The disciples followed Jesus around and they often saw him pray. They knew about prayer, but watching Jesus pray must have made them question what they were doing, so “one of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’”1 And Jesus recited what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” And it is, of course, a great daily prayer. But Jesus did not stop with that lesson. Prayer is as perplexing as it is crucial and he told a story (as he often did) to help us understand a little more about our relationship to God regarding prayer.
It’s a story about a man (let’s call him Greg) who wakes up his friend (let’s call him Tom) at midnight to ask for food in order to feed a friend (who can remain nameless) who dropped in. Tom yells to Greg, “Don’t bother me! It’s midnight!” But Greg continues to knock on his door. Finally, Tom gives him the food he needs—not because Greg is his friend but because of Greg’s “persistence.”2 That’s the English Standard Translation. Other translations use these words: impudence, importunity, brashness and even shameless audacity! My favorite, however, is the Complete Jewish Bible version which uses the word hutzpah. So, Tom was annoyed with Greg and finally gave into him because he just wanted him to go away in order that he could get back to sleep. And that’s the end of the parable.
Then Jesus says his famous lines, “And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”3
Most people read the parable and assume that Tom represents God. If this is true, then the point of the parable is that we need to keep praying the same prayer until God gives in to us. But that can’t be right! Besides that, Tom yells at Greg and tells him to leave! God would never do that! Tom finally gives Greg what he wants because he won’t go away! But God does not answer our prayers based on how persistent we are! So, I think the fact that Tom does not represent God is the point of the parable.
As a matter of fact, Jesus ends his lesson on prayer by saying this: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”4 Which is a little bit offensive, is it not? He called his disciples “evil”! I love how surprised I am by Jesus’ responses sometimes.
So, what is the point to this bewildering story? The point is that we are never a bother to God. The point is that we do not need to ask God for what we need over and over. The point is that God loves to give us what we need because we are his family. The point is that God loves us so much more than Tom—so much so that we need not pound on his door and convince him that we have an urgent need! The point of the parable is not persistence. But people make it so.
Jesus clearly tells us to ask for things from God. But there is no magic number of times we need to pray our prayer before God will answer. We love to repeat ourselves. We think God does not hear us unless we cry and yell. The point is, hutzpah, although it is an admirable quality at times, might not be the correct attitude when approaching God!
And perhaps the last point is that God is mostly interested in giving us what we need, not necessarily what we pound his door for. In fact, he has given us his Holy Spirit, and with that “his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”5 I wonder at times if we already possess what we desperately ask God for!
Of course, we are to pray—and pray for specific circumstances and people and all the things that cross our minds. “Pray without ceasing.”6 Pray through the day. But in praying, also trust that God always hears, always answers, always takes care of us. We mistakenly give God human qualities, like those “who are evil.” But God is good. Let’s approach him with that in mind.
1Luke 11:1 2Luke 11:8 3Luke 11:9 4Luke 11:13 52 Peter 1:3 62 Thessalonians 5:17
