Kingdom Principle: After giving us the model of prayer, Jesus impresses upon us the importance of persistent prayer by giving us the parable of the persistent neighbor. In this we learn that we should pray often trusting in the goodness of our Heavenly Father to give us what is best. Pray __________________________Luke 11:8 (ESV) — 8 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 ne...
Kingdom Principle: After giving us the model of prayer, Jesus impresses upon us the importance of persistent prayer by giving us the parable of the persistent neighbor. In this we learn that we should pray often trusting in the goodness of our Heavenly Father to give us what is best.
Pray __________________________
Luke 11:8 (ESV) — 8 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.
HOSPITALITY is to entertain or receive a stranger (sojourner) into one’s home as an honored guest and to provide the guest with food, shelter, and protection. This was not merely an oriental custom or good manners but a sacred duty that everyone was expected to observe. Only the depraved would violate this obligation.
The man turns to his “friendly neighbor”, but does not receive the response he anticipated. The point of the illustration is that the man got what he needed because he did not give up asking.
“And I tell you, continue to ask… continue to seek… continue to know… For everyone asking receives, for everyone seeking finds, and to the one knocking it will be opened to you.”
Here is the problem that Jesus is addressing in humankind; we are far too easily defeated. Our hearts give up way too soon. We are often discouraged at the first sign of resistance.
Pray _________________________
Luke 11:13 (ESV) — 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
What is the greatest gift you can receive from God?
When do you experience the Holy Spirit the greatest?
Romans 8:31-39; 18-26
“When the child of God is laid low in the dust of affliction, then it is that the Comforter comes, and whispers words which the ear of sense could never hear, and which the heart of flesh could never conceive.”
“Ah! does he not whisper to the heart, ‘Saint, be of good cheer; there is one who died for thee; look to Calvary, behold his wounds, see the torrent gushing from his side — there is thy purchaser, and thou art secure. He loves thee with an everlasting love, and this chastisement is meant for thy good; each stroke is working thy healing; by the blueness of the wound thy soul is made better.’ ‘Whom he loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.’ Doubt not his grace … And then, moreover, he says, ‘What is all thy suffering compared with that of thy Lord’s? or what, when weighed in the scales of Jesus’ agonies, is all thy distress? And especially at times does the Holy Ghost take back the veil of heaven, and lets the soul behold the glory of the upperworld! Then it is that the saint can say, ‘O thou art a Comforter to me!’”
-Charles Spurgeon
Questions to Consider
Have you given up on your prayers? Why? Are there things God is calling you to let go of in order that your prayers to him might not be hindered?
In what ways are you praying to experience the Holy Spirit more? How might God answer a prayer like this in your life?
