Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ.		
I imagine that apart from the activity of this worship service, you, like me, have recently been in prayer.  Perhaps it was _________ as you sat around the dinner table with your family, after the reading of a Scripture passage, or a section from a children’s story Bible.  Perhaps it was last night before you went to sleep, or this morning when you awoke.  Indeed, its possible, and more to be hoped, that you have been at prayer at each of these times and maybe others.  

However, it is also possible that right now your conscience is pricking you somewhat as I list these opportunities for prayer that you have missed.  Maybe you’re scratching your head trying to recall the last time that you were actually in prayer.  It is a fact that often our prayer life is directly proportional to the sense of need we currently experience.  For the most part we can manage quite well without God, but there are times when He sure comes in handy.  

Well, for those of us who can remember when we were last in prayer, I would like to ask the following question:  What did you expect from God by way of an answer?  Or, perhaps I can rephrase the question slightly:  How do you conceive of the way that God responds to your prayers?  
•	Is He like a King from a bygone age who answers or rejects his subject’s requests merely at his whim and good pleasure?  
•	Or is he perhaps a wimpy God who can be badgered into submission through rote repetition?  Just pray this or that prayer 40 times with purpose and faith, and the desired result is guaranteed!  
•	It could be that you really wonder what the whole point in praying is at all!  God will do what God will do, wont He?  
•	To others it may seem that God seems distant and unlistening.  You have sincerely petitioned Him for some time about some deep felt need and you feel that God maybe deaf to your cries.  You have asked and asked, and nothing has come it would seem.  No answer has been given.  

Despite the many misconceptions that develop in our sinful minds, the Word of God is very plain on the attitude of God towards the prayers of His children.  Not only is it plain, but we shall also see that is rich, encouraging, and soul refreshing; that it is impossible for us to fully comprehend how much He loves to provide for the needs of His children.  

As we give our attention today to the story of the friend at midnight we are going to learn a lot about prayer.  As this man runs around the neighborhood looking for bread for his guest, we will spend most of our time focusing on what this parable teaches us about the attitude of God towards the needs of His children, for there we will examine the nature of the response.  But firstly, we must consider the nature of the request.  
What is it about the nature of the request that elicits the response?

1.	The request itself is quite straightforward and simple.  “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.”  
a.	I’m sure that most of us can remember times when we have run short of a certain ingredient for our baking, or when in the middle of a car repair we have discovered that we do not have a certain tool.  This may mean a quick run down to the store, or better yet, for those of us on good terms with our neighbors, a quick dash next door to request the item that we are missing.  And more often than not, our neighbors can be relied upon to come up with the goods.  

2.	But what makes this request so unusual is that it comes at midnight.  I am sure that we would all be willing to offer our neighbor a loaf of bread, or some extra sugar, or a certain size of wrench, but at midnight?  That may be another story altogether!  The significance of the fact that this request comes at midnight is important for two reasons.  
a.	Firstly, because of what it tells us about the circumstances in which the question is asked, and secondly, because of what it reveals about the man asking the question.  
i.	So in the first place then, what are the circumstances that would likely lead to such a request coming at midnight?  
1.	The text tells us that a traveler has arrived.  We can appreciate that in the very hot climate of the Ancient Near-East, it was quite common for journeys to be undertaken in the cool of the night.  It made sense for travelers to rest during the oppressive heat of the day, and to continue their journey as evening arrived.  
2.	With this in mind, we can understand that perhaps it is not unusual for guests to arrive at any time during the night.  What we know for sure is that the host did not have any e-mail warning him of his guest’s arrival.  There was no cell phone call telling the host that he was running a little late.  As a host you may not even know that anyone is planning to visit until there comes a knock at the door and you hear the familiar voice of a relative or a friend announcing their arrival.  
3.	The host gets up and lets his guest into the house, but then disaster strikes.  He checks the pantry cupboard and finds it barren.  There is no bread to take out for the necessary meal of hospitality and welcome that must be given for the weary traveler.  It would be unthinkable in those times for a host to not offer a meal to his guest.  There is no 24 hour drive through window that can help either.  The bread baked that morning was only sufficient for that day, and this man’s cupboard is now bare.  This is a Middle Eastern Host’s worst nightmare!  
4.	However, all is not lost.  Life in those times was far more communal than it is for us now in suburban New Zealand.  There was far less in terms of privacy and separation from one neighbor to the next.  You can imagine the women laughing and calling out to one another as they roll out the bread dough on the flat stones in preparation for cooking it in the open stoves.  As the women folk bake the bread each day, the neighborhood soon knows who has bread leftover and who has more bread than they will need for the day.  
5.	It is a given truth of Middle Eastern hospitality, that the guest of this one man is actually the guest of the whole community.  Thus, this breadless host determines that he must get hold of some bread from his neighbor.  

b.	And so, in the second place, we discover that the significance of the request at midnight tells us something about the man who asks the question.  
i.	He is a man who clearly recognizes his needs.  He is a man who clearly recognizes that he is obligated to acknowledge that he is not able to extend the hospitality required of him, for he says, “I have nothing to set before him.”  
ii.	He is a man who knows that he can and must approach another in this time of need.  That his only hope rests in the generosity of one who has more than himself.  
iii.	He is a man who knows that because of the nature of his request he will get what he asks for, despite the fact that he asks at midnight.  

