PERSISTENT CONFIDENCE

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 21, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 21, 2020 from Luke 11:5-13

Theme: Prayers that are prayed with persistent confidence in the Father are pleasing to Him.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Romans 12:12 says something very important about prayer. The apostle Paul wrote that we are to be “continuing steadfastly in prayer”. I like how the old King James Version has it; that we are to be “continuing instant in prayer”—which, 400 years ago, meant “insistent”.

Sadly though, what often characterizes our prayers today is more like “instant” that “insistent”. We live in a time when lots of things in our lives are “instant”. You can order something from Amazon and get it the next day—or in some cases, even later that day. You can request information off the internet, and get it immediately. There used to be something you could drink in the morning called ‘Instant Breakfast’. We’re so used to ‘instant’ that if we don’t get something ‘instantly’, we think something is wrong. In fact, that if we don’t get our prayers answered ‘instantly’, we cease to be ‘persistent’ or ‘insistent’ in them.

The Lord Jesus once taught a parable that was specifically intended to show them that persistence is an essential element of true prayer. In Luke 18, we read:

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8).

In telling us that story, our Lord is letting us know that we should not think it strange that our prayers don’t seem to manifest immediate, “instant” answers. It’s because the thing that God our Father is looking for in us is “insistence” … “persistence” … the kind of heart attitude that trusts God’s goodness, does not doubt Him, and keeps on asking without losing heart.

This takes us, then, to the theme we find in our passage this morning—in Luke 11. The Lord Jesus had been teaching His disciples about the whole matter of prayer. Last week, we looked at how He described the pattern for prayer to His disciples;

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:1-4).

That’s the pattern our Lord gives us for prayer. He sets before us the kind of attitude with which we should come to the Father when praying, and also the kind of things that we should ask in our prayers. But then, He goes on to show—through a couple of other parables—that the kind of persistence that comes from confidence in our Father is also an important element in such prayers.

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (vv. 5-13).

So; even when we pray as we should, it may not be that we see the immediate and ‘instant’ answers that we may wish. But this is not because God does not hear us. Rather, it’s because before our Father answers, He may be waiting to see the kind of ‘insistence’ from us that He wishes to see. Persistence in prayer demonstrates confident trust in our Father. And such persistent confidence is an essential element of faith in prayers that please our Father.

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Now; I think it’s helpful to divide this morning’s passage up into two great lessons that our Lord is teaching us about prayer. The first lesson—in verses 5-8—is that …

1. WE MUST LEARN TO BE PERSISTENT BEFORE THE FATHER IN PRAYER.

He told a story of a man who had an out-of-town friend that came for an unexpected visit. It seems that this unexpected visitor had come after a very long and difficult journey and was exhausted and hungry and in need. And perhaps he came at a time before his host could go to the market. It was late at night. There were no stores open. And he had nothing of his own to offer to his needy guest. And so, he had no other options but to go to the home of another friend and ask for bread. Our Lord intentionally prefaced the parable with this story—instead of just saying that the man went to his friend and asked for bread.–in order to set the context for the man’s request. And this is important to notice; because the man in this parable about persistent prayer was not asking for something selfish. Rather, he was asking in compassion for someone else. That often characterizes our prayers; doesn’t it?—or shouldn’t it? We ought to come to the Father in great concern for the needs of another. And often we do.

But the friend who had the means to help was reluctant to offer it. It was late at night. He was asleep. His children were tucked into bed with him. He couldn’t arise and give the man what he wanted without great inconvenience. It’s his friend, of course; but even friendship has its limits. And it seems that the man outside kept asking. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was persistent. Jesus said, “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” Jesus isn’t telling us this because the Father is reluctant to answer our prayers. Rather, it’s to teach us that if persistence will prevail over someone who does not want to answer our request, how much more so will it prevail with our Father who does want to answer our request!

What the Father wants to see in us is a faith that demonstrates itself through persistent prayer. The Bible tells us, in Hebrews 11:6;

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Let’s expect, then, that when we pray and ask the Father what we need from Him, He should find us giving to Him what He wants from us—and that is ‘persistence in our asking’. It demonstrates faith.

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And to show us that such faith is not in vain, our Lord goes on to teach us, in verses 9-13, that …

2. WE CAN PRAY TO THE FATHER WITH CONFIDENT TRUST IN HIS GOOD ANSWER.

Right after setting before us the lesson that persistence is required, Jesus—as if to give us assurance—went on to say, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

This is a wonderful promise from our Lord. And we should embrace it whole-heartedly. Asking and seeking and knocking on the door—all pictures of persistence—will produce results with our Father. That should be motivation to us ask and seek and knock without quitting. But we should also note carefully that our Lord does not say that if we ask, we will get exactly what it is that we ask for; or that if we seek, we will find exactly what it was that we were looking for; or that if we knock, the door will open to the very thing that we were expecting.

Jesus promises that we will get results from the Father. That’s something that He Himself taught us. He said;

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24).

But in the immeasurable love of the Father for us, He answers our prayers in ways that are much greater than we knew to ask. And because of this, we can pray with confident trust in the Father’s goodness in whatever way He answers. Jesus went on to say;

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?” (v. 11-12).

When he was very little, one of my sons actually asked me for a scorpion. He didn’t realize what he was asking. I’d be a terrible father if I gave him one. But one day—when I was in a gift shop in Arizona—I found a plastic paper-weight that had an actual scorpion encased inside. I bought it for him; and he loved it. I gave him what he asked for; but in a way that was much better for him than he asked.

Our wise heavenly Father is that way. We sometimes are foolish and ask for a stone when we should have asked for bread; or a serpent when we should have asked for a fish; or a scorpion when we should have asked for an egg. Our Father will give to us when we ask, and help us find when we seek, and open the door to us when we knock. But it will never be in such a way as to hurt us; but always in such a way as to give us what we really need. Jesus explained;

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (v. 13).

We could ask for nothing more wonderful than the Holy Spirit. And the Father would gladly give the Holy Spirit to whoever asks Him in confident trust. How much more, then, would he give us the lesser things we ask—and in such a way as is always best for us!

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Many of us are praying very hard—not so much for something for ourselves, but for the salvation of another. Perhaps it is a family member, or a long-term friend. We long for them to come to know Jesus Christ, and for their hearts to be open to His love. That’s a much greater thing to ask than ‘three loaves of bread at midnight’. But many times, it seems like our prayers are not being heard. It seems as if there’s no answer.

This passage encourages us—from the Lord Jesus Himself—not to give up. Keep on praying. Keep on asking and seeking and knocking. We can rest assured that, in our Lord Jesus, the heavenly Father hears those earnest prayers. And He is able to answer them wonderfully. I am proof of how He answered the prayers of someone else—and perhaps you are too.

Let’s not quit. Let’s keep praying—even to the very end of our breath; knowing that He is able to answer that prayer long after we can breathe no more. What the Father wants to see from us is the kind of persistence and confident trust in Him that comes from genuine faith.

EA