The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 11:9,
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
In this passage on prayer, the Lord taught us that we need to ask God for things boldly. He underscores the reality of this through his illustration of a man who has a friend on a journey that pays him an unexpected visit at a late hour. The man has no bread for his friend and seeks to get some from his neighbor. His neighbor's family is in bed and the neighbor won't get up. It is at this point the Lord teaches us tenacity in prayer. He tells us the neighbor will get up because of the man's boldness and will "give him as much as he needs." Luke 11:8.
The point of Jesus' story is that God will answer our prayers if we are persistent and bold in them. This can only possibly be the case if it be that what we request of God might not come to us if we are not "bold" in our prayer. This is a fascinating window into the things of God.
Through this the Lord teaches us our relationship with God is an "interactive" one. By that I mean God responds to our requests and will do things for us that he might otherwise not if we don't ask. This makes many uncomfortable as their theology simply will not allow for it. It interferes with their particular concept of the supremacy of God. They can't imagine that God would allow himself to respond to the requests of people and act when he might not otherwise. For them, when God answers prayer, it is only because he was going to do it anyway and his desire for prayer from us is to help us acknowledge our dependence upon him. While this principle is a good one, and is inherent within this illustration the Lord provides, there is obviously much more going on here.
Is I consider it, the reality that we have the kind of relationship with God where we can have input into the things that take place is something of a double edged sword. To think we have a connection with God Almighty, the Creator of all that exists, that we can bring those things before him that weigh on our hearts is simply astonishing! However, on the other hand, to think that good things may not have happened just because I didn't bring them to the Lord in prayer, or that bad things may have happened simply because I didn't bring them to the Lord in prayer is a weight of responsibility few of us would wish to bear.
Nonetheless, I take at face value what the Lord taught us. I believe, in spite of my pitifully poor prayer life, that what Jesus Christ said was true. As I mull it over, it brings an astonishing excitement to think God listens to my requests, and will answer them in his way. It also brings a sense of responsibility to mind that how I use the time the Lord has given me in this life is very important, that there is consequence to it and that I should be engaged in those things that reflect the importance of this life.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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