3.	And so we hear him as leaves his house in the dark of the night and walks to the door of his neighbor.  “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.” 
a.	The nature of his request is his need.  It is not a little extra.  It is not an extravagance.  It is not something which can wait for another day. It is an obligation of need. 
 
b.	The request of this parable is given just a few short verses after Jesus has set out the pattern of prayer in response to the disciple’s request.  Just two short verses after he includes in that prayer: “Give us each our daily bread.”  

c.	Luke records this story here as an illustration of need that would have been immediately grasped by the people of Jesus’ audience.  Jesus is not here talking about theological niceties, or ethical perfections.  He is not establishing the virtue of character or sanctification.  He takes a simple tale about basic fundamental hospitality to ready his audience for the main point of this parable.  

d.	That is the nature of this man’s request.  His need is the basis upon which he makes his request.  

What then of the response?  If the nature of the request is one of need, what do we learn from the nature of the response?  

1.	Well having established the fact that this parable is presented in the context of Middle-Eastern hospitality, we must examine the response in the same light.  
a.	An examination of these four verses in some of the different English translations available to us today, reveals a slight difference in the way that translators understand the grammar of these verses.  
i.	Some present this whole parable as a simple story of logical events that have the original request of verses 5 and 6, followed by an initially unfavorable response in verse 7, and then a second more favorable response in verse 8.  
ii.	In contrast, others present verses 5 to 7 as one big question.  
iii.	Now I make this point not because it renders either translation wrong or misleading, but because the second option, the one that presents verses 5-7 as a question, may better help us to grasp a fine nuance that Jesus includes in the parable, which is important for our understanding of verse 8.  
iv.	The nuance is that the response of verse 7, where the man inside says, “Don’t bother me.  The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything,” is not the actual first response of the man in our story, but a hypothetical response suggested by Jesus to bring a cry of disgust from His audience.  
v.	Jesus asks a hypothetical question of His audience that is highlighted by the way these translations phrase the beginning of the question.  The phrase used in the original language is the same phrase used in Luke 14:5, 15:4 and 17:7.  A phrase that demands a disgusted No!  
vi.	Luke 14:5 asks, “Can any one among you imagine having a son falling in a well and he shall not immediately draw him up on the Sabbath day?”  “No!  Of course we would draw him up!”  
vii.	And so with our verse, we must understand that Jesus is saying, “Can you imagine going to a neighbor, asking for help to entertain a friend and getting this response:  ‘Do not bother me, I and my children are sleeping and cannot get up to help?’”  Jesus’ audience would immediately think: No!  That would be outrageous!  No one of my neighbors would even think like that!  That would be unthinkable! 
viii.	Thus, we see again, that because of the context of community hospitality, the man who knocks on the door and asks for what he needs, does so knowing that he will get a favorable response.  That he is not risking the anger of a neighbor who is unhappy to be woken from his sleep.  That he can ask this question, even at midnight; a time that seems so thoughtless and inconsiderate to our ears, and know that his need will be met.  

2.	What Jesus proceeds to reveal in verse 8 of this parable is that even the strictures of Middle Eastern hospitality can be skin deep.  
a.	Jesus lays bare the thoughts of the man inside the house.  Thoughts I’m sure, that would have made some in His audience squirm with discomfort.  
i.	For even though they had just moments ago cried out with inward disgust at the thought that any one could possibly respond with the response of verse 7, Jesus, in verse 8, has quite likely exposed the hidden thoughts of many who have found themselves in a similar situation.  
ii.	All smiles on the outside.  “No problem friend.”  “Happy to help.”  Don’t mention it, its no bother!”  Sure thing, help yourself!”  While on the inside, there are all sorts of different thoughts being silently expressed.  “Why does this bozo keep bothering me?”  “Why can’t she just leave me alone?”  What do I have to do to get it through your thick skull that I don’t like you pal?”  “Why don’t you just get your own one and stop bothering me all the time?”  
iii.	Does this sound familiar at all Brothers and Sisters?  How many of our “Good works” on the outside have been corrupted by what we were thinking on the inside?  How often do we do what we know we must, but with a begrudging spirit.  
1.	An attitude that wishes we could be someplace else, rather than here helping out with the luncheon for the funeral.  
2.	An attitude that asks why Jimmy wasn’t called on to help Mrs. Smith get her yard tidied up, instead of me.  
3.	An attitude that wishes we could be at home watching the cricket instead of sitting here on this uncomfortable seat listening to that guy up the front go on and on.  
4.	And yet, an attitude that will be disguised with a firm handshake and a “thank you preacher” as you walk out the door.  
iv.	With just the use a few words recorded here in verse 8, Jesus exposes the stark reality of the human condition.  He exposes the hidden workings of the sin corrupted heart.  The two- faced deceit that is so characteristic of the way that we deal with one another and the way we deal with God.  “I tell you,” says Jesus, “Though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

