5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness [or persistence] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
If your neighbor came knocking on your door at three in the morning saying, "Hey man, I need some bread." You would probably react the same way the man in the story did. But, if he kept knocking and asking, knocking and asking, you would want to do anything to make the noise go away. So he would get his bread. Not because "he is your friend", but because of "the man's boldness".
What is more likely to get your attention? Someone quietly asking every now and then if you could help them with something, or someone on their knees every day begging you to get them through this trial? Which person would you be most likely to help? Which person seems more passionate about what they need? If you were asking God for something or just thanking Him for all that He's done, which technique is more likely to show Him how much you love and need Him?
I put all this in here to say, when we're coming to God with our burdens, shouldn't we come as the friend in the night? Loud, Bold, Persistent, and Passionate.
Amen!
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