Let’s talk about The Parable of the Friend at Night? Immediately after teaching the disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told the story of the neighbor who was in need of bread for a visitor (Luke 11:5-10). The disciples had just asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1), and the lesson He is teaching through this parable is to be persistent in prayer. This is the first of two parables Jesus uses to drive this concept home—the second is the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. Paul reiterates this same concept in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Upon reflecting on these three verbs, “Richard Glover suggests that a child, if his mother is near and visible, asks; if she is neither, he seeks; while if she is inaccessible in her room, he knocks” (as cited by John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p.184). I think Glover gets the metaphoric language of Jesus just about right. So, we are to keep on asking. This is what we do when we are certain that the one we are imploring is near and can hear. And we are to keep on seeking. This expects an action on our part. We have to actively look for the one we are imploring. And we are to keep on knocking. This expects further action after having located the one we are imploring. It pictures us as persistently banging on the door to get the person’s attention.
As I have already indicated, this is a pretty long question, but it is pretty easily understood nonetheless. The question demands an answer something like, “Of course my friend would not refuse to help me in such a situation!” Jesus is simply asking us to think about how a friend would indeed get up in the middle of the night in order to help us with a need. And He assumes that we all have friends who would not refuse us but would help us out. After all, isn’t this what friends do? See more info with the The Parable of the Friend at Night video on YouTube.
What would happen if Daniel had stopped praying after 7 days? His prayers would not have been answered. We may have asked for something for a long time. If we give up now, everything may be wasted. Its like Daniel stopping his prayer after 20 days. Is there something you use to pray for but have stopped asking for it because you did not receive answers for a long time. Determine today that you will start praying again and not stop until our prayers are answered.