3.	Now once again, we must pause briefly to consider a translation issue before we proceed on to see what else this parable teaches us about prayer.  
a.	The word “persistence” is noted in some Bibles as also possibly meaning “boldness.”  Other translations suggest “impudence,”  “importunity,” or “shamelessness.”  This is one of those words that has a wide range of meaning.  This is one of those words that can only be understood in terms of its context.  In this form, this is the only place that it is found in the New Testament.  

b.	The question that we must ask of the original language is to whom does this word belong.  
i.	Is it describing the attitude of the man standing outside the house asking the question?  Or is it describing the attitude of the man inside the house who answers?  
ii.	Despite the fact that the word is most commonly attributed as belonging to the attitude of the man outside the house, it is not possible for us to be absolutely certain.  
1.	The precise grammar does not decide the question one way or the other.  Grammatically, it could properly describe the attitude of either man.  
2.	However, it appears from the context; from all that we have previously discussed, that here in verse 8, Jesus is not primarily interested in the attitude of the man knocking, but of the inward attitude of the man answering!  
(a)	He has already established the attitude of the man asking.  He does indeed ask with certainty and confidence.  
(b)	But it is not a confidence that he had to artificially work up; a confidence that overcomes his sense of shame.  
(c)	Likewise, there is no suggestion here that he keeps on asking and banging on the door seeking to weary his neighbor by sheer persistence.  
3.	And thus, Jesus’ concern in verse 8 is to expose the inward attitude of the man inside the house in order to contrast his attitude with God’s.  The word may well be employed to describe the shamelessness, or the fear of embarrassment of the man inside.  
4.	Even though he may respond with the expected bread, says Jesus, I submit that he may not do so out of friendship, but out of fear of embarrassment.  Out of fear at what his neighbors will think of him if he fails to deliver the goods.  He is awake, his family is awake, it is likely that the neighbors are now all awake; can you imagine the shame that would come upon him if he failed to respond with the bread that everyone knows he has.  He would be disgraced as inhospitable.  A cardinal sin in the Middle East!  
4.	Can you see the way Jesus deals with the hearts of His audience beloved?  
a.	How he deals with us?  
b.	How He so artfully lifts us up His listeners to haughty condemnation only to precisely expose the selfish thoughts of our hearts with this beautiful parable?  
c.	How with these spoken words He draw us into this story emotionally and intellectually, captivated by the sheer artistry of this story.  

5.	And yet while our emotions and our intellect are important, what is of most importance is our spiritual understanding.  
a.	While we may appreciate the artistry of the story, Jesus is far more interested in the spiritual lesson that He is making about prayer.  

b.	And that lesson is this Brothers and Sisters:  You know that even in this sin torn world in which you live, there are certain expectations that you may have of the members of your community.  That there are certain basic requirements which will be fulfilled.  

c.	And what’s more, given what you know of your own hearts, you know that you may even have your expectations met by someone whose motives are entirely selfish, maybe even hateful and spiteful, maybe even vindictive and over bearing.  
i.	“O.K. fine, borrow my car.  I hope you wrap yourself round a tree!”  
ii.	“Yeah sure, I’ll help with the hall decorations, I cannot believe that you think this will look good, are you color blind or something?”  You will be the laughing stock of the team!  If only you would listen to my suggestions!”  

d.	Jesus says in this parable using the words of this story, “How much more then, will your Father who is in heaven hear his children when they come to Him in prayer.  When you come to Him with needs spoken and unspoken that lay upon your heart?  
i.	You may come as this man came.  
ii.	You may come with a certain and sure confidence that your needs will be met.  That as you ask Him for your daily bread, you may know that He will give it to you.  
iii.	You may know that He desires as a Father to honor the Word that He has given to His children.  That He will provide for your needs according to the promises of Scripture.  
iv.	You may know that there are no questionable motives in the mind of God.  That there is no selfishness, no vindictiveness, and no stinginess in the mind of God.  

v.	There is only love for those He has adopted as His own.  There is only a heart that bursts with loving compassion; a heart that cannot contain the love that He feels for His children; a heart that is like a cup constantly overflowing, and spilling out with drips of blessing and provision.  
1.	This is the love that you may test with your prayers, people of God.  
2.	This is the love that will give you either the much sought after healing of a physical or mental illness, or the calmness of spirit that enables you to face even the valley of the shadow of death.  
3.	This is the love that will fill the empty void that is left with the passing of a loved one.  
4.	This is the love that will lift up the weary soul and set it back on the road of salvation.  
5.	This is pure love; love that you cannot begin to exhaust, for it is the boundless love of your Father in heaven.  Amen.