01/13/2018
Where do you go for help? Do you go there for your own needs, or for those of another? And, are you persistent in your pleading for assistance? These three questions determine who we perceive as having strength, whether we are in need or empathetic, and how great our love or desire is that has brought us there. Have you ever applied these three simple little questions to your prayers, and if so, what did they reveal to you, about Jesus, and your faith?
“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
My first question was “Where do you go for help?”. When we are in need of help we go to where we have hope of receiving it. If I have a child with a toothache, I don’t go to a carpenter... (or do I?). As a citizen of the world I am pragmatic about where I seek assistance. I go to a dentist that I feel has the best reputation, and is most reasonable in his fees, to help me. However, in our scripture reading the example is of a man who doesn’t go to a baker, but to a friend; someone he knows, to find help. It is the middle of the night, his need is immediate, and the dentist office is closed. At such times, who can we turn to?
In this parable we see that the man goes to a friend’s house. He doesn’t go to ask him to mix up some dough and bake him some bread, but to give him loaves that he believes are already made. He has an immediate need, and only a friend can, or will, satisfy it.
When we are in need of help and the world’s solutions are unavailable to us, where do we turn? We wouldn’t look up the home address of a dentist we have seen professionally, and knock on his door. No, we would go to a friend and ask if he has some aspirin, or perhaps something to numb our child’s gums. We turn to our friends when the chips are down and we need dependable, and extraordinary assistance.
I jokingly said that we wouldn’t turn to a carpenter when we need a dentist, but if we consider the fact that Jesus was a carpenter... then we really should. How many parents have prayed for sick children in the middle of the night? How often have you gone to your knees in prayer when you needed help, and the offices of the world were closed to you? We don’t have many friends that would open their door to us in the middle of the night, or in the midst of a storm, but Jesus will. He is strong, and can solve any problem we face. We should go to Him before all others.
One spring night, I had a son who was badly injured during a rugby game. He was bleeding profusely, and concussed. We were afraid he had lost an eye, and the situation was dire. As he was placed on a backboard, and while being desperately treated and rushed to the trauma center, my wife and I were praying as we dealt with the situation. Jesus began treating our son long before he arrived at the hospital. We had knocked on Christ’s door, and He rose to meet the need. We always have a friend in Jesus, and there is no place or time He will not come to us.
The next question I asked was “Do you go there for your own needs, or for those of another?”. In our scripture reading the man didn’t seek bread for himself, but for a weary friend that had been traveling and come to his home for a place to rest and to find sustenance. When this happened, and there was no food in his house, the door knocking began. This isn’t just the story of a man standing at a friend’s door in the middle of the night. It is the story of three friends, and while the traveling friend had a need, and the friend with the bread could solve it, only the friend common to both of them... you... could go between them and make it happen. There are many times when we pray for ourselves, but how wonderful it is when we are the common friend, and can knock on the door of Jesus seeking bread for a friend of ours who possibly doesn’t know Him yet.
The third and final question I asked was “And, are you persistent in your pleading for assistance?”. There are times when we pray and know immediately that it has been, or will be, answered, but there are others that require persistent prayer on our part. Sometimes we must knock, and then knock again; often we must knock many times. When we do this and Jesus doesn’t rise immediately, it isn’t because He is not our friend and Lord, but rather, it is about the nature of our own desire, or our faith in His already having answered. He will provide, and He will strengthen us in the process.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”Isaiah 40:31 KJV
Our Bible story ended with the traveler being blessed by receiving a place to stay, and food to eat. It ended with the common friend being blessed by his intercession for the traveler and the friendship of his good neighbor, and it ended with a friend rising from his bed in the hour of his own neighbor’s need and being blessed by his giving.
Prayer is like this, and especially intercessory prayer. A friend comes to us in need, and we go to Jesus for provision... not for our need to provide, but for the friend who is in need. When we do this then Jesus Himself is glorified by providing, and being true to a His Word. We are blessed for placing another’s needs before our own, and those who were ultimately in need receive the blessing of answered prayer.
Three friends; it’s the story of friendship, selflessness, love, prayer, and ultimately faith. So whether you are in need, are called upon to knock, or answer the door... remember that ultimately a blessing awaits, and God takes pleasure in you.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for using me in one of the many roles that we play in your provision of prayer. I thank you for blessing me regardless of whether I need, I intercede, or I help in being your means of answer. You are great Father, and you allow us to be folded into the working of your will. As we do so, never let us think we are worthy, more loved, or that we deserve glory, but let us place all of these at your feet. I pray that you always take pleasure in those acts of prayer that I am a part of. Let me glorify you always Father, and give me rest in the comfort of your home, in the kitchen where I am preparing a meal for the hungry, or by rising to meet the need of a friend. In each I find your blessing, and in all things I give you praise.
Rich Forbes