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LEARNING TO PRAY BOLDLY
By Dr.Dick Hubbard
Luke 11:5-13
In Luke 11:1, after Jesus had finished praying, His disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught his disciples. In a way, that prayer request from the disciples is most remarkable. Nowhere in the Gospels is it recorded that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to preach…or to heal. But they did request that Jesus teach them to pray. Prayer, then, is something we can all learn to do and must do.
Luke 11:2-13 records Jesus’ response to that request. He gave His disciples a pattern on prayer (the model prayer, explained more fully in Matthew 6), a parable illustrating prayer, and principles applying prayer to our spiritual lives.
We are going to focus on that marvelous story Jesus told and its application. He spoke of a friend who came at midnight to the home of another and asked for three loaves of bread. Evidently an unexpected guest had arrived at that late hour and Middle Eastern courtesy required that food be set before the late arrival. But the host had no bread to serve. Hence this late night request.
Some cultural considerations will assist us in understanding what Jesus is teaching here. In the Middle East, it was considered necessary that food be set before a guest who had arrived regardless of the time of day (or night). Bread was baked daily and obviously the householder had no bread remaining from that day. Not to serve a meal to a late arriving guest would not only damage the reputation of his host, it would also stain the reputation of the entire village.
Since the reputation of the village was at stake, the host considered his options. He could admit that he had nothing to share and send his visitor to bed hungry… but that would be untenable and would lead to a huge embarrassment both for him as well as for the village. Or he could go to a neighbor, regardless of the lateness of the hour, and request bread for his guest. He chose to do the latter.
As he approached the other person’s home, he would note immediately that the door was closed and locked from the inside. A closed door always meant that the occupants were not receiving any guests. The door would remain open throughout the day and any guest would be welcome. But at night the door would be closed and the message to all was, "Come tomorrow!"
In addition, the homes were usually one-room arrangements with a raised platform at one end. The family all slept together (for warmth) on the raised platform with the farm animals brought in for warmth and protection on the lower level. To respond to a knock on the door late at night would not only rouse the children (and who wants to awaken sleeping children?), it would also set off a din among the animals.
As Jesus told the story, the person who needed the bread sought bread from his neighbor. But his neighbor at first stated that he could not arise. We can well understand why. But the one asking continued until finally the one asked agreed to get up even at the risk of waking his family in order to give him what he wanted and needed.
Just what does this story teach us about prayer? Frankly, Bible students are divided as to the correct interpretation of this parable Jesus told. When we study the parables of Jesus, we must note that there were two ways in which Jesus taught truth. One way was by comparison; the other was by contrast. Which is the case here? We all need to approach this study with humility. The important truth is that it should encourage us to pray.
The first interpretation suggested by many is what I would call "The Comparison Interpretation." In this interpretation, God is compared to the reluctant householder. Although the householder refused at first to grant the request, persistent effort finally won the day and the beseeching one received what he had asked. Not only was the host’s honor at stake, so also was the honor of the neighbor and the village. The parable is considered to be a lesson on persistence, or importunity, in prayer that overcomes the apparent reluctance of God.
Those who interpret the parable in this way say that when we pray, God’s honor is at stake and thus He will grant us our requests! We must pray and continue to pray until God grants what we have requested. The key to successful praying, they say, is praying with importunity, not giving up, until we have our request granted.
Now there is certainly an element of truth in this interpretation. We all know the value of persistency in our praying. But this view troubles many…including me.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty with this understanding is that it sets forth our holy God as subject to our prayer concerns including our potential whims! God is seen as our errand Boy doing what we command Him to do. Another problem appears be that such an interpretation teaches that God is reluctant to answer our prayers until we batter down His resistance! We know that view does not seem to correspond to the teaching that God is our loving heavenly Father Who always has our best interests at heart.
The other interpretation of this parable is what I would call "The Contrasting Interpretation". This interpretation emphasizes that God the Father is not to be likened to the householder who finally gave the bread; rather, God is to be contrasted with him. If it took all that persistence in order to obtain from a reluctant earthly friend, it does not require all of that importunity to receive from our heavenly Friend. And, besides, we are not neighbors; we are already members of His family; we are within the house, not outside it! We need not knock on the door from the outside; we pray within the family relationship. Those explaining the parable in this way emphasize that the concept of persistency in prayer is not necessarily the main thrust of the parable.
While we identify with this interpretation, let us go a step further in order to understand what it is that Jesus is teaching about prayer. Jesus began by saying, "Which of you (disciples) shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight…" The disciples, then, are those who are knocking at the neighbor’s door at midnight. Jesus seems to be indicating that the attitude of the one requesting is the one the disciples are to imitate and learn from him! But we must ask, "Learn what?"
