Luke 11:5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Luke is in the middle of his gospel record when he focuses in on the secret of Jesus' ministry: prayer. He gives all sorts of instructions and illustrations on how and why to pray. Here he is talking about the persistent neighbor who keeps on knocking and asking. The term used here in the ESV is "impudence", but in the NIV it is the title above "shameless audacity." In other words, it is not being ashamed to beg and beg loudly and repeatedly. Our problem is that we have shameless audacity in many areas of our lives where we should not, but do not have it here where we should. Shame on us. Beg. Cry. Keep calling out. We need Him. He is our only hope.
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