Ask, Seek, Knock
The parable in Luke 11 takes place at midnight, the time used throughout the Bible to represent the time of Christ’s return. Through the parable, Jesus teaches what the Church’s prayer life should be like when we see the return of Christ coming soon: persistently knocking at the door of Heaven, asking for more of God’s presence.
Key Scripture:
Luke 11:1-13; Matthew 25:1-13; Genesis 32:22-32; Acts 2:38-39
Key Points:
1. When the midnight hour comes, the Church should be pounding on the door of Heaven in prayer. We need more bread—that is Jesus, the Bread of Life—in the midnight hour because if we are not full of Christ, no one will want what we have, and no one will get saved through our example.
Reflection Questions:
Does your life reflect the life of Jesus?
Do people want what you have when they look at your life?
2. God delights in meeting your personal needs. God wants to give you exactly what you need, but that’s only the start.
3. When the midnight hour comes, you need more than just your needs met; you need extra bread for your friends to experience God, too. The Lord’s Prayer is a grade school prayer. Once you are saved and experience Christ, you need to pray for more than just yourself; you need to pray for friends and family members to come to Christ.
4. You must have a prayer life. The way you see friends saved is by praying for them. When you pound on the door of Heaven in intercessory prayer, God answers! Intercessory prayer is the secret weapon of the Church; it takes God where you could never go by yourself.
Reflection Questions:
Do you pray for your unsaved family and friends, or do you just pray for yourself?
Who can you pray for today to come to know Christ?
5. It is time to make big requests from God. The man asked for three loaves of bread because he was thinking about his friends. One loaf will feed you but during the midnight hour, you need enough to feed your friends.
6. Pray persistently. Prayer should be our first response when a crisis comes, not our last resort. The man in Luke 11 was given bread not because he was friends with his neighbor but because he was persistent in asking. We have friends on a journey that need Jesus and when we pray persistently for them, God answers.
Reflection Questions:
Do you give up when you don’t see your prayers answered?
How long will you pray before giving up?
7. You must realize you have a need. Many people do not even know they have a need for prayer. If you are barely hanging on to God yourself, you don’t have enough of Jesus to share with others. When you see your need for prayer, you will begin to pray for the lost.
8. Hold on until you see God answer your prayer. There was a pit before a palace for Joseph. There was a crippling before the crowning for Jacob. If you hold on long enough in prayer, even though you go through a season of pits and crippling, God will do what He promised.
Reflection Questions:
Is your prayer life as persistent as the neighbor who wanted bread in Luke 11? If not, how can you strengthen your prayer life this week?
Final Thoughts:
It is the midnight hour and there is a harvest of people in the world waiting to experience Christ. If we do not know God intimately, we will not have anything to give our unsaved friends and family. The way to reach the lost is to pray and interceded for them. Like the man in Luke 11, when we pray persistently, God answers our prayers. When God answers our prayers, we will see revival.
Share
