Persistent And Not Deterred

Luke 11:7

"And he from within shall answer and say,

Trouble me not: the door is now shut and

my children are with me in bed, I

cannot rise and give thee."   

        The late arrival of the traveler which confronted the man in is home was an embarrassing situation, because his cupboard was empty and he could not fulfill the sacred obligations of hospitality.  It was late, so he went out to borrow from a friend. The friend's door was shut. In the east no one would knock on a shut door unless the need was imperative. In the morning the door was opened and remained open all day, for there was little privacy; but if the door was shut, that was a definite sign that the homeowner did not wish to be disturbed. But the seeking traveler was not deterred. He knocked, and kept on knocking.
        "This story," said Jesus, "will tell us about prayer." The lesson of this parable is not that we must persist in prayer; it is not that we must batter at God's door until we finally compel Him from weariness to give us what we want or to coerce an unwilling God to answer.
         A parable literally means something laid alongside. If we lay something beside another thing to teach a lesson, that lesson may be drawn from the fact that the things are like each other or from the fact that the things are a contrast to each other. The point here is based, not on likeness, but on contrast. What Jesus says is, "If a cruel and unwilling homeowner can in the end be coerced by a friend's shameless persistence into giving him what he needs, how much more will God who is a loving Father supply all his children's needs?" "If you," He says, "who are evil, know that you are bound to supply your children's needs, how much more will God?
        Amen!

Reading: (Luke 11:5-13)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry