RY STORIES-3Desmond FOld

Jesus' parable about a traveler arriving at his

friend's house at midnight (Luke I I :5-13) is a story about prayer. Just

as the friend begged and waited for bread from his neighbor, so we must

wait or we will take prayer for granted.We must wait or we will not value the

answer.We must wait to learn patience and submission.We can pray

directly, frankly, persistently.

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has afriend, and he goes to him at midnight and says,'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread because a

friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and Ihave nothing to set before him. '

"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me.The door is already locked, and my children are withme in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tellyou, though he will not get up and give him the breadbecause he is his friend, yet because of the man'sboldness he will get up and give him as much as heneeds.

"So I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find; knock and the door will beopened to you. For everyone who asks receives; hewho seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door willbe opened.'

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for afish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks foran egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, thoughyou are evil, know how to give good gifts to yourchildren, how much more will your Father in heavengive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke11:5-13 N1V)

Jt [ter teaching his disciples the Lord'sPrayer, Jesus told them the story of thetraveler who arrived at midnight at his

friend's house (Luke 11:5-13)We imagine the weary traveler, at midnight, on a street

embraced in blackness and silence. He thinks, "Which of theseshadowy houses is the home of my friend7 Probably this one."

He knocks and knocks and knocks until his friend comesto the door. The traveler cries, "Gh, I'm so glad to see you,Abrahaml" His friend responds, "And I to see you, Alcazar.Come in."

As they enter, Abraham suddenly thinks, "Uh-oh, thepantry is empty. I was going to buy bread tomorrow." He says,"Alcazar, please rest yourself after your journey. I just have togo next door for a moment, and then we'll have something toeat."

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Abraham goes to his neighbor's house, only to find anunfriendly reception when he knocks on the door. "Stop thatnoise I Get away I I'll set the dogs on youl"

"But it's Abraham, your neighbor, your friend," Abrahamsays.

"I don't care," comes the answer. "The kids are with me inbed. Do you want me to get up and catch pneumonia in thiscold house7 Get away' Departl"

"But I've had a guest arrive," explains Abraham. "I've nofood to give him. You're my friend. Surely you will help me7"

Grumbling, the neighbor gets up. ''I'll catch my death ofcold," he mutters. "My children will be bereaved at an early agejust because of a neighbor."

Finally, after much stumbling and complaining, he findsthe loaves, puts them in Abraham's hand, and slams the door.

More names for the charactersFW Boreham gave his own names to these characters.

The first man (Alcazar), Boreham called "Copper." Heknows Silver, the second man (Abraham), but he doesn't knowGold, the third man (the neighbor)

Silver knows both Copper and Gold. Gold knows Silverwell. Copper has a great need, and he comes to Silver to havethe need met. Silver can't help him, but Silver has a friend,though he doesn't sound like one. Anyway, he gets what heneeds from his friend, and the situation is resolved.

The first man represents the worldly, or unconverted, orunsaved person who comes knocking at the door of thechurch, at the door of the Christian. The worldly man knowsChristians but doesn't know Gold, or God.

How can we help such a person7 He has all sorts of ideasabout life that are wrong. He has all sorts of habits that areperverse. How can I help him when I'm a sinner myself7

God is the neighborI run to Gold, "I need help I There's a heathen come to myhouse. Help me."

Who is this grumpy old neighbor7 Who does herepresent7 God.

But God is not a grumpy old neighbor. God is notreluctant. Here, Christ is teaching by contrast. This is one ofChrist's, "How-much-more" stories. If a crusty, moody, selfish

man will yield to importunity, how much more will yourgracious, loving, heavenly Father7

This story teaches by contrast. It is the parable of theunjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) If an unjust judge would, at last,do justice, how much more would the most just Judge of all(God), do justice. It's a how-much-more story.

Questions about prayerThe story raises certain questions about prayer:

What does it mean when it's so hard to get what I need7

Why does God keep me waiting7

Why doesn't God solve my problems immediately?

Conditioned by goodPlease note that Jesus' story promises us "much more" than the"good gifts" fathers give to their sons. But it does not promiseeverything I pray for. Not everything I pray for would be good.

Therefore, the preceding words about asking, seeking,knocking, must be seen conditioned by this adjective "good."And only God knows what is good.

My instinctive thought is, "Lord, no trouble is good." TheLord smiles and says, "Desmond, you have much to learn."Apparently, I need trouble to help me grow.

Some answersHere are some of the answers:

If all our prayers were answered spontaneously, withoutdelay and without sifting, prayer would become mechanical.We would take it for granted.

The most dangerous thing that could happen to ourChristian experience would be to have prayers immediatelyanswered, "Yes." It would become a mechanical thing. Wewould abuse it horribly.

And people would become Christians for the wrongreasons. Who wouldn't become a Christian, if thats how prayerworked7

Here is God's purpose: God doesn't want prayer to becomea mechanical thing, or it loses its value altogether. If it becametoo easy, we would despise it. That's a tragedy of humannature. We despise anything that comes easily.

We value what we wait forGod wants me to value what I get when I get it. We never missthe water until the well runs dry. We take so much for granted.

All of us who are growing older know this experience.Growing older is like living on an island that is shrinking.What we do all the time as we grow older is surrender onething after another. No, not surrender-they are taken fromus!

