In the gospel of Luke chapter 11 Jesus responds to His disciples request to teach them to pray by telling a short parable about a man who goes to his friend to ask for food for a visitor who has just come into town. This all takes place in the middle of night to illustrate that the request comes at a considerable imposition on the friend. Jesus tells us that the friend’s initial response was basically, “Hey, it’s late, the kids are in bed please don’t bother me.”

Then, Jesus says that because the man was “shamelessly audacious” the friend will in fact give him what he needs to feed his unexpected visitor. I believe that there are two things that are directly implied by this parable and its context.

1. God wants us to be shamelessly audacious in our approach to Him for our needs to be met. Jesus wants us to be a people who believe God and who ask, seek and knock with a bold audacity that colors all our expectations in prayer.
2. God is not like the friend in the parable, but circumstances can cause us to think that He is. Jesus concludes this section of scripture by directly stating that our Father is a perfect Father who always gives the most precious thing to His children, that is Himself.

Suppose you had a friend who worked constantly to reveal to you that in spite of all the lies and propaganda that are put on Him, He is the best friend you could ever have. This friend always has your back, always wants your best and always works to make you the best you can be. Suppose you had a friend like that who invites you to come to Him with “shameless audacity” to receive whatever you may truly need. Suppose you had a friend like that…wait, you do!