When God Says …
“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three 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 him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” (Luke 11:5-8 KJV).In these passages, the Lord Jesus tells this parable continuing to stress as He teach His disciples how to pray under the ambience of the unfulfilled old covenant of the law. This gives an illustration how to pray effectively—with bold, relentless faith, not faint-heartedness.
The friend in the story (alluding to the role of God who's separated from man by sin) eventually gives bread due to the friend's "shameless audacity", that is persistence, boldness, even impudent asking, not because he wants to, but because he's "harassed".
The Lord Jesus pivoting from the human example to God, said: "How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"(Luke 11:13). This highlights that God's supply (grace, provision, the Holy Spirit) is always greater than our demand and needs. It's not about our worthiness, but about His willingness to give to those who ask persistently. Especially those who were under the covenant of the law, they needed to ask.
This points us to the new economy in the New Covenant of Grace, where God's love overflows, unlike the scarcity mindset of the world and concepts of religion. We must be audacious in prayer, rather than be discouraged by delays and long waits. God’s supply is already made available (Matthew 6:32-33; Philippians 4:19). We must keep asking, seeking, and knocking boldly, of which in grace we come and declare in the posture of receiving all of His provisions with gratitude and exceeding thankfulness. We expect Him to do far more than we can imagine, as demonstrated through the widow in Elisha's story, that says: “Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”” (2 Kings 4:1-7 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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