The Dimly-Lit Path

In today’s reading, Jesus tells a story about someone banging on his friend’s door at midnight, asking for some loaves of bread. Note the midnight setting of Jesus’ teaching.

Jesus starts this story by saying, essentially, “Look, your friend is obviously going to get annoyed because it’s midnight, and his kids are already asleep. He’s in his pajamas and robe, streaming his favorite show, just trying to relax with the little bit of alone time he finally has. He doesn’t want to have to get up off the couch and unlock the door. He’d also have to search the pantry to even find the bread.” It seems like Jesus is about to share the man’s response as “Sorry, not sorry . . . no bread for you.”

But then Jesus surprises his audience with a twist ending, “Even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need” (Luke 11:8, emphasis added).

Because of your annoying persistence, your friend will get out of bed or shove off the couch and shuffle over to the bread cupboard. He’ll get you all the loaves you’re asking for.

Jesus tells us to pray with tireless tenacity. He tells us to seek, so that we will know his abundant provisions, rather than fall prey to believing our unmet longings and unanswered prayers are a sign of him not meeting our needs. It can be so easy in the dark night to look at the way life isn’t going, and assume that means God isn’t working, providing, or answering prayers. A counter-liturgy to that? Keep asking anyway. Ask expectantly.

Jesus also positions this parable on persistent prayer within something profound: relationship. You can ask of God audaciously because you possess a truly audacious thing—friendship with God. But the bewildering thing is what Jesus says about that relationship, “It’s not the friendship. That’s not why he will give you what you’re asking for; it’s your impudence.”

When the night is dark, Jesus seems to be saying:

Keep knocking.

Make your faith a verb.

Don’t give up.

Don’t lose your mettle.

Continue asking for what you need.

There is a line to tow here, of course, lest we begin to think it’s on us to say special magic words or perform the perfect dog and pony show to convince God to release some proverbial dangling carrot. Shameless audacity is not the same as striving, earning, or laboring for God’s grace. It’s a posture of the heart, not a proving of oneself. This story of prayer falls just after Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread, God’s will to be done, and God’s Kingdom come. And though Jesus is certainly encouraging our fearlessness, teaching us to ask God for these things with boldness and bravado, it’s ultimately God’s grace, God’s provision, and God’s Kingdom at work.

When the night is so gloomy you can’t see the way forward, even then, dare to have the nerve to walk over to God’s house and make some demands. When your eyes are red and bleary and your knuckles are bloody from the tireless knocking and you’re convinced God’s either not home or possibly ignoring you, even then, keep pounding on God’s door.

As you read today’s scripture, invite the Spirit of God to give you the mettle to continue praying, even when it’s hard, and to endure through this dark night. Light is coming.