Thoughts for the Day

And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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!’

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

In a society where bread was made fresh each morning as needed, there would have been little if any left by night. Add to that the fact that the family are safe inside the house and asleep, the householder is unlikely to want to get up. This lovely little parable gives us a perfect picture of society two thousand years ago.

Jesus uses the normal incidents of village life to talk about prayer. In the same way that the neighbour will finally answer the hammering on his door our Heavenly Father will answer our prayer when we persist. As a parent knows what is good for their children, so He knows what is good for us.

Now own up, how often do You ask God for something only when things get desperate, and then forget to continue when something else becomes more important? Have we stopped praying for Yemen and Afanisttan because we're only praying for Ukraine, for instance? Jesus says we are to persist in prayer! But there is a warning - our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us - this may mean that He answers "No!" sometimes, or offers a different alternative to what we ask.

Lord Jesus,
teach us to be persistent in our prayer;
but to realise that sometimes
our prayers are unrealistic or selfish.
Help us to accept that You see a bigger picture
and that "No!" will sometimes be Your answer.
Amen.