“When You Pray, Say…”: Learning to Pray Like JesusSample

OUR HEAVENLY FRIEND

“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’ … 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.” LUKE 11:5-9 (ESV)

It’s tempting to think that talking about God is the principal expression of our relationship with Him. It’s possible, though, for us to talk about God without any intimate knowledge of who He truly is. Evidence of our relationship with God is often found not in our public words but in our private prayers—not in what we say about Him but in what we say to Him. Indeed, as Robert Murray M’Cheyne was said to have observed, “What a man is on his knees before God, that he is—and nothing more.”

Therein lies a challenge! Because if we’re honest, many of our prayers reflect a static or distant relationship, not the dynamism that should mark a warm friendship. But if this is true of us, we can be assured that we are not alone. Jesus’ disciples also desired to grow in intimacy with their heavenly Father but knew they needed the Lord to teach them how to do so (Luke 11:1). By way of answer, Jesus, having outlined what came to be called the “Lord’s Prayer,” told them a parable about a friend’s bold request.

Jesus begins His illustration by establishing the two men's relationship within His story: they are friends. He then explains how the one man, wishing to show hospitality to a traveling guest, goes to the other’s home at midnight to borrow bread. He even risks waking his friend’s entire family to make his request. Because of his bold persistence, Jesus says, the second man rises and gives the first what he needs.

We need to grasp from Jesus’ story: if a sincere human friendship produces such a generous response, we can rest assured that God will never refuse us anything we truly need when we come to Him in prayer. The man’s request is bold, but as demanding as it may seem, it is heard by a friend and answered because of his persistence. How much more can we be confident that our heavenly Father is prepared to respond when we approach Him with a sincere, humble heart.

Assurance before God is not necessarily presumptuous. Rather, we can have confidence before His throne because of His friendship with us through Jesus. Because of Him, we can speak to our Creator with the “impudence” of a close friend. What a thought! There is no midnight with God, nor will there ever be a moment when He is inconvenienced by our coming to Him as our Friend. All we must do is knock.

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading: EPHESIANS 1:15-23