Pray Shamelessly

[Jesus said,] “I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” — Luke 11:8

The man must feed his friend, for hospitality is a sacred duty. So he goes to another friend for three loaves, i.e., three small loaves which would suffice for one man. But this second householder has shut his door and gone to bed with his children…. He raises no difficulty about giving the bread, but the bother of getting up is quite another matter….

But the man is persistent. He will not go away, nor will he let his friend go back to sleep. And where friendship cannot prevail, his importunity (lit. ‘shamelessness’) wins the day. The lesson is clear.

We must not play at prayer, but must show persistence if we do not receive the answer immediately.

It is not that God is unwilling and must be pressed into answering…. But if we do not want what we are asking for enough to be persistent, we do not want it very much. It is not such tepid prayer that is answered.

~ Leon Morris, from The Gospel According to John

Heavenly Father, help me to be steadfast and persistent in my prayers. I know that You are a God who loves to hear the prayers of His children, and that when I pray “shamelessly” to You, You will answer me. Amen.

Excerpted with permission from Daybook of Prayer, copyright Integrity Publishers.

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Your Turn

What are you praying about with absolute shamelessness? What pressing need has you calling out day and night to God for Him to intercede, to bring change, healing, resolution, rescue, and provision? The Lord longs to answer us! Come share what you are persisting in in prayer on our blog! We want to encourage one another to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking!