St. Luke 11:1-13
Topic: A friend in the midnight hour
In these passages of scriptures, we see Jesus Christ in a certain place praying to His Father in heaven. As He prayed to his Father in heaven, one of his disciples watched and heard Jesus praying, and when Jesus finished praying, that same disciple, who was watching and hearing Jesus praying, came to Jesus and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples to pray.”
Upon hearing this request, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He said to his disciples when you pray, you say, “Our Father who art in heaven”, meaning that when you pray we are to address our God as our heavenly Father in heaven; for God is our Father in heaven. God becomes our heavenly Father when we believe and receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
John 1:12 says, “But as many as receive Him (Jesus) to them gave his power to become sons of God, even to those who believe in his name.”
Galatians 3:26 says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.”
If we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we are God’s children and God is our Father in heaven. Therefore , we address God as “Our Father who art in heaven.”
And as we pray to God as our Heavenly Father, we are to recognize that God is holy. That is why Jesus says that when we pray we say, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” You see God’s name is holy because God himself is holy. And because God himself is holy, His name is to revered, and not to be use in vain because God is holy.
Exodus 20:7 says, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exodus 11:45 says, “For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; ye shall therefore be holy; for I am holy.”
Exodus 19:1-2 says, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.”
I Peter 1:15-16 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Also as we pray to God we are to pray for His Kingdom to come into our lives- “Thy Kingdom come”- that is, we are to pray that God’s Kingdom will reign in our lives and in the lives of other people.
Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
And when we pray we are to pray that His will be done- “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are to pray that God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Now you are probably asking yourself this question, “How can I pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it in heaven when I don’t know what the will of God is?”
Well, to get to know the will of God is, we must go to the word of God because the Word of God teaches us the will of God for our lives. You see, God’s will for us that we be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and that we obey his commandments. The reason why we pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven because God’s will is perfect and good.
Ephesians 5:17 says, “Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
2nd Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
As we pray, Jesus taught his disciples to pray for our physical and spiritual needs-“Give us this day our daily bread.” That is, we are to pray for daily physical needs to be met, as well for our daily spiritual needs to be met, for just as we need food to sustain our physical bodies, we need the word of God to sustain our spiritual bodies.
Matthew 4:4: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
As we pray, Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the forgiveness of sins-“Forgive us our trespass against us, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Each day we ought to pray for forgiveness of sins because each day we sin, and God will forgive us of our sins if we repent and ask him for forgiveness because God is a merciful and a forgiving God. But to receive forgiveness from God, we must learn to forgive those who have done us wrong, because if we don’t forgive those who have done us wrong, God will not forgive us as well.
Psalms 103:8 says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”
I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Mark 11:24-25 says, “And when we stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Jesus taught his disciples to pray to pray for guidance- “And lead us not into temptation.” When we pray, we should pray for God’s guidance into paths that are righteous, wise, holy, and good. We are to pray to God to help us to make good and wise decisions, and to help us and to give us the strength not to yield to the evil temptations that will harm us.”
Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
I Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptations taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
And we are to pray for deliverance, for Jesus said to pray, “And deliver us from evil.” That is, we are to pray to God asking him to deliver us from the one who daily seeks to steal, kill, and destroy- the evil one himself, Satan.
I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be viligant; because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
Then Jesus teaches his disciples to end their prayers with a praise by teaching them to say-“ for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen. Now, this is a doxology, a praise given to the Almighty God, honoring Him that everything belongs to Him. And when we pray, we ought to begin our prayers with a praise to the Almighty God and end it with a praise because God is worthy to be praised.
Now after Jesus taught his disciples on how to pray, he then teaches them a parable on why they should always pray. He says, “Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say, Friend, lend me 3 loaves. For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer and say, “Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.” I say unto you though he will not rise and give unto him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth.”
In this parable, Jesus talks about a man who had an unexpected guest who arrived at his house at an unexpected hour which was midnight. Now back in those days, it was the custom of the Jews to entertain their guest when they arrive at their house no matter what time of the day or night it was. It was a duty to be a host, to be an hospitable host to your guest.
But this particular man who awakened by his unexpected guest, discovered he had nothing to entertain his guest. There was no food in the cupboard. And since all the grocery stores was closed being it was midnight, the next available source was his friend. So this particular man went to his friend house to ask for 3 loaves of bread so he could feed his friend who was coming off from a long trip.
Now at first, his friend tells him no because it was too late in the night, his kids are fast asleep, and the door is shut tight. But because of his importunity, that is, because he because he kept on asking his friend to help him out, because he kept on knocking on the door, and would not leave until his friend got out of the bed to help him out; his friend gets up out of the bed and he gives him as much bread that he needs to feed his unexpected guest.
Now what lesson can we learn from this short parable? The lesson that we can learn is called PUSH: Pray Until Something Happen! No matter what you are going through, you ought to pray until something happens. That is, don’t give up just because you don’t get what you pray for right away. You got to keep on praying until something happens. You see, God may not answer your prayers right away, or when you want Him to, but He is always on time. That is why Jesus said Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh recieveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” In other words, if you keep on praying and never give up, God will answer!!!
Then Jesus asks this question If a son shall ask bread of any of you, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? In other words, when you pray, not only are you to be persistent in your prayer, that is, don’t give up until God answer, but you need to be specific when you pray. What ever you need God to do for you, be specific in your prayers. If you need the Holy Ghost, tell the Lord you need the Holy Ghost! If you need a healing, tell the Lord you need a healing. If you need a job, tell the Lord you need a job. If you need strength in your body, tell the Lord you need some strength. Whatever you need from the Lord, go to the Lord in prayer and tell the Lord specifically what you need.
Now let’s go back to the parable of the unexpected guest. Now the man who needed the three loaves of bread to feed his unexpected guest represent us when we are in need. There are times when we are faced with a need that we cannot supply for ourselves. This particular man in this parable had a need; he needed some food to feed his friend who arrives at his house at an unexpected hour-which was midnight.
And the unexpected guest in this parable represents the unexpected problems, unexpected sickness, unexpected burdens, unexpected disaster. There are some things that may come upon us at an unexpected hour when we least expect it.
And the hour midmight represent your darkest hour, your darkest moment, or your lowest time in your life....
And when this man realized that he had nothing in his cupboard to feed his friend, he went to his
friend house, asking him to give him some bread so he can feed his friend who arrived at his house unexpectedly.
And this man’s friend represents Jesus Christ, for He is a friend who stick closer than any brother. When we are hit with a unexpected disaster, we can call on Jesus to help us out
When we are hit with an unexpected sickness, we can call on Jesus to heal us.
When we are hit with an unexpected problem, we can call on Jesus to straighten out the problem.
When we are hit with an unexpected storm, we can call on Jesus to be our shelter in the time of storm.
No matter what the problem is, no matter what day and time it may be, we can call on Jesus for help and He is able to answer your prayer!!!!!
