In Luke 11, Jesus teaches with a unique parable that tells an odd story. While explaining how we should pray, Jesus tells His disciples about a man bothered by a friend late at night.
After the man has secured the door of his house and put his family to bed, a friend calls from outside and asks to borrow some bread. The man, inside with his family, explains he is already in bed and cannot get up to help. The needy friend continues asking, and Jesus explains that eventually, the man “will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:8).
Jesus reveals the spiritual lesson taught by this parable when He says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). The prayers that we pray and the requests we bring to God need to be persistent. This parable reminds us that God will always hear and answer our prayers.
If a friend in need can cause a man to get out of bed, wake up his children, and open the door, what would that same man be willing to do for his children? We are not friends of God; we are children of God. God is never bothered by our prayers but is always ready to answer.
Matt Langfield