Then he 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.” Luke 11:5-8

Look again at today’s passage. Why did the man finally get up and give his friend three loaves of bread? He gave the persistent friend bread because of the friend’s boldness. Throughout the prayers of Scripture, it comes up over and over again–boldness before God. Here are some examples.

This is not instruction for presumptuous prayer. After all, God knows the beginning from the end. We only know what just happened. But Jesus tells us to pray bold, persistent, and confident prayers. Ask and He promises to answer you. Seek and He promises you will find exactly what you need. Knock and He promises the right doors will open. Pray boldly!

Father, teach us to pray. We never want to be presumptuous. You teach us to be persistent. Teach us to pray reverently, humbly, and boldly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.