The End Times Survival Guide by Mark Hitchcock

Author:Mark Hitchcock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Prophecy, RELIGION / Christian Theology / Eschatology
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2018-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

HOW DO WE PRAY?

After telling us what to pray, Jesus tells a parable in Luke 11:5-10 that focuses on how we pray. His instruction is pointed: we’re to pray persistently; we’re not to give up. In our prayer life we must PUSH:

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”

LUKE 11:5-8

Jesus begins this story by drawing in the listener: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight.” The listener or reader is the person in need—that’s us. We find ourselves in the story.

The parable revolves around a situation that could have arisen in ancient Near Eastern culture. An unexpected visitor arrives at midnight. This was quite common because people often traveled at night when it was cooler. The culture of the day demanded hospitality. It was a social duty and requirement. But the host has a problem: he has visitors and no food.

The cupboards are bare, and there are no 7-Eleven stores or twenty-four-hour Walmarts to shop at. The man is in a real bind. His only choice is to go next door to his neighbor in the dead of night.

To visualize this scene, we have to remember that families in that day lived in one-room houses. The entire family slept on one large mat on the floor. The animals were put to bed in another part of the room at night. The door to the house had a wooden or iron bar through rings in the door panels. Getting up and removing it would be noisy, and lighting a candle to find bread and rummaging through the kitchen would wake up the entire household. The situation presents a massive inconvenience, so the man responds, “Don’t bother me. . . . I can’t help you” (verse 7). Request denied!

The desperate neighbor does the only thing he can do: he knocks again and must have said something like, “Come on, man, you know I need some bread. I can’t leave my visitors unfed. You have to help me!” You get the point: this man is not going away.

Jesus says, “If you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence” (verse 8). The word translated “shameless persistence” can also mean “gall,” “nerve,” or “bold perseverance.”

We must be careful to note that God is not being compared to this tired, reluctant neighbor. Rather, he is being contrasted with him.

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