praying! My husband and I have been trying to read the Bible every day (we are on a read the Bible in one year challenge) and we typically end our bible reading with prayer. We have been neglecting that part of our mornings sometimes because we didn’t give ourselves enough time to…even on days where he’s off! I feel like my husband sometimes gets lost in our readings.
I do my own personal devotionals aside from the reading I’m doing with my husband—this being one of them. Mornings before my husband wakes up, I spend this time with Christ in one of my devotionals. Starting my day with Christ always makes me feel better. I do notice I’m in a much better mood when I pray in the mornings too.
I definitely need to be taking more time from my day to pray even more than ever. Pray without ceasing and know that by doing so, my relationship with Christ will be strengthened.
Such a good reminder for me to keep on praying no matter what
RH, I visit HRT daily also. I love the writing style and messages. I need all the guidance I can get.
Angie, I cannot reply to your post, but I will remember your wordings when praying for outcomes! Thank you for sharing
What an important message for all of us, to pray without ceasing, especially for our loved ones who don’t yet know God. S S, I join with you in your prayers for your husband as my husband hasn’t accepted Christ yet either…I have prayed for this for 13 years now. But even though the answer so far is “not yet”, knowing God wants him to accept his Son as Lord even more than I do gives me comfort. So thankful we have a Father who never tires of us asking! Hang in there, my sister in Christ!