Elements City Church
The Stories of Jesus: A Study in the Parables There are over 30 recorded parables Jesus told His followers. These stories help us better understand God’s truth, our calling, and the principles around which followers of Jesus are to base their lives.
The Stories of Jesus: The Parable of Friend at Midnight
Luke 11:1-4 NIV
Prayer is a timeless element of spirituality and our journey of following Christ. It’s something Jesus modeled so much and it was an intricate part of his life.
Prayer is us having conversational access to the Creator of the Heaven’s and the Earth, that is no small truth or casual reality! That’s profound and powerful.
Though God is a unique and great figure AND he is set apart as HOLY — he is not unapproachable. Jesus’ stresses God’s proximity and the access believers have with him for his provision and care, how it makes his view of God deeply personal. And we’re invited to embrace that truth as well…
==prayer, not as a religious ritual, but as a deeply relational connection with our Creator!
Luke 11:8
The Greek word for “persistence” occurs only here in the New Testament—anaideia; it means both shamelessness; audacity, persistence and boldness.
pray and do not quit praying
We need to expand our look at some of the cultural dynamics at work in this story as well. In the Ancient Near East there are two great cultural values: hospitality and avoidance of shame.
The parable is not ONLY about us; the parable is also about the God. He won't shame His name... (Exodus 32, Psalm 25:11 & Psalm 23:3)
Jesus wants us to engage in prayer - persistent prayer. Asking. Seeking. Knocking. And God will respond…he will be moving within you...
Persistent prayer changes us.
Luke 11:9-10
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
QUOTE:
Here is what you should know and believe: a life of prayer, full of joy, power, and awe is for you. It’s not for “other people.” Prayer is not for the spiritually elite. It’s for you.
-John Starke
Luke 11:9-13 NIV
We can persist in prayer when the truth is: God is continually good, permanently interested, and forever for your best.
Persist in prayer friends!
Ask from God
Seek Him out
Knock for Him to open to you
HOW MUCH MORE!!! (v.13 Circle it — BELIEVE IT)
We hope you have been blessed by your time worshipping with us -- through song and through the Word!
We'll see you back at Elements next weekend -- on-site or online -- as we close out our series, The Stories of Jesus: A Study in the Parables.