WWUTT 2387 Ask, Seek, and Knock (Luke 11:5-13)

Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray

Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray and he gives them various illustrations to help them understand that our father in heaven cares for us and wants to hear from us when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible teaching podcast that we may be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Tell your friends about our ministry at www .utt .com.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky, and greetings, everyone. As we continue our study of Luke chapter 11, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray. Let me read that section again, starting in verse one. We'll go through verse 13.

Hear the word of the Lord. Now Jesus was praying at a certain place and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins. For we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation. And he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves.

For a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him. And he will answer from within, do not bother me. For the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.

I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find, knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish, give him a serpent?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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?

The Parable of the Friend at Midnight

Now we have this divided up into three parts and we're gonna finish this section today. So part one was the prayer itself, reading verses one through four, which we looked at on Wednesday of last week and yesterday.

And then Jesus gives this parable and that's the next part we're going on to where he talks about the friend who is bugging his other friend at night, late at night while he's trying to go to bed. And then finally, Jesus gives one other illustration to exhort the disciples to ask of God, do not withhold, but ask of him.

For he is our father in heaven and he loves to give good gifts to his children. Now, when it comes to application with what we're reading here, I think this is pretty straightforward. A lot of times we'll read something in scripture and we don't have to get creative or imagine too hard what the imperative might be.

Like what is this passage telling us to do? This is very plainly saying to us to call upon our heavenly father, to know that he loves us and to bring all our cares and concerns to him, even asking of him what he may do for us.

And so let us have that kind of prayer life. That's kind of a reminder that we need all the time, an encouragement to be a praying people, that we spend our time with God in prayer. Kind of talked about this a little bit, a little over a week ago, I guess it was, with Mary and Martha, Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing from him, learning from him.

And so we need to be at the feet of the master, hearing from him, the teaching of the word, and then speaking with him, which is our prayers. So Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray here. And as he gives them this parable, verse five, here's what we read.

He said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him.

Now in a Jewish culture, this was considered to be like unthinkable. Why would you not have anything in the house to give to your guests? Being hospitable was a very serious thing among the Jews. Like you think back to when the Pharisee had invited Jesus into his house, and then there was a woman of ill repute who came in and washed Jesus' feet, anointing them with her hair, wiping them with her hair.

And the Pharisee is just appalled by this and is thinking if this teacher knew who this was, who was wiping his feet, well, he would never let her do this. And then Jesus, of course, rebukes the Pharisee.

Even though the Pharisees are leery of Jesus, they're still very hospitable toward him whenever he comes in their home. Now, of course, they might be trying to learn something from him, what is this guy really up to?

But nonetheless, it was very important to a Jew to show hospitality to a guest, to a visitor. And here you have a friend who's saying another friend of his is coming to town. I don't have anything to set before him.

So it's like, you know, the American version of running next door and asking for a cup of sugar. Nobody does that anymore, do they? I don't think so. I can't even remember the last time I heard of somebody doing that.

I know I've never done that. Like in my life, I've never gone next door and asked for a cup of flour or a cup of sugar, but it's still a line people use. I still hear it said every once in a while. Anyway, so saying a friend of mine has arrived on a journey.

I have nothing to set before him. In verse seven, the friend will answer from within. So this is the guy who lives in the house that the friend just, you know, he knocked on the door. He says, don't bother me.

The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything. And Jesus goes on to say, I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend.

That's just cold. You being my friend is not enough to motivate me to get up and get something for you, whatever it is that you're requesting of me. As I kind of picture this going on in my head, this is a parable, of course.

It's not Jesus recalling something that actually happened. But as I picture this in my mind, I just hear the guy going, no, I'm going to bed.

What is your problem?

Do you know what hour it is? I'm trying to sleep. And then it becomes, all right, all right. You know, he gets up and goes and gets the bread that his friend is asking for. Surely you've been there at some point or in some capacity, somebody bothering you late at night.

You're going, okay, fine, I'll do it. So Jesus goes on to say, it's not because he's his friend that he finally gets the bread for him. It will be because of his impudence. Because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

What is meant there by impudence? Well, the funny thing about this word, it's kind of like, we just found the best English word to stick in there, but there probably isn't a good parallel to this word.

This is an unusual Greek word, in fact, and it's the only place in the entire New Testament that this word appears. So scholars, based on other places, the word has been used. Sometimes you even have to go outside the text of scripture to figure out, okay, what is this word?

And where else in ancient antiquity have we seen this word used? So in other places of ancient Greek manuscripts where scholars have found this word, it simply means persistent to a certain degree. There may not be a direct one-to-one parallel.

