Luke 11:5-13 — Shameless. Bold. Trustful.

READ THIS: Luke 11:5-13

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Verses 5-8 tell one of my favorite metaphors that Jesus says in the Bible. I love it because it's kind of funny and because the message is so sweet. So let's dive into it. 

The entire passage above comes directly after the disciples ask Jesus how to pray. So, first, Jesus gives them some words to use, the Lord's prayer, and then, here, He teaches them the attitude to use. When we pray, we need to be shameless (v5-7), bold (v9-10), and trustful (v11-13). First, we should be shameless in that we do not let any circumstance make us feel like we can't or shouldn't go talk to God. It doesn't matter if it's midnight or not. We'll go to Him anyway. Then, we should be bold in that we simply ask. It doesn't matter how silly or how massive a request; we boldly ask God, anyway, hoping that our hearts will be changed over time to ask God what He desires we ask. Finally, we should be trustful in that we believe God will give good gifts to His children. 

In that last section of verses where we learn about being trustful, there is also an important point about what we are asking for. Above, it is mentioned that we pray in hopes that our hearts might be changed to ask for what God would have us ask for. In verses 11-13, we see that idea better. God desires to give us good gifts, and the BEST gift He can give us is Himself. One of the best things we can ask for is the Holy Spirit!!! And that is one gift that we should especially feel shameless and bold asking for, while also fully trusting that God certainly wants to give that gift to us!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Do you feel like you are shameless, bold, and/or trustful when you pray? Which do you feel like describes your attitude the best? Which do you need to work on?

2. Have you ever asked for the Holy Spirit? Why or why not? If yes, what was that experience like?

TRY THIS:

Pray to God about something that you have been too scared to pray about! You can do it! If you need help, let us know!!! We'll pray with you!!!

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 27, 2023 at 2:50 PM

    Lord Jesus, please guide in in my desires to get things—make them be needs, not wants.

    ReplyDelete

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