Luke 11:5-13
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The key word in this passage is persistence. We are invited to be like the neighbor who comes in the middle of the night and is persistent in our asking for bread. So, we are to be persistent in our prayer. Sounds good.
Except that the Greek word used isn’t really “persistence. A better translation would be “shameless.” That is, Jesus says, that because of the shamelessness of this neighbor, the householder will get up and give him what he needs. So also, he seems to imply, we are to be shameless in our petitions to God, shamelessly asking for what we need, shamelessly bringing our hopes and fears, disappointments and triumphs to God.
Can we imagine doing that? Being shameless in our honesty, shameless in our need, shameless in our willingness to pester and push God with all we hope for and about?
Quite frankly, it makes me nervous. Why? Because not everything I pray for comes to be. And I’m guessing that’s true with you. Prayers both personal and global seem untended, even unanswered. Why? How? How do we square this with Jesus’ words?
I do not know. And I, like you, have been disappointed in prayer and so am cautious about being too honest, too shameless. And yet I can’t get beyond Jesus’ promise, not about prayer but about God: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus implores, even commands, us to pray shamelessly not because prayer is a mechanism but because God is merciful, gracious, and always seeking to bless us beyond our expectations.
Not all prayer is answered how we might hope. Not all of life goes according to plan. Much comes our way beyond what we feel we can cope with. And in and among all these things, Jesus invites us to pray, not as a mechanism to get what we want or even what we or others deserve, but simply because we remember that God is unexpectedly merciful and unfailingly gracious. And that description – that promise! – free us to bring all, tell all, ask all…shamelessly.
Prayer: Dear God, remind us of your gracious love and unfailing mercy that we might bring all our hopes and fears and wants and needs to you with out fear or shame. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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