Like we don't have a good English equivalent to this, so persistent is just the best way to put it, or impudence. So the friend is continually persistent. He's still knocking, he's still saying, come on, man, give me some bread.

And that is finally what drives the friend to get up and get him whatever he needs. I was looking through some other translations to see how they translated this word. New International Version says, because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

That's a good one. Out of the King James Bible, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as much as he needeth. The New King James Version uses the word persistence. New American Standard Bible, because of his shamelessness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Yes, because the word can also mean that a man is so persistent to the point of, he's willing to shame himself to get what it is that he wants. Like he's gone beyond properness now at this point. He is, he's that guy.

He's just the annoying friend, I can't get rid of this dude, okay? So in his persistence, the friend finally rises and gets him whatever it is that he needs. And now here's the point. So you have this parable, and as I've said before about parables, we gotta be careful not to, you know, allegorize it too far.

There's always just one point here, and Jesus gives the point, verse nine. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receive, and the one who seeks, finds.

And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. So you have these two verses, nine and 10, that explain the point of the parable. So simply ask. Now, God is not gonna get annoyed with us. He's not like the friend who was trying to lay down and go to sleep, because God does not slumber.

So the contrast here, there's a contrast between the friend that you're persistent with who will finally listen and do, and God who is so much more welcoming than that and ready to give to those who ask of him.

So a friend will finally give in and give you what it is that you want, because you've just been pushy and persistent enough. God doesn't need persuading. He is just simply ready to give. So if a friend will at least give to you, even after a certain measure of persistence, imagine what God is willing to give simply because you came to him and asked.

He is our father who is in heaven. He loves us and cares for us. He wants to give good gifts to his children. He wants to show himself to us. Now, I've shared this before in the past. I kind of went through a period of time, I was about 18, 19 years old, where I was believing that God needed to show me some great miracle.

And I wanted to see that miracle. And I thought if I asked for it and I was persistent in my asking, then God would grant this to me. And when I say I wanted to see a miracle, I'm saying I wanted to see a burning bush, a bush that's burning with the holy presence of God yet is not being incinerated by the flames, or to see water turned to wine or something.

I'm not a drinker, never been a drinker of alcohol, but just, you know, you get what I'm saying. Some legit miracle that we see in the Bible, can I witness that with my own two eyes? And I felt like if I could see, if I could witness something like that, it would help resolve all of those doubts that I had.

Whatever was lacking in my belief, like the father who asked of Jesus and saying, Lord, I believe, now help my unbelief. That's what I thought I was asking for. These miraculous signs to help me believe.

And the thing that turned around for me was reading the book of Exodus. And I'm reading about the Israelites who saw greater miracles than anybody alive is ever gonna see. We are not going to see the presence of God come down on a mountain and give us the 10 commandments.

Already been done. There's not a need for God to ever have to do that again. Oh, we are gonna see great and incredible things when we get to glory, but I'm talking about here on this earth. The Israelites got to see things we will never get to see.

And they did not believe. They grumbled and complained. And the Lord even punished them to perish in the wilderness. An entire generation of Israelites would perish there and would not receive the promised land.

They were just wandering around in the desert for 40 years until the last of them died off. Only Joshua and Caleb of that generation were able to go into the promised land. Otherwise it was their children that were going to take the land.

So that's Israel's reaction to the miracles of God that they saw. So miracles are not a guarantee that it's going to alleviate all of your doubts and you're gonna become an instant believer. The Pharisees saw the miracles of Jesus and accused him of being of Beelzebub.

So miracles are not going to be a proving ground for our faith, an affirming ground in some way. Plenty of people saw miracles and yet did not believe. So that was the point where I came to realize that I'm asking for something foolish and God has already shown me everything that he needs to show me.

I need to trust him and I need to come to him and ask. I tell you, Jesus said, ask and it will be given to you. As James says, you don't have because you don't ask. And then you don't have because you ask with wrong motives.

So we need to ask even in the right way with a good heart and a pure heart. Notice that at the very end of this, in verse 13 it says, how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of him?

So what are we asking for? Well, you gotta go back to the prayer that Jesus just taught his disciples to pray. Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our sins and lead us not into temptation.

There's the things that we're requesting of God. Provide for my sustenance today. And as I pointed out last week, we're asking first that God would give us our daily bread before we say forgive us our sins.

So God is willing to give to us those basic things that we need and we don't have to have our sins forgiven first. We don't have to come to confession first and ask that our sins be washed away before God would give us anything else.

