Michael writes this week that according
to the Westminster Confession, the chief aim of man is to glorify God and to
enjoy Him forever. Glory means weighty … it describes something of significance
that has “gravitas.” Glory means consequential. A glorious man or woman
has substance. They are substantial, and they matter. Because we have been
created in Christ Jesus, we are weighty in God’s eyes. However, in the
eyes of the world we are inconsequential because the world cannot perceive the
things of the Spirit. When our prayers take the form of petition, we
acknowledge that God is the source of our significance and glory. Prayer also
tells us about the origin of our own heart. Prayer is the involuntary
reflex of the human soul. Communion and communication with God is hard
wired into our earthen vessel. Even those who are unbelievers pray when
confronted by death. There are no atheists in foxholes. When his
death was near, even Mark Twain, an avowed non-Christian said, “I prayed like
never before.” When we stand at the threshold of death and glimpse our own
mortality, these are “come to Jesus moments.”
In Luke 11:5, after Jesus had taught his disciples
the “Lord’s prayer,” He gave them an illustration about the benefits of
persistent prayer. Jesus said, “When a friend who comes to you at midnight,
knocks on your door, and says “I have a guest and have no bread to serve him,”
will you say to him, “Go away, don’t bother me. It’s too late and my wife and
children are already in bed.” However, because of your neighbor’s
persistent knocking, won’t you simply get up and give him what he needs? Luke’s
story about a cranky neighbor is an illustration of asking and receiving. In
Jesus’ culture, neighborliness and hospitality were in vogue. The culture
placed a high value on hospitality and considered it an honor to host a
sojourner who needed a place to stay for the night. They believed that
taking care of strangers was “entertaining angels unawares.” The host was
obligated to fix a hot meal for the stranger. A stranger arriving at a
house was considered the guest of the entire community. However, this host
wasn’t prepared to feed his honored guest resulting in a shameful situation and
a bad reflection on the neighborhood. A similar situation is when my wife says
“I have nothing to wear.” She literally means “I have nothing to
wear that will uphold the honor of my family.” When the host knocked on
his neighbor’s door a literal translation of his request was, “I have nothing
to uphold the honor of the community.” The neighbor’s first reaction was,
“get lost, my kids are already asleep and in bed. I can’t get up and help
you.” In Jesus’ day, this was not the appropriate response and was
unthinkable. Jesus said, the solution to the problem is to keep on
asking. The parable is a contrast between a cranky neighbor and a loving
God who is eager to meet his children’s needs. The key is
persistence. If you have the persistence to keep on asking a cranky
neighbor, he will accommodate your request. Likewise, keep on asking a
benevolent and loving God.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it shall be given,
seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
The
story in Luke 11:11-13 continues,
“Which of you fathers, if one of your children asks for a fish, will instead
give him a snake that looks like a fish?” Children trust their fathers to
make decisions that are good for them. A child has the persistent audacity
to keep on asking his father for what he wants. If you who are evil know
how to give good gifts to your own children, how much more will a loving heavenly
father give good gifts to his children who ask him? We who are fathers
know the joy of giving good gifts to our own children. Take that feeling and
multiply it ten times infinity and you’ll approach the joy that God feels to
give good gifts to his children.
Let’s
continue Michael’s message on persistent prayer on the next post.
In Christ,
Brian
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