God’s Pleasure In Persistence

God’s Pleasure in Persistence

Read: Luke 11:5-10

“Because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

Luke 11:8

“We are never more like Christ than in prayers of intercession.”

—Austin Phelps

IN WORD “Blessed are the meek,” Jesus tells us (Matthew 5:5). But there are some circumstances in which He calls for brashness. In this parable on persistence in Luke 11, a man seeks help from his neighbor on behalf of his friends, knocking repeatedly on the neighbor’s door at midnight with an unusual request for bread. It was an unlikely and inconvenient time for such a request. But because of his perseverance, the neighbor answers.

A story in Luke 5:17-26 relates a similar persistence. Several men carried their crippled friend to Jesus on a stretcher, lowering it through the roof so that the Healer could not avoid seeing him. Like the man in the parable, they are tenacious—all of them are zealous for the welfare of their friends. Our Western sensibilities make us want to tell the stretcher-bearers to get in line, or to tell the man to quit pestering his neighbor at inappropriate hours.

Jesus has no such rebuke for them. Their brazenness honors Him. This is how the Father is to be sought—with a clear knowledge that it is His nature to meet needs. If we are zealous to have others’ needs met, certainly He is even more zealous.

IN DEED How persistent are we in seeking God’s help for the needs of others? When we are told to “bear one another’s burdens” (Colossians 3:13), do we interpret that as a brief mention in a prayer meeting? Or are we zealous and bold in our approach to God? Far from offending God, this boldness pleases Him. In this parable, He almost begs His disciples to pester Him. Let us consider our zeal on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Does it equal the boldness of the persistent neighbor?