We trust in him to give us bread and then realizing that we've not always trusted in him to give us those basic things we need, then we're asking forgiveness. God forgive me for when I doubt and lead us not into temptation.

It is to ask, lead me in holiness today. I desire to be holy. Lead me in the right way to go, fleeing from temptation and doing those things that are pleasing unto the Lord. My friends, this is really why we gotta start our day with prayer, right?

Begin the day praying something like this. God, your kingdom come today. Lord, provide for me today my daily bread. Forgive me of my sins, lead me not into temptation. Wash me that I may walk in holiness today and let there not be anything that comes my way that might take me away from that pursuit of holiness.

Keep my eyes fixed upon Christ. Keep me close to you. We start our day praying like that, especially since it says in verse three, give us each day our daily bread. You can tell that the prayer would be something prayed at the beginning of the day, at the start of the day.

I need bread today. God will provide it. And so ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. As God said to the Jews through the prophet Jeremiah, you will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.

And then knock and the door will be opened to you. That goes right back to the parable and it all has to do with asking. Go to the door, knock on the door, say God help me and he will. He'll open the door and give to you what you ask for.

For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks it will be open. But again, and as I said yesterday, we need to ask with a heart that desires for God's will to be done.

Lord, if there's any other way, not as I will though, but as you will. That needs to be a regular clause in our prayers because Jesus prayed it. So how much more do we need to be in submission to the father when we pray?

Asking that his will would be done. That's what's wrapped up in that phrase, your kingdom come. Asking that his will would be done is saying to the father, not my will, but your will. And then finally we have these couple of verses, well, 11, 12 and 13.

The Father Gives Good Gifts, Especially the Holy Spirit

So Jesus gives one more illustration to exhort the disciples in this way. Verse 11, what father among you? If his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? That's absurd, right? The disciples are going, I've never heard of a father doing such a thing, right?

Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion. No, I wouldn't ever do that. Okay, then you're getting the point here, right? If you wouldn't do that, your father is much better than you, greater than you.

So he's not gonna trick you. He's not going to be cruel. He is not cruel to his children. If you then who are evil, verse 13, know how to give good gifts to your children. And note here, I've used this verse many times to illustrate this.

Jesus calls his own, he calls his own disciples evil. You are evil and you know not to give a serpent or a scorpion to your children. God is good. So how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of him?

That the Holy Spirit may fill us up. And it would be by the power of his spirit that we would be guided each day to do as the Lord wills and to be kept from temptation, desiring to walk in holiness. So let us follow these instructions of Christ.

As I said, in the very beginning, we see this as just simply an exhortation that is telling us to pray, to know our father who is in heaven and to come to him in prayer. One of the things that I regularly need to be praying is lead me not into temptation.

I had a pretty grumpy day yesterday. And things that didn't go as well as I had hoped that they were going to go. I added even at one point where I said to the Lord out loud, it was when I was in my closet, not my prayer closet, I'm changing clothes.

And as I'm changing, I'm saying out loud to God, God, I'm mad. I know I shouldn't be. I know I have plenty to be thankful for and I am thankful, I'm just mad. And so Lord help me, help me today in my mind to see those things which are good and are pleasing and to focus on that, not focusing on the thing that's making me angry.

I mean, I need to give that up and give it to the Lord anyway, but let me not focus on that. Let me push forward in the things that are going to be pleasing to God, the tasks that I have to get done today and doing it to the glory of God.

And wouldn't you know it, shortly after that, I end up at lunch with two great men and we had a wonderful conversation for a couple of hours, talked about all kinds of things under the sun. It was such a blessed day.

So it eventually came around to the Lord blessing me through some great fellowship with some Christian guys. But yeah, the way that it started off, I was not beginning in such a happy mood. And so again, what a discipline to start our day with prayer.

As we're rolling out of bed, thanking God for this day that he has given, that we might glorify him once again. Heavenly Father, we thank you. Thank you for all that you give, especially the grace that you show us all the time.

Lamentations 3, your mercies are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. So every day we awaken, we thank God for another day. We thank God for the breath in our lungs, for whatever sleep we were able to get, even if it wasn't that full night's sleep.

We ask that you would provide for us today, that you would guide us in the ways that we should go, that we would have a heart of forgiveness toward those who wrong us, and that we would not be led into temptation, but we would desire to be righteous as Christ is righteous and has given us his righteousness.

Thank you, Lord, again, for giving us your son, for it is through the son that we can pray to you and ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog, sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers, and offering commentary on the church and social issues. You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com.

Thank you for listening, and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word, when we understand the text.