Thanks to BibleStudy1
Importunity
In Luke's account of Jesus' teaching His disciples to pray, He teaches an interesting lesson about His Father's thoughts and feelings about our prayers:
Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say unto him, "Friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine is come out of the way to me, and I have nothing to set before him!", and he within should answer, and say, "Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed: I cannot rise and give them to thee!" I say unto you, though he would not arise and give him, because he is his friend, yet doubtless because of his importunity, he would rise and give him as many as he needed.
The passage does not deny the friendship - nor even diminish it - but it does say that it is not because of the friendship that the request is granted.
Many translations use the word 'importunity'. Defined as "Persistence, especially to the point of annoyance", the concept is supported by Jesus' teaching about the persistent widow. But perhaps the message "annoy God by praying too much" would be a poor take-home on a couple of levels!
Notes in the Geneva version of the Bible suggest that the translation could also be, "word for word, impudency" suggesting undertones of unashamedness - impertinence, even: "Late Middle English (in the sense ‘immodest, indelicate’) from Latin ... in- ‘not’ + pudent- ‘ashamed, modest’". The 'New International Version' of the Bible helpfully translates this as "shameless audacity".
There is a sense, here, that our approaching God in prayer should not be done with any consideration of our own worth: there is 'no good' in and of ourselves - just shame. But this passage seems to be encouraging us to put aside all our shame as we approach God in prayer.
I, personally, find this harder the closer I am to God: the more I share my thoughts and feelings, hopes and fears, dreams and nightmares with God, the closer I am to Him - but the closer I am to Him, the more I am aware of my sin and wickedness and shame. This should force a separation between Him and me - how can such evil and shame be intimate with such goodness and love? It's impossible!
For man, it's impossible - not for God. In a love that defies human comprehension, Jesus - the Son of God - chose to 'become' my sin, with all its wickedness and shame, and to die, killing my sin without killing me.
This is what God wants me to focus on when I pray to Him: His love, not my shame. This is indeed audacious!
What else does this say about what Jesus, the Son of God, wants us to know about how God His Father responds to prayer?
Many translations use the word 'importunity'. Defined as "Persistence, especially to the point of annoyance", the concept is supported by Jesus' teaching about the persistent widow. But perhaps the message "annoy God by praying too much" would be a poor take-home on a couple of levels!
Notes in the Geneva version of the Bible suggest that the translation could also be, "word for word, impudency" suggesting undertones of unashamedness - impertinence, even: "Late Middle English (in the sense ‘immodest, indelicate’) from Latin ... in- ‘not’ + pudent- ‘ashamed, modest’". The 'New International Version' of the Bible helpfully translates this as "shameless audacity".
There is a sense, here, that our approaching God in prayer should not be done with any consideration of our own worth: there is 'no good' in and of ourselves - just shame. But this passage seems to be encouraging us to put aside all our shame as we approach God in prayer.
I, personally, find this harder the closer I am to God: the more I share my thoughts and feelings, hopes and fears, dreams and nightmares with God, the closer I am to Him - but the closer I am to Him, the more I am aware of my sin and wickedness and shame. This should force a separation between Him and me - how can such evil and shame be intimate with such goodness and love? It's impossible!
For man, it's impossible - not for God. In a love that defies human comprehension, Jesus - the Son of God - chose to 'become' my sin, with all its wickedness and shame, and to die, killing my sin without killing me.
This is what God wants me to focus on when I pray to Him: His love, not my shame. This is indeed audacious!
What else does this say about what Jesus, the Son of God, wants us to know about how God His Father responds to prayer?
- The man asking for bread has no bread(!) - he does not even offer to buy the bread: when we go to God in prayer, let's not think - at any level - that we have anything in and of ourselves to make us worthy in His eyes to receive anything good (but ... see below).
- He wants to serve another: Jesus is always encouraging the blessing of others with good things - this is the essence of love, and God is love.
- He goes to a friend, not a stranger: to know God is to love God - there is nothing in God that is anything but infinitely lovable. If God is a stranger to you, why would you trust the Father enough to ask anything of Him? If you know God, why would you go to anyone or anything other than God?!
- He asks to take from the friend who has an abundance to give the same to another friend who has none: as above, God is love. That love is often described as a flowing river of blessing. Rivers only flow downstream* - God is the source of His love, which is always overwhelming: it pours down to us (the subjects of His love); if it gets stuck there, it does some of the good it is capable of but, if it keeps on flowing, its effective capacity multiplies - we are never without AND we can enjoy the blessing of passing it on to others too.
In summary, we have nothing good in and of ourselves, but we have a Friend who has a limitless supply of goodness, who is keen to give so much to us that we have plenty to share with others, and who wants us to come to Him for it with our hearts fixed on Him, not on our shameful selves.
Father, please fill us with your Holy Spirit and give us (and help us to see those) opportunities to share you with people we meet today.
*If being pedantic, tidal rivers may see upstream flow, but let me push back: pure water only flows downstream!
