Scripture to Read: Luke 11:5–8
As Jesus taught the disciples to pray, God had Luke record this in Luke 11:5–8, “Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 ‘I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.’” Jesus was teaching His disciples, and also us, to be persistent in prayer. God desires us to come to Him with passionate persistence in prayer. We should never think that we are going to persuade God by being persistent, for our persistence is not going to change God’s perfect will. Here is what our persistence changes: it changes us. God wants us to have a heart and passion for what He wants. We get there by praying more of God’s Word and realizing what He’s passionate about. We pray John 16:8–11, thanking God the Father that through His Holy Spirit, He’s convicting lost souls of their need for Him. As we pray Ephesians 6:19–20 and Colossians 4:3–6, we see how God wants to use us to make disciples.
Challenge & Application
In the past, how persistent have your prayers been, and if they have not been persistent, then why not?
How do you see incorporating more Scriptures into your prayer life?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!