We are very needy creatures. Perhaps God wants us torealize that as the birds look to him for sustenance, supportand life, so must we. God wants us to value his gifts, value hisanswers to prayer, have our eyes opened to see reality moreclearly, and not to take so much for granted.

Experiences of physical lossTherefore, God sometimes withholds what we ask for so thatwhen we receive it, we say, "That's great! That's wonderful!"

All of us have had experiences like this. Perhaps somephysical function was impaired for a while, and suddenly itreturns in full health. You're in top gear again. Marvelous'

As a college professor I suffered from laryngitis-abouttwice during the school year. I was teaching too much, andspeaking too rapidly.

When my former students hear me now, they think I mustbe 300 years old, because I've slowed down so much. Butwhen I was their teacher, it was useless trying to take notes on

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my torrent of words, so they brought tape recorders.Because I spoke quickly and was teaching too many

hours; because my day began very early and the day was verytightly filled, I would get laryngitis once or twice a year.

There's nothing more embarrassing than being a teacherand getting laryngitis. It's a horrible experience.

It's very hard to hide when you live in a collegecommunity Many people come to your door during·a day, andthey expect you to talk to them. It is no use saying, "I can'ttalk."

The only way I could survive was to clear out. When atAvondale, in Australia, I'd go to a campsite, because there wasnobody there-only wallabies and kangaroos. The wallabies,kangaroos, and Des. That was great. Nobody there I had to talkto, except the wallabies-and I could whisper to them.

But when my voice came back, that was a wonderfulexperience, wonderful. Some of you who have been oncrutches know what it is when you can lay aside the crutchesand walk again, unassisted. Some of you have had casts on.What blessed relief when they are finally removed!

So God often withholds blessings to teach us to valuethem when they come.

Learning to be submissive to GodGod wants to teach us to be submissive.

We humans are not naturally submissive, and Australiansare about the worst of all, nationally

We humans are quite willful and demanding. We thinkthings should go our way, and everyone else should see that, ifthey have any sense at all.

God laughs at our willful ways .. God laughs. In his mercyhe says, "I will teach you." So God teaches us to be submissiveby delaying answers to our prayers.

Waiting in confidenceThe reason the man in the parable, Abraham, keepshammering at his neighbor's door and doesn't go away isbecause he's confident he will get what he's after.

Suppose you make an appointment to meet a friend youhaven't seen in ten years. You plan to meet on a street corner ina certain city When you arrive, your friend's not there. Whatdo you do'

Do you say, "If I stand here that will make my friendcome", That makes no sense. The fact that you wait won'tmake your friend come. You wait because you believe he willcome .•

So it is when we pray constantly We are not trying toforce God's arm. "God, don't you see it my way yet? Let me tryand explain it to You again." No. We are not trying to forceGod's arm. When we keep praying about a matter, it's becausewe are confident God will answer. And will answer in his timeand in the best way

Learning to be patientGeorge Mueller prayed for a friend for over forty years beforethat man gave his heart to God. Forty years' I don't like evenforty-seconds delay

I often think to myself when I'm in big cities and crossingstreets that one day I will be cut down because of my

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impatience. I don't like to wait for even forty seconds at acrosswalk light. But I have to learn to be obedient to lights ifI'm going to live.

God is trying to teach us to be patient and submissive.The reason we keep asking isn't because of God's reluctance togive. We know he will give, but we've got to learn he will givein his own good time.

I must learn to question my own ability to sum up what isthe truth. I must learn to realize that I am often wrong, that myway might be the worst way For that to happen, God willoften do it his way

These are some suggestions as to God's purposes in prayer.

Pray directlyDetails in this story teach us something about how to pray

Abraham went directly to his neighbor. He didn't send hispet dog or ask someone else to go. He went directly.

Abraham spoke very frankly There was nothing ornateabout what he said. He said, "Friend, lend me three loaves ofbread because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me,and I have nothing to set before him" (Luke 11:6). You can't bemore direct than that.

We don't need a string of go-betweens. There's a hugereligious community that thinks you do need a go-between,and there are a lot of saints among that community But it's notbiblical that you need intermediaries. You need neither popenor priest nor minister nor saint. You go directly to God inChrist.

Pray frankly and persistentlyYou are to pray frankly If it's on your heart, you can say it inprayer. If there's anything you can't pray about, you had betterdrop it out of your thinking. If you have a desire you can't askGod's blessing on, better turn away from that desire.

We are also to be persistent. The word "importunate" (seeLuke 11:8 KJV "importunity") is a difficult word. It not onlymeans persistent, it means shameless. Most of us hate thethought of being embarrassed in any way, and we hate shame.But in spiritual things there's a sense in which you almost haveto be shameless.

SummaryOur Lord tells us a great deal about prayer in this story:1) God gives us only good things. Many of the things we

ask for would not be good.2) God is not going to make prayer mechanical by

immediately giving me everything I ask for. To do thatwould destroy prayer, Christianity, and the church.

3) God wants me to value things. The sign of a reallymature Christian is gratitude. A mature Christian isone who ultimately, says, "Lord, I'm grateful forgratitude because it makes me feel so good." It's mucheasier to learn to pray constantly when every time yousee something that gives you joy, you thank God forit. To hear beautiful music, to see a beautiful sunset.The friendship of a friend.

4) God wants me to learn patience and submission.5) In Christ, God wants us to pray directly, frankly, and

persistently. ~o\:i~