01/13/2026
Where do we go when we need help? Do we go there for our own needs, or in intercession for others? And, are we persistently 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 to them, “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’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 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.”
Luke 11:5-8 ESV
My first question was “Where do we go when we need help?”. When we are in need of help we typically go to where we have the most hope of receiving it. If we have a child with a toothache, we don’t go to a carpenter... (or do we? lol). As citizens of the world we are pragmatic about where we go to seek assistance. We seek out a dentist that we feel has the best reputation, and is most reasonable in his fees, to help us. However, in our scripture reading today the example was of a man who didn’t go to a baker, but to a friend; someone he knows, to find help. So, if we need help in the middle of the night, or our need is immediate, and the dentist office is closed we turn to a friend. At such times, we simply ask ourselves who can I turn to? Who will open their door or drop what they are doing and help me?
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. Only a friend will give you his own meal or the shirt off his back.
When we, as Christians, are in need of help, and the world’s solutions are unavailable to us, where do we turn? We certainly 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 turn to Him…. a carpenter. 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 know many people 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 are facing. We should go to Him before all others... He is our certain help… He is our friend.
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 our need. We always have a friend in Jesus, and there is no place or time He will not come to us… even on a sports field or halfway up a mountain.
The next question I asked was “Do we go there for our own needs, or in intercession for others?”. 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 own 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 although the one who is traveling had a need, and the friend of a friend had the bread that could satisfy his hunger, only the friend who was common to both of them 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, the intercessor, the middle person, and can knock on the door of Jesus seeking bread for a friend of ours who possibly doesn’t know Christ personally yet.
The third and final question I asked was “And, are we persistently pleading for assistance?”. There are times when we pray and know immediately that it has been answered, but there are others that require persistent prayer. Sometimes we must knock and then knock again; often we must knock many times. Whether we knock once, or multiple times, and believe that Jesus hasn’t risen 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 having faith in the fact that He has already risen and answered our need. Jesus will provide, and He will strengthen our faith 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 today culminates with the traveler being blessed by receiving a place to stay, and food to eat. It ends with a common friend being blessed by his intercession for the traveler and the friendship of his good neighbor. It ends with a friend rising from his bed in the hour of his own neighbor’s need and being blessed by his willingness to give.
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 own need, but for that of a friend who is in need. When we do this then Jesus Himself is glorified by providing, and God for being true to a His Word. When we do this we are blessed for placing another’s needs before our own, a neighbor is blessed for rising to the occasion by giving, and ultimately those who were in need will receive the blessing of an answered prayer.
Three friends; it’s the story of friendship, selflessness, love, prayer, and ultimately faith. So, whether we are the one in need, are called upon to knock in intercession, or are the one who answers the door to give... let’s remember that ultimately a blessing awaits each of us, and God takes pleasure in blessing us all. For our part we are meant to honor and glorify Him.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for using me in one of the many roles that I play in your provision and as you answer prayer. I thank you for blessing me regardless of whether I need, I intercede, or I help by giving and becoming your answer. You are great Father, and you bless me by allowing me to be folded into the working of your will. As I am, never let me think it is because I am worthy, more loved, or that I deserve any of the glory that is yours alone, but let me 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 in rising from my bed to meet the need of a friend. In each of these ways I will receive your blessing, and in all things I will give you praise for loving us so.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 ESV
And know that the bread given in this scripture symbolized the body of Christ…
“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.””
Matthew 26:26
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! And AMEN!
Rich Forbes