Luke 11:5-13 New American Standard Bible
5 And He said to them, “[a]Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; 7 and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children [b]and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his [c]shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, [d]ask, and it will be given to you; [e]seek, and you will find; [f]knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now [g] which one of you fathers will his son ask for a [h]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? 12 Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? 13So if you, despite being [i]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [j]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
“What a man is on his knees before God, that he is—and nothing more.” Robert Murray McCheyne, 1813-1843
What a man is before God that he is and nothing more?
“A man is what he is on his knees before God—nothing more.” — Robert Murray M’Cheyne
Our truest identity is not in our title, following, or platform… It’s who we are alone with God.
This phrase “He who kneels before God can stand before anyone” means that having faith and humility before God gives one the strength and courage to face any challenge or person.
It suggests that spiritual strength empowers one to overcome worldly obstacles.
“What a person is before God, that he is and no more,” is perhaps the most powerful thing that Saint Francis of Assisi ever said.
It’s tempting to think that talking about God is the principal expression of our relationship with Him.
It’s possible, though, for us to talk about God without any intimate knowledge of who He truly is.
Evidence of our personal relationship with God is often found not in our public words but in our private prayers—not in what we say about Him but in what we say to Him.
Indeed, as Robert Murray M’Cheyne was said to have observed, “What a man is on his knees before God, that he is—and nothing more.”
Therein lies a challenge!
If we’re honest, many of our prayers reflect a static or distant relationship, not the dynamism that should mark a warm friendship.
But if this is true of us, then we can be assured that we are not alone.
Jesus’ disciples also desired to grow in intimacy with their heavenly Father but knew they needed the Lord to teach them how to do so (Luke 11:1)—and by way of answer, Jesus, having outlined what came to be called the “Lord’s Prayer,” told them a parable about a friend’s bold request.
Jesus begins His illustration by establishing the relationship of the two men within His story: they are friends.
He then continues to explain how the one man, wishing to show hospitality to a traveling guest, goes to the other’s home at midnight to borrow bread.
He even risks waking his friend’s entire family just to make his request.
Because of his bold persistence, Jesus says, the second man rises and gives the first what he needs.
What we need to grasp from Jesus’ story is this: if a sincere human friendship produces such a generous response, we can rest assured that God will never refuse us anything we truly need when we come to Him in prayer.
The man’s request is a bold one, but as demanding as it may seem, it is heard by a friend and answered because of his persistence.
How much more, then, can we be absolutely confident that our heavenly Father is prepared to respond when we approach Him with a sincere, humble heart.
Assurance before God is not necessarily presumptuous.
Rather, we can have confidence before His throne because of the friendship He has established with us through Jesus.
Because of Him, we can speak to our Creator with the “impudence” of a close friend.
What a thought!
There is no midnight with God, nor will there ever be a moment when He is inconvenienced by our coming to Him as our Friend. All we must do is knock.
In the name of God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
praying ….
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 