Pray Shamelessly

by Pat Lee

(Based on Luke 11:1-13; Gen 18:20-32; Ps 138)

The Lord’s Prayer has been spoken about many times by many different people in the past, and I don’t think I could add anything more to what has been said. Clearly, this passage in Luke is about prayer, but not just prayer. It is actually about life in general.
The first word that came to mind when I read the readings for today was ‘persistence’, and the second one was ‘perseverance’, so I was pleased to find that Elisabeth Johnson in her commentary (refer here) supported me in this thought. The word used in the Greek (in verse 8) is anaideia, which translates as persistence. But a better translation may have been shamelessness. I will come back to this.

Those of us who are parents and grandparents know how persistent children can be when they want something. “Mum, can I have some chocolate? Dad, when are you going to fix my bike? When can we go to the beach?” and, of course, when we’re going somewhere that takes a while, “Are we there yet?” They will ask a million times until they get what they want or are told very strongly not to ask again.

Last week we heard about Mary and Martha, and how Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the “better” thing when she sat at his feet and listened, rather than busying herself with all the preparing as Martha was doing. But today we hear that God also listens to us when we have issues that are bothering us for one reason or another. God wants to, and does, listen, even when we think he’s not. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares for you.”

But does God need us to keep praying persistently because we think that he is deaf, or is not listening? Or do we think once is enough and that God does not need to be bothered any further? No! God is not deaf and is always listening. Someone wrote, “Persistence in prayer is the test to determine whether or not we are really serious about our request.” And it is not just in prayer that we need to be persistent. That writer went on to say, “All worthwhile goals in life are reached by disciplined efforts. Why should we expect less in our prayer efforts?”

Just preceding this morning’s Genesis reading (in verse 17), God had considered not telling Abraham what he was about to do in Sodom, but then decides that he will tell him after all, having chosen Abraham to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that God may bring about what he had promised.

Then (verses 20 onwards) we hear a great example of persistence, perseverance or shamelessness.
Abraham had remained standing in the place he was in when God had spoken about the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah, while the others had moved towards Sodom. Now he begins asking the Lord if he was indeed going to sweep away the righteous as well as the wicked. What if fifty righteous people were found in Sodom?
Abraham kept asking boldly, some may even say, audaciously, until he got down to asking if just ten, or even five righteous people could be found. Abraham was persistent, even shameless, in his asking. We don’t know why he kept asking but perhaps it was because he knew his nephew Lot and his family lived there. If we read on in the following chapters we find that Lot was indeed saved from the destruction of Sodom, but not his wife (she was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, when they had been told not to do that).

Another example of perseverance is in Luke 18 when a widow comes and persistently asks a judge for justice against an opponent. He finally gives in to her request.

So, to illustrate that God can be trusted to respond to our prayers, Jesus tells this parable of the persistent man who goes to a friend at midnight. Hospitality was of paramount importance in the biblical world, and when the guest arrived – even unexpectedly at midnight – there was no question that hospitality must be extended. But the man does not have the provisions to do so, so he goes to his friend to borrow some, even though he must wake up the entire household.

 I wonder how we would have reacted? I suspect some of us would have been pretty upset, even angry, especially with the persistent knocking on the door. Or, some of us may feel empathy for the woken friend. Elisabeth Johnson goes on to say that in the culture of the biblical world, it is the woken-up friend who is behaving badly. The ability of his friend to provide hospitality, and thus his honour, is at stake. The woken-up friend would incur dishonour if he failed to help in this essential obligation. So, he will respond because of social pressure at the very least.

Jesus then continues, “So I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”(11:9-10)

Elisabeth Johnson feels that this is the most difficult part of the passage to teach, because our experience contradicts Jesus’s words. So often we have asked and not received; searched and not found. In spite of our most fervent prayers for their health and safety, we have lost loved ones. In spite of the fervent prayers of people around the world, daily we hear of tragedies of violence, hunger, disease, and natural disasters. If God is a loving parent who desires what is good and life giving (11-13), why do so many prayers seem to go unanswered? There is no simple answer to this question. One writer says, I don’t know why some prayers seem to be answered and others are not. I don’t have any good answers or explanations but I have heard some really bad ones: “You didn’t pray hard enough.” “You didn’t have enough faith.” “You were asking for the wrong thing.”

Psalm 138 is a prayer exhorting us to be persistent in prayer, praise of our God, and thankfulness for his unfailing love and faithfulness. David, the writer, also says that as soon as he prays, God answers him, encourages him by giving him strength. Maybe you feel that God doesn’t answer you straight away, but be assured, he does answer at the right time, God’s time, but it may not be what you had hoped for or expected.

So, we dare to be persistent in our prayers, to keep bringing our needs and hopes to our heavenly Father, because Jesus tells us to do so, as he himself did, trusting in God’s loving purpose for us, and remembering to give thanks. Again, the Psalm tells us to give thanks with our whole hearts. 1 Thessalonians 5:17,18 says, “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

We should always thank God when we have asked, even before we receive the answer, because this shows we have faith in him.