Good morning, all! Father, only You know where each of us is it at and what we need. So, we pray, Lord, open our eyes and our heart that we would only see You and hear You. So that You alone would lead us and guide us through this life, to take us on the journey the You have predestined for each one of us and along the way we pray that our relationship grows stronger and more trusted, Amen.
Luke 11
5 And he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Will you go find your friend in your hour of darkness and ask him, Friend will you lend me three loaves of bread;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
For I have a friend of mine in his journey and I have NOTHING to give him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
And the friend from WITHIN answered and said, trouble me NOT: the door is closed, and my children are asleep with me; I can’t get up and give you anything right now.
8 I say unto you, Though, he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
I tell you, though he did NOT rise right away and give him his request, but because he is his friend & didn’t STOP and was persistent with his request I will rise and give him as MANY as he needs.
Bottom Line
After Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, you know the prayer, The Our Father, he spoke this parable to them. We have all said many prayers in our life for many different reasons, but this prayer has divine purpose and direction. If you’re like me there are some prayers I kind of quit praying, it’s like I’ve asked God a thousand times and so I know He’s aware so at some point maybe I should quit being a pest or maybe I’m just tired of saying it…you feel me? But be encouraged that if you feel that way it doesn’t mean it’s true, in fact, there have been many times my feelings have lied to me, you? So, let’s look at this request…prayer…notice the friend was WITHIN him…say thank you Jesus, He’s the friend inside of you…the One listening to your prayers ALWAYS, your thoughts. When did he make the request of Jesus? In his MIDNIGHT hour, in his hour of darkness. Perhaps he questioned whether he even had a friend? Whether he was even there? Did He hear me? Seems as though he was asleep and wouldn’t rise up. Have you ever had a time in your life when all you seem to have is more questions of God and no answers? You believe in God, but He might as well be sleeping when it comes to your life and your prayer request…ghosted- Ha! Here’s when the MATURE believer is born, the one that has greater vision, he sees beyond his darkest hour and starts to see the needs of others. What did he see? A friend on a journey.
[Luk 9:3 KJV] And he said unto them, take nothing for [your] journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. The whole world is on a journey, where to? To find themselves, the true you, the one created in the image and likeness of God. You are just like God you know? He didn’t FAIL with you. And notice what we take on this journey? NOTHING!!! Instead, we are to search for God, to find faith and to understand why God created us in the first place…to ask Him for three loaves of bread NOT for ourselves but for others. Why three loaves of bread? It’s a picture of the completed work of Christ, the bread of heaven. Do you remember when Jesus told Peter three times feed my sheep? We are all sheep on a journey, and you know what happens to sheep?
[Isa 53:6 KJV] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. That’s right, we ALL go astray…ALL is ALL. We lose our way, our identity, our purpose so what’s the answer? PRAYER!!! Remember the bread is for a friend NOT you, we pray for the needs of others, we pray they find their way back to the Father.
[1Jo 5:16 NIV] If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give them life. The bread is always a picture of life, you can’t live without it. We should never give up on prayer NO matter what we see or don’t see, we should be relentless with our heartfelt cry to God and pray NO matter the need. It might be for healing, for peace, for sight, for revelation, for salvation, for whatever is needed for a heart to be healed. Remember Jesus said the poor you will always have…they will be spiritually bankrupt until you pray that they receive three loaves of bread…GRACE! The need for ALL the sheep is nothing but the grace of God and the truth is we can’t live without it, take nothing for the journey…the only thing you need is PRAYER!!!
Point to Ponder
What about the journey? [Pro 7:19 KJV] For the goodman [is] not at home, he has gone a long journey. Why isn’t He at home? Well, the journey is a goal NOT a destination …until Christ be formed in ALL of us.
Let’s all pray for those on the journey, In Him Phil
Faith – Family – Friends