And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence… (Lk 11:5-13)
Luke presents God as a father and as a friend when he speaks of prayer. God as a father we have heard many times but as a friend we have not heard much. In this story God as ‘friend’ replies to his friend who is standing outside the door saying that he is at the moment as ‘father’ could not help him. If he gets up to help a friend then he will be a nuisance to his children (and not a father to them). But the friend outside the door has a real problem. The friend outside the door believes that the friend in bed will understand the situation.
What the author is trying to communicate in this story is persistence. Even a sleepy friend will give in for persistence. Constant knocking, persistent asking and continuous searching will bear fruit. Our prayer should be so. Formal prayers, regularity in prayer, regular liturgies are all needed for spiritual life. Persistence and determination in prayer will have the desired results. Even a sleepy friend will respond persistence.
