Luke 11:5-13

Luke 11:5-13 Then 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, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “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.’ I 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 he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “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. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Ask, seek, and knock are still the axioms of prayer. They are foundational in everyone's prayer life, but they are not a panacea to all of life's ills. Praying people also experience the vicissitudes of life, including death. The age-old question remains, how could a loving God allow his "friends" (us) to get sick, to die, to have trouble in life? Isn't He the friend who will get up and answer the request of a persistent friend? Isn't God good? Of course the answer is, yes, He is good, and yes, He is the friend who answers requests.

God loves us with an everlasting love, but if that is true, what about the above scriptures and their meaning? First of all, God gives the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks for him. He is the GOOD FATHER, and his will is that all have the Holy Spirit in their lives as the great Comforter, the one who connects us directly to heaven. Secondly, God answers every prayer, but in his context, not necessarily our context. He views this struggle of human existence in its eternal, celestial context, not in a temporal, terrestrial light. He focuses on our eternal status and on the destiny of those around us.

Christians should pray about everything, asking, seeking, and knocking for answers to our concerns. But we should understand and accept that everything doesn't always happen according to our will, our desires. At these difficult times when God does not answer our prayers as we want, we need to maintain a strong faith. History reveals life has not been smooth for the followers of Christ. The church faced persecution from the very beginning when unbelievers mistreated the apostles and even killed most of them. Jesus told his followers, In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) Yet, we still must pray about everything.

WE DEFINITELY ARE NOT FATALISTIC. We do not ascribe to the philosophy that God has a plan in place, and we cannot do anything except accept God's will. God's will is that as thinking, breathing human beings, we do everything possible to correct a situation: go to the doctor, work harder to pay our bills, doing what is necessary and right. OUR FAITH IS ACTIVE. Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake. We always pray with faith, but we also put feet to our prayers. James said, show me your faith by your works. We do not sit back and ignore needs while saying, "God, you solve my problems." No, we have a proactive role in solving problems. We go to professionals if we are sick or in need of advice, and we help others who need us. We do whatever necessary to provide solutions to life's problems. We do not sit on our hands, that is NOT FAITH.

How many times has God provided the right medical advice for you, the right job, the right answer to a problem? Many times, of course. We read in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, that Paul prayed three times for deliverance from a thorn in the flesh. His prayers were not answered the way he wanted, but God inspired him to rejoice in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. He gave his problems back to God when he could find no solution for them, believing God's strength would be made perfect in his weaknesses. He gave them back to God for his glory with faith that God would work out what was best for his life. Paul prayed constantly, and so should we. We should ask, seek, and knock, but if the answer does not come as we desire, we must accept that God will answer our prayers according to his will, FOR HE IS A GOOD GOD AND YOU ARE HIS BELOVED.