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; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ Luke 11:5-6
Luke 11 begins with a disciple asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus begins his prayer class by giving the disciples the words of a prayer. These are not words to be mindlessly babbled but words that give insight regarding legitimate elements of prayer. Jesus continues his prayer class by telling the disciples a “Let’s Pretend” story concerning “how” to pray and “who” to pray for.
Jesus tells the disciples “Let’s pretend you have a traveling friend that has come to you and you have nothing to feed him. Let’s pretend you go to another friend to request food for your traveling friend. And let’s pretend you go with your request at midnight. He’s in bed, his kids are in bed, the door is locked and, by the nature of things, you are going to spotlight your own insensitivity, sloth, or poverty.” Jesus goes on with the story to say that the request was fulfilled…not out of friendship but because of the shameless audacity of the requestor.
Prayer is about requesting provision for those God places in your life that have needs which you are incapable of meeting. Notice in the “Let’s Pretend” story that the provider does not give the bread directly to the traveler but to the audacious requestor so that the requestor can give it to his traveling friend. When you pray for your friend’s needs be prepared to have the request answered through you.
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