Audacity of “The Neighbor”

Today, I want you to leave here with a Big Holy Audacious Goal for our Church

Luke 11:5-13

Manner of Prayer (Verses 5-8)

Take Verses 5-8 as a whole

Explain the circumstance described

The word Persistence here stands for “shamelessness,” and this is the only time it is used in the New Testament

It was used by our Lord in connection with prayer;

it is exceedingly expressive.

Luke 11:8 NIV

8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Audacity Definition – A willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.

James Smith and Robert Lee wrote, “It means that in offering our requests to God for things needful we should take no denial; turn not aside through any seeming providential rebuff, being utterly shameless in our persistent, confident waiting”

My interpretation of what Smith and Lee wrote, "It means that when we ask God for what we need, we shouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Don't be discouraged by setbacks or feel like the door is being slammed in your face. Instead, be completely bold—even 'shameless'—as you keep waiting with total confidence."

Exodus 17:11 LSB

11 So it happened when Moses raised his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

The Persistent Toddler: Consider a young child who wants a glass of water at 2:00 AM. They do not worry about the time, the social etiquette of waking their parents, or whether they are being "polite." They simply stand by the bed and repeat the request until the need is met. Their "shamelessness" comes from a total focus on the need rather than the decorum.

Simplicity of Prayer (Verses 9-12)

“Ask, and it shall be given you,” etc. (vv. 9–12).

The child in its own way begins to ask as soon as it is born, and the mother has no difficulty in interpreting its cry.

As long as we maintain the child-like spirit prayer will be a simple, delightful, and soul-strengthening exercise.

The more we get conformed to the image of Christ the nearer do we come to the very presence of God.

And the nearer we approach to Him in our real soul likeness to Him the more simple and childlike will our prayers be.

“Ask, and ye shall receive.”

Mark 11:24 LSB

24 “For this reason I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.

1 John 3:22 LSB

22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

Verses 11-12

Luke 10:19 LSB

19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.

Luke Comments

These were both well-known symbols for evil.

The "Request for Bread":Just as a child at the dinner table doesn't craft a formal petition to ask for a roll, the believer approaches God for "daily bread." The simplicity lies in the relationship; because the child knows the Father owns the bakery, the ask is direct and joyful rather than strained

Efficacy of Prayer (Verse 13)

“If ye, … how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (v. 13).

The Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, and in giving the Spirit He is putting within the reach of each child of His EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING (Eph. 3:14–19).

Ephesians 3:14–19 LSB

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being firmly rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Many of us have yet to learn what our gracious Father is willing to do for us, and through us, by His gift of the Holy Ghost.

As workers together with Him we beseech you that ye receive not this grace of God in vain.

“If ye ask anything in My Name I will do it” (John 14:12–14).

John 14:12–14 LSB

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. 13 “Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Luke Comments

The good gift par excellence that God can give his children was for Luke clearly the Holy Spirit, who brings with him a partial realization of God’s kingdom-Robert Stein

The Sun and the Magnifying Glass:The Holy Spirit is like the sun's energy, and prayer is the magnifying glass. The efficacy of the glass isn't that it creates heat, but that it focuses the vast power already available in the atmosphere onto a single point of need.

Conclusion: The Character of the Father

In these nine verses, Jesus demystifies the act of prayer. He moves us away from the idea of prayer as a religious ritual and toward prayer as a relational reality.

We have seen that the Manner of our prayer should be marked by a holy "shamelessness" that refuses to give up.

We have seen that the Simplicity of our prayer should mirror the instinctive trust of a child.

We have seen the Efficacy of our prayer—not because our words are powerful, but because our Father is "much more" willing to give than we are to ask.

He does not merely give us "things"; He gives us Himself through the Holy Spirit, the source of every spiritual blessing.

Concluding Application:

From "Amen" to Action

It is one thing to admire the persistence of the neighbor at midnight; it is quite another to stay on our knees when our own "bread" hasn't yet arrived.

If we believe that God is a Father and not a tyrant, our prayer life must change in three specific ways:

Stop Apologizing for Your Needs:

If the word for prayer is "shameless audacity," then you can stop worrying whether or not you are "bothering" God.

Your persistence is not an annoyance to Him; it is a sign of your faith in His supply.

Strip Away the Complexity:

If you have been silent because you don't "know how to pray," remember the infant.

A cry is enough.

Speak to God with the raw honesty of a child, knowing He is already leaning in to listen.

Audit Your Requests:

Are we asking only for "loaves and fish" (physical needs), or are we asking for the "Holy Spirit"?

True efficacy in prayer begins when we ask for the Spirit to empower our lives, transform our character, and fuel our work.

The Call to Action

I challenge you this week to pick one "closed door" in your life.

Perhaps it is a wayward child or grandchild

a stalled work for the Lord

a personal struggle with sin.

Our Church to reach the Generations for Jesus!

For the next seven days, practice "shameless audacity"

Don't take "no" for an answer from your circumstances.

Approach the throne daily with the simple, bold confidence that your Father has the keys to the storehouse.

Expect the Holy Spirit to move

If not by changing the situation immediately, then by changing you through the process of waiting.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

The door is not locked; it is simply waiting for your hand to reach for the handle.

Adapted from James Smith and Robert Lee, Handfuls on Purpose for Christian Workers and Bible Students, Series I–XIII, five-volume edition, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), 221–222.