“Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” Luke 11:7
Jesus is teaching about prayer and He tells this story of a friend who seems unwilling to help. In Luke 18 He again is talking about prayer when He describes an unjust judge. In both instances the point is perseverance in prayer. “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)
You and I need to be confident in who God is and how He views us because prayer is a battle. I think Jesus is giving us insight on emotions we will face when God delays answers to our prayers. We may feel like God is sleeping and telling us to go away because we’re bothering Him. We may feel like God is a callous, unjust judge who doesn’t care about our needs, but only His own kingdom. What do we do when God’s character is attacked in our minds and emotions?
Jesus told us to press through them and keep praying because God isn’t like that, and those feelings are not reliable. The truth is that He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, who never slumbers or sleeps. (Psalm 121:4) I read a plaque on a wall recently that said: “When you go to bed, leave your problems with God. He’s going to be up all night any way.”
Fight through the accusations that God isn’t just and keep praying and believing because Jesus assures us that God does hear our prayers. “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8)
In essence Jesus is saying this: “God will be faithful to do His part, the real question is will we be faithful to do ours’?” Our part is to have faith in the character and promises of God even when our circumstances seem to contradict them. Will the Son of Man find us persevering, or will we give up?
Let’s stir ourselves to pray and not waver in the midst of our trials and emotions.
One Thing 