Background Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

Devotional Reading: Psalms 28:6-9

Having briefly mentioned “the hard sayings of Jesus” in last week’s column, I hardly anticipated that this same concept would arise out of this week’s passage.

Suddenly, while studying the passage, there it was: The parable of “The Importunate Friend,” containing some hard sayings that seem to be contradicted by experience and basic reason.

The problem may be in that we do not really understand what Jesus is saying. We must remember that this is a parable, not an allegory. True, both attempt to convey some special meaning by means of a story, but an allegory is usually a longer, more complete story and the various elements and details of the story are symbolic.

A parable, on the other hand, is normally a brief story meant to convey just one central truth. So in a parable, we look for that central truth and realize that the details of the story in themselves are not symbolic. For example, in Luke 11:5 there is no significance that the friend asks for three loaves, not four.

In Luke 11:1-4 his disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray …” and in response, Jesus teaches them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Immediately following, the parable of “The Importunate Friend” is a continuing answer to his disciples.

So, it is easy for us to get off-track in this parable and come up with the wrong answer, assuming that he is advising us to pester God with great perseverance: “I tell you, though he (the householder) will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs.” “Importunity” means dogged, unrelenting persistence.

Many words

In Matthew 6:7, 8, however, Jesus also says, “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” The God in Luke 11 seems to require great perseverance in prayer, while the God in Matthew seems not to require it at all. And that is when this parable appears to be a “hard saying” of Jesus.

This is not really a contradiction. The parable is not about the “how” of prayer, but the God to whom we pray. William Barclay says, “… it is not that we must batter at God’s door until we compel him from very weariness to give us what we want, until we coerce an unwilling God to answer.”

If a friend who doesn’t want to get out of bed will finally do so just to still the clamor of his friend’s knocking, how much more can we expect from a loving God who does not want or need shameless persistence? If we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more can we expect of a loving God?

But then, if God neither desires nor requires “importunity,” why are we advised to be persistent? (Lk. 18:1; Eph. 6:18; 1 Thes. 5:25; Col.1:9). The answer is, while God does not require the repetition of our prayers, we do. We need the persistence to keep ourselves focused on the need.

Further, God is not coerced by our much-praying. As Phillips Brooks (“O Little Town of Bethlehem”) put it, “Prayer is not conquering God’s reluctance, but taking hold of God’s willingness.” That divine “willingness” goes far beyond my human comprehension.
“Ask, and ...”

There is still one more problem. For quite a few years I have been praying for the healing of a good friend. This morning, I received an e-mail saying that he passed away yesterday.

Does that mean that God denied my request or that I failed to pray with enough persistence? No, I believe God answered my prayer, for I accept death as God’s final healing, just as I accept other experiences as God’s not-always-evident providence.

Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that “prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays.” My prayer life has changed my prayers. I am less likely to tell God how to do His work. I am thankful God has not always given me what I asked for. I ask God to bless family, friends and strangers, but I understand those blessings may come in unanticipated forms.

So, now, more than ever, I trust in Jesus’ promise: “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (11:10).