Day Thirty-four

“I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread
because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up
and give him as much as he needs.” (Luke 11:8)

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1–10

The parable of the gutsy friend is one of the most unique parallels Jesus ever drew. Please don’t miss the context of Christ’s lesson on boldness. The disciples begged, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Believers have great familiarity with the prayer that followed, but in the very next breath Christ taught the parable of the relentless friend. In other words: “And when you pray, pray boldly! Pray persistently!”

You may be as uncomfortable as I once was at this sort of boldness in prayer. The seeker seemed a nuisance. I thought, I don’t want God to feel He must throw something out the door to me because I won’t stop annoying Him. Don’t miss the relationship between the seeker and the giver in this parable. They were friends—not just neighbors. The relationship is vital to the story. The parable never suggests a bold stranger would have received a similar response.

In Greek, friends “share common interests.” So the seeker was not asking something contrary to the giver’s interests. The giver might have preferred to lend his friend the loaves the next morning, but he certainly was unopposed to granting his request. The parable does not teach that God will give us anything we ask if we are bold enough. “Friends” do not ask of others what they would be opposed to giving. Friends know one another well enough to discern whether requests are appropriate. In this wonderful parable Christ invited us to pray with boldness and persistence as a “friend” of God—one who shares His common interests.

When I think of this parable, a friend comes to mind. Joy and her husband had a son who went through a headstrong season during high school. One evening they forbade him to go out with his rebellious friends—he turned on his heels and walked out the door anyway. His parents were heartbroken. The next day the son angrily demanded of his mother, “Have you been praying for me again in my room?”

She finally replied: “Son, I always pray for you. Why do you ask?”

His answer has stuck with me: “Because there were elbow prints on my bedspread!”

Elbow prints conveyed a mother’s prayers as she knelt by his bed and begged for his release. Soon the son could no longer bear the strain. He returned to his loving parents and grew to be a godly husband and father. His sons are still young, but if either rebels, their actions may be no match for a father’s prayers at their bedside.

Do you have a concern that is also God’s interest? Are you His “friend” in this matter, not asking for selfish reasons? Then keep asking. Go boldly before the throne.

Leave a few elbow prints on the bedspread. He hears you.