By Dr.Dick Hubbard
Luke 11:5-13
In Luke 11:1, after Jesus had finished praying, His disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught his disciples. In a way, that prayer request from the disciples is most remarkable. Nowhere in the Gospels is it recorded that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to preach…or to heal. But they did request that Jesus teach them to pray. Prayer, then, is something we can all learn to do and must do.
Luke 11:2-13 records Jesus’ response to that request. He gave His disciples a pattern on prayer (the model prayer, explained more fully in Matthew 6), a parable illustrating prayer, and principles applying prayer to our spiritual lives.
We are going to focus on that marvelous story Jesus told and its application. He spoke of a friend who came at midnight to the home of another and asked for three loaves of bread. Evidently an unexpected guest had arrived at that late hour and Middle Eastern courtesy required that food be set before the late arrival. But the host had no bread to serve. Hence this late night request.
Some cultural considerations will assist us in understanding what Jesus is teaching here. In the Middle East, it was considered necessary that food be set before a guest who had arrived regardless of the time of day (or night). Bread was baked daily and obviously the householder had no bread remaining from that day. Not to serve a meal to a late arriving guest would not only damage the reputation of his host, it would also stain the reputation of the entire village.
Since the reputation of the village was at stake, the host considered his options. He could admit that he had nothing to share and send his visitor to bed hungry… but that would be untenable and would lead to a huge embarrassment both for him as well as for the village. Or he could go to a neighbor, regardless of the lateness of the hour, and request bread for his guest. He chose to do the latter.
As he approached the other person’s home, he would note immediately that the door was closed and locked from the inside. A closed door always meant that the occupants were not receiving any guests. The door would remain open throughout the day and any guest would be welcome. But at night the door would be closed and the message to all was, "Come tomorrow!"
In addition, the homes were usually one-room arrangements with a raised platform at one end. The family all slept together (for warmth) on the raised platform with the farm animals brought in for warmth and protection on the lower level. To respond to a knock on the door late at night would not only rouse the children (and who wants to awaken sleeping children?), it would also set off a din among the animals.
As Jesus told the story, the person who needed the bread sought bread from his neighbor. But his neighbor at first stated that he could not arise. We can well understand why. But the one asking continued until finally the one asked agreed to get up even at the risk of waking his family in order to give him what he wanted and needed.
Just what does this story teach us about prayer? Frankly, Bible students are divided as to the correct interpretation of this parable Jesus told. When we study the parables of Jesus, we must note that there were two ways in which Jesus taught truth. One way was by comparison; the other was by contrast. Which is the case here? We all need to approach this study with humility. The important truth is that it should encourage us to pray.
The first interpretation suggested by many is what I would call "The Comparison Interpretation." In this interpretation, God is compared to the reluctant householder. Although the householder refused at first to grant the request, persistent effort finally won the day and the beseeching one received what he had asked. Not only was the host’s honor at stake, so also was the honor of the neighbor and the village. The parable is considered to be a lesson on persistence, or importunity, in prayer that overcomes the apparent reluctance of God.
Those who interpret the parable in this way say that when we pray, God’s honor is at stake and thus He will grant us our requests! We must pray and continue to pray until God grants what we have requested. The key to successful praying, they say, is praying with importunity, not giving up, until we have our request granted.
Now there is certainly an element of truth in this interpretation. We all know the value of persistency in our praying. But this view troubles many…including me.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty with this understanding is that it sets forth our holy God as subject to our prayer concerns including our potential whims! God is seen as our errand Boy doing what we command Him to do. Another problem appears be that such an interpretation teaches that God is reluctant to answer our prayers until we batter down His resistance! We know that view does not seem to correspond to the teaching that God is our loving heavenly Father Who always has our best interests at heart.
The other interpretation of this parable is what I would call "The Contrasting Interpretation". This interpretation emphasizes that God the Father is not to be likened to the householder who finally gave the bread; rather, God is to be contrasted with him. If it took all that persistence in order to obtain from a reluctant earthly friend, it does not require all of that importunity to receive from our heavenly Friend. And, besides, we are not neighbors; we are already members of His family; we are within the house, not outside it! We need not knock on the door from the outside; we pray within the family relationship. Those explaining the parable in this way emphasize that the concept of persistency in prayer is not necessarily the main thrust of the parable.
While we identify with this interpretation, let us go a step further in order to understand what it is that Jesus is teaching about prayer. Jesus began by saying, "Which of you (disciples) shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight…" The disciples, then, are those who are knocking at the neighbor’s door at midnight. Jesus seems to be indicating that the attitude of the one requesting is the one the disciples are to imitate and learn from him! But we must ask, "Learn what?"
