When Need Knocks

Introduction

Have you ever had someone show up at the worst possible time?

Not because you didn’t want them to some over, or you don’t care about them, but the timing just wasn’t right.

Maybe the house is a mess, the kids just fell asleep, or you have just sat down for the first time after a long day.

Then it comes, the knock at the door, the phone call, the text, the unexpected need arrives.

The funny thing about life is that it often knocks at the most inconvenient times.

Sometimes the knocking is a:

Hospital call

Struggling marriage

Child who is drifing away

Financial pressure

Anxiety

That is where Jesus takes us in Luke 11 his morning.

Context

Before arriving at this passage we see the disciples asking Jesus how to pray.

That have heard him teach, seen him heal, cast out demons, confront religious leaders, but it is His prayer life that captures their attention.

Luke 11:1 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.””

This shows us something important, they didn’t just want information about prayer, they wanted to learn how to show the kind of dependence that they saw in Christ.

They knew that his public power flowed from private communion with the Father

So Jesus gives them the patter for prayer, it is called the Lord’s Prayer found in Luke 11:2–4 “He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ””

He teaches them to:

Come to God as Father, giving reverence

Desire to honor God’s name

Seek His Kingdom

Ask for forgiveness

Seek deliverance

This parable immediately follows this teaching.

The prayer teaches us what to pray, the parable shows us how.

Our passage today is not an isolated story about a neighbor needing bread. it is a part of Jesus’ response to the questions, “Lord teach us how to pray.”

BIG IDEA- Bring your need to the Father and trust Him to anwer.

Scripture

Luke 11:5–10 NIV

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 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. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

This morning we will examine three truth from this passage. The first is that we must...

1. Recognize our NEED

The turning point of this story comes in one honest sentence

Luke 11:6 “a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’”

This is where Jesus begins this story, not with abundance but with a need.

A friend has arrived at this man’s house at midnight from a journey. The man wants to show hospitality, but h has nothing to use.

This is not just a household problem, it is a pictue of human dependence.

Meaning

Jesus is teaching us that prayer begins with one thing, need.

Do not get confused, this is not purely material need, this is spiritual need as well. It is all need.

The man in this story doesn’t go next door because it’s convenient, he goes because HE is empty, he has reached the end of what he can provide.

In our lives, this is typically where real true prayer begins. At the bottom.

We do pray when life is manageable, but we learn to depend on God when we are brought face to face with what we lack.

He uses those moments to strip away the illusion of self sufficiency.

That is mercy

The reality is that sometimes God allows us to see what we don’t have so we will remember where it all comes from.

We need:

Daily Bread- Luke 11:3 “Give us each day our daily bread.”

Forgiveness and Deliverance from temptation- Luke 11:4 “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ””

Wisdom- James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Grace in weakness- 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Mercy in our time of need- Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Sometimes though the need is not only ours

Like we see here, the man has a friend who is in need, hungry hurting, confused or burdened, he realizes he does not have enough “bread”

As parents we cant change our children’s hearts

Husbands or wives cant manufacture a peaceful home on their own

As a church we can make plans, but it is only the Spirit that gives them life.

That realization should never discourage us, it should make us pray.

Application

We have to ask ourselves honestly: are we pretending to have bread, when we know our cupboard is empty.

Are we trying to carry a burden without asking God for strength

lead our families without asking God for wisdom

fight temptation without asking God for deliverance

help someone while running on empty yourself

keeping up appearances because admitting your needs feels like weakness

With God, we should never hide our needs. We should willingly bring them to Him.

Today, you may need to pray this simple and humble prayer, “Lord, I do not have that this moment requires.” Pray that with an open hand.

This is not a sign of defeat, but dependence. This is also not a concession prayer, this is a prayer of request, “Lord I dont have what this moments requires, please provide.”

Transition

Recognizing the need is only the beginning.

The man does not sit in his empty house, He knows where to go.

His lack, sends hi to the door.

Our lack should send make us...

2. Run to the Father

Luke 11:5 NIV

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

The man goes to his friend at midnight and asks for three loaves of bread

The hour is inconvenient, the request is bold, the situation is uncomfortable.

The man goes because he believes there is bread in that house,

This is what Jesus wants us to see, need should never send us inward to worry, but upward into prayer

Meaning

As with all scripture, we must ensure we are reading it carefully

Jesus is not saying God is like a bothered neighbor who doesn’t want to get up.

He’s not teaching that God must be nagged into action or compassion.

The point here is contrast

If even a sleep neighbor will respond boldly, how much more will God hear and help us?

That’s why context is so important

Just before this, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, beginning with, “Father.”

This hits me differently now as a dad, Eli cant even talk yet but he can communicate his needs and I want to meet them.

