By Grant E. Christensen, Pastor, Grace Covenant Church of Bremerton
Forward by Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
A couple of weeks ago I had the joy of meeting with the Grace Cov, Bremerton leadership team and Pastor Grant Christensen. It was a very ordinary monthly meeting with ministry reports, budgets, and decisions made. What I was not expecting was their monthly rhythm of individually checking in with each other about their evangelism “temperature,” a practice learned at the evangelism cohort. It was refreshing to watch how they are choosing to keep sharing Christ front and center as a leadership. As often stated, “you cannot lead where you have not gone yourself.” After they shared, Pastor Grant then walked through evangelism related Bible studies that he created. The topic they covered was about “Asking for the Holy Spirit” and it was excellent. I asked Grant if he would share his material and he graciously said that his only requirement is that it would never be sold. So much for the conference fundraiser! I include it below to encourage and to stir. May we walk as those full of the Holy Spirit as we share Christ today. – Greg Yee
Luke 11:5-13 (NASB) Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; {6} for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; {7} and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ {8} “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. {9} “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. {10} “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. {11} “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? {12} “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? {13} “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
In the gospels of Matthew and Luke we have a record of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. In both passages, Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord’s prayer—with some variations between the two texts. But Jesus has more to say about prayer than just what is contained in the Lord’s prayer. In Luke 11—after teaching His disciples His prayer—He then tells them a couple of parables interspersed with a principle of prayer. The first parable tells of a man who has an unexpected visitor show up at midnight and has nothing to serve him. In a hospitality culture it is essential to provide food and beverage to a guest—even at a late hour. I grew up in the hospitality culture of Japan where, anytime we visited neighbors, friends or new acquaintances, food and beverage were always set before us. In Jesus’ parable—because of the lateness of the hour—the unprepared host goes to his friend to ask him to lend him three loaves to provide food for his unexpected guest. Jesus emphasizes that this neighbor is the man’s friend. Yet, I find this friend’s response to be unfriendly and inhospitable. This unfriendly friend won’t get up to give his friend the needed bread. However, the unprepared host, not taking “no” for an answer, wears the friend down until he relents—getting out of bed, retrieving the bread, opening the door and giving it to his neighbor. All of the interpretations of this parable in sermons I’ve heard stress the importance of persistence in prayer.
This seems more than a plausible interpretation when Jesus then states a general principle of prayer immediately following this parable. When translated literally the verse also draws out the importance of persisting in prayer:
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who is asking, receives; and he who is seeking, finds; and to him who is knocking, it will be opened.”
Yet, I am troubled by this interpretation. When we interpret this parable to be about persistence in prayer, we make God out to be the unfriendly “friend,” who will only respond to our prayers when we wear Him down. In the similar account in Matthew 6, when the disciples have asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He said the following:
Matthew 6:7-8 (NASB) “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In these verses, Jesus plainly states that in prayer we will not be heard for our many words—because the heavenly Father already knows what we need! He is not speaking in a parable here—but rather He is speaking plainly. What if in our common interpretation of the parable and principle of prayer in Luke 11, we have stopped too soon in understanding Jesus’ teaching about prayer? What if what Jesus is communicating to us is found by continuing to follow Jesus’ teaching about prayer after the stated principle of prayer? What if in telling a second parable Jesus is contrasting it with the first parable—which then reinterprets the general principle of prayer?
In verse 11, the New American Standard Bible begins verse 11 with the word now—a legitimate translation of the Greek conjunction de (dev). The translators have chosen to translate the word with the idea that a new topic is beginning. Yet, the word is also frequently translated with the adversative meaning but—showing a contrast. How does one know which translation is best? The answer is simply found by looking to see if indeed there is a contrast between the first parable, the stated principle and now Jesus’ second parable and His stated conclusion.
In Jesus’ second parable—which is more illustration than parable—He asks two questions “But suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?” The expected answer is a “of course not.” We fathers love to give our children good gifts—at least for the most part. Jesus then states the expected answer in a curious way; He says that, even though we are evil as human fathers, we know how to give good gifts to our children. Now take a moment to ponder the contrast. In the first parable we have an unfriendly friend who has to be worn down in order to receive that for which he is asking; in the second parable Jesus contrasts this unfriendly friend with fathers who though being evil know how to give their children good gifts. I am surprised by what Jesus then says in completing the contrast: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” In the first parable we find an unfriendly friend who reluctantly gives only because of the persistence of the one wearing him down; in contrast to this Jesus says in the second parable that our heavenly Father—the perfect father—is sitting on the edge of His seat ready to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. I am astounded by the words how much more! Do you hear the vastness of this how much more in contrast with earthly fathers who although being evil know how to give good gifts to our children? O that the Spirit would give us ears to hear!
Now, when I look at Jesus’ principle of prayer—keeping asking, keep seeking, keep knocking—through the lens of the how much more willingness of the heavenly Father to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, I find a much different nuance. Throughout our lives when we ask for the Holy Spirit—the Father is more than willing—how much more willing—to answer. We don’t have to wear Him down. When we ask for the Holy Spirit the heavenly Father gives us the Spirit! When I seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance, His direction, His comfort, His empowerment, asking in the how much more willingness of the heavenly Father, I find what I’m seeking. And whenever I knock, the Holy Spirit will open the door—not necessarily the door I wanted opened, but the door the Holy Spirit wants opened.
Ponder this! When we ask for the Holy Spirit, what is God really giving to us? Is He not giving to us God’s very presence in the third person of the trinity, his inexhaustible power, his unfathomable wisdom, his deep understanding, and as the Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8:9, aren’t we being given Jesus’ extravagant, grace filled presence within—his wildly, compassionate heart, his boundless and unconditional love?
So here is the simple truth about prayer that is so essential to evangelism: God is sitting on the edge of His seat, yearning, longing to give to us the Holy Spirit! I don’t have to wear Him down! The Spirit isn’t given only to those seeking a deeper life; the Spirit is readily given to all God’s children who simply ask!
When any of us are coming into an opportunity to share our faith—or to build that preliminary trust—we can simply ask for the Holy Spirit! When I have gone to visit a member whose husband doesn’t know the Lord, I pray, “Lord, flood me with your Holy Spirit!” When I have an opportunity to speak at an A. A. meeting, I can silently ask, “fill me with an extraordinary measure of your Holy Spirit!” When an unexpected spiritual conversation opens up, I can send an arrow prayer—not many words: “Please fill me with your Holy Spirit!” When standing in a line, I can ask God for his Holy Spirit to fill the wings of my prayers for that bank teller or for that grocer. And in every instance and every opportunity Jesus has promised us the how much more willingness of our Father in heaven to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask! We have not because we ask not!
I find such comfort in this simple truth! It means that no matter what the situation, no matter how frightened I may be in approaching a spiritual conversation, I am not alone; you are not alone! To ask for the Holy Spirit is to ask for the power that created the universe, for the power that raised Jesus from the dead, for the very real presence of the infinite love and compassion of Jesus!
So it’s not for our many words, nor for our persistence in wearing God down, that he gives us the Holy Spirit. Rather, it is in the heart of a perfect and loving heavenly Father who longs to give the Holy Spirit to any of his children who ask!
© 2019 by Grant Christensen. “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8b NIV) You are free to share—copy and redistribute in any medium or format—as long as you don’t change the content, don’t use commercially without permission of the author or author’s family, and include attribution with the following Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/