Before Jesus tells them to ask, seek or knock, He reminds them who they are speaking to

Not a stranger, not interrupting an uninterested God, not trying to persuade the Lord to care about what He has ignored.

Prayer is coming to the Father who already knows what we need

Matthew 6:8 “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

The man in the story goes to a friend, we come to our Father.

That is the heart of prayer

We do to come because of impulse, We come because He is gracious and has opened the way to us.

Hebrews 10:19–22 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Our foundation is not on the strength of our asking, but the strength of the One who hears.

Application

This matters because many of us, at times, brng our needs everywhere else before we take them to the Father.

We bring them to:

Worry

Control

Anger

Distraction

Other people

Ourselves

Now there is nothing wrong with wise council

Proverbs 11:14 “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.”

There is nothing wrong with asking others to help bear our burdens

Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

But no earthly person can replace the Fater

Where do you go first?

Do we pray or panic?

Do we seek the Lord or others opinions?

Do we ask God for grace or just rehearse our frustration?

The Father is bigger than our need.

Jesus tells us to come with confidence, not arrogance or entitlement.

We are not to demand God to follow our script, but with the confidence as a child who knows the Father is good.

The man knew where bread could be found, so do we.

Transition

But Jesus doesn’t stop with asking, He moves even deeper. Prayer is not only where we turn in crisis, Prayer is where we remain in faith. SO finally we must...

3. Remain in Prayer

Luke 11:9 ““So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

These words describe dependence

We are to pray with persistence

Luke 11:8 “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.”

The phrase shameless audacity carries the idea of bold, unembarrassed persistence.

The man is not being rude, he is not trying to manipulate, he keeps knocking because the need matters.

Jesus commends this type of prayer

Matthew 6:7 “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

James 4:3 “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Faithful persistence is key

This is us learning to trust God’s wisdom

Sometimes he answers quickly

Sometimes we wait

Circumstances change

We change

He gives what we ask

He gives what we didn’t know we needed

But we keep going to Him because He is trustworthy

Luke later writes of another parable showing Jesus teaching His disciples to pray and never give up

Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Paul tells us to devote ourselves to prayer

Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

And to pray continually

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray continually,”

Our lives are not lives of occasional dependence, but daily dependence.

Jesus gives a promise in Luke 11:10 “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This does not mean everything the flesh desires. The verses that follow show us that the Father gives good gifts to His children.

Luke 11:11–13 ““Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!””

God’s answers are always shaped to His plan, wisdom and will

1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

So, this morning, pray persistently, not because we know how He will answer, but because we know He will.

Application

What have you stopped praying about?

Maybe you have prayed and prayed and prayed and it seems like nothing has changed

Maybe you have asked God to work in someone’s heart, but their heart seems to grow harder

Maybe you have prayed for help in struggle, but the battle continues on

Maybe you have been asking for direction, but the path still feels unclear

Jesus says keep coming

Keep praying for:

The prodigal

Lost

Marriage

Children

Wisdom

Holiness

Endurance

Church

God to do what only He can

Waiting is never easy

Sometimes we are praying through tears

Sometimes we only have a few words

Mark 9:24 “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!””

Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Weak prayers reach a strong Father.

Do not stop at the door just because the answer hasn’t come in your time

You are not being ignored, you are not an inconvenience

The answer may not be what you want or expect, but His answers are never wrong or unwise.

What He gives you will always be “good.” It may take a season of waiting, but He never wastes your waiting.

Daniel study

Transition

We are to do three thing;:

Recognize the need

Run to the Father

Remain in Prayer

We can only do this because Jesus opened the way

Christ Connection

This story is so much more than just a man looking for bread at night

We are the needy ones

Our greatest problem is not that we lack bread, but that we lack the righteousness before God.

We are sinner, we cannot save ourselves

We cannot cleanse our own hearts

We cannot open to door to the Father through our own effort.

He is the bread of life. John 6:35 “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

The Son who brings us to the Father. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Our Mediator. Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”

Though His death and resurrection, the way to God has been opened. Hebrews 10:19–22 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

The man in this story stood outside a locked door

Because of Christ, those who believe, never have to stand outside in the cold wondering if God will care.

We come through the finished work of Christ.

The cross is the final proof

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Conclusion

When need knocks, we have a choice

Pretend we have enough, panic because we don’t, or go to the Father

The man in this parable teaches us how to respond to need

Confession: Bring

Confidence: Approach

Continuance: Keep

The big idea is simple: Bring your need to the Father and trust Him to answer.

What do you need to bring Him today?

Family Burden?

Sin to confess?

Decisions needing wisdom and guidance

Bring it all to the Father

If you have accepted Him, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking

If you havent, your deepest need isnt an easier life, it’s to know Him. The way has been made, that door is open. Come to the Father through the Son.

When need knocks, the Father’s door is the place to go.