“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples, said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’” – Luke 11:1

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;’ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?’ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” – Luke 11:5-8 NKJV

The apostles grew up around praying people. They were Jewish after all. I don’t believe they were looking for new religious ways to pray. They probably saw amazing miracles, healings, demons being cast out and they drew a connection between Jesus’ prayer life and the power they were seeing.

In response, Jesus told them a parable that would be paradigm altering for the apostles. First, Jesus tells them in this parable that God is their friend. That had to be mind-blowing for the apostles. What kind of friend does someone need to be to have the liberty of inconveniencing him or her at a very late hour? Jesus was saying in the same way that you can approach a good friend anytime, day or night, so you can approach God. Friendship with God gives us the confidence and boldness to approach Him with whatever our need is. Jesus is in essence saying, “God does not want you praying out of some legalistic compulsion to pray to satisfy your conscience that you have done your religious duty. No, rather, He wants you to come as someone He really likes and someone who really likes Him when you come to pray.” In other words, God wants to be liked for who He is not the end result of what He can do.

Jesus then tells them the next paradigm breaker. He will not answer your request because of your friendship though He is your friend. Oh, it gives you boldness to come before Him to be sure. He just will not answer you for that reason. Jesus says He will answer you BECAUSE of your persistence.

About 10 years ago I worked for a homebuilder as an office administrator. One day he asked me to come to a basement-remodeling job at a customer’s home and assist them in some manual labor. One of the objectives we had was to create an opening in the concrete floor of the basement so they could run plumbing for a bathroom. The first thing the homebuilder did was take a concrete saw and cut about a three-foot square on the floor. Afterwards, he had his assistant, Phil, beat the target with the point of a digging iron. A digging iron is like a very long, iron pole with a tapered end for the purpose of, well, digging. So Phil beat it and beat it. He must have struck the concrete at least 100 times or more. As I was watching this, I said in unbelief, “There is no way that concrete is going to break with him hitting that.” “Have you ever heard of a Jack Hammer?” I asked sarcastically. The homebuilder replied, “It will break, you watch.” Back and forth our contentious dialogue continued until I noticed a strange “flashing” in the floor as Phil struck it. He hit it 97 times, then 98, 99, 100… Boom! The breakthrough came.

Immediately following, the Holy Spirit interpreted this parable-like experience to me. I represented the devil, the homebuilder represented an intercessor, and Phil represented the Holy Spirit. The intercessor marked their target that they are seeking God in prayer about, the place where they need a breakthrough. As they seek God, the Holy Spirit begins to pound away at the stronghold each time the intercessor prays. About that time, the devil says, “You won’t get your breakthrough. You don’t have enough power.” The faithful intercessor responds in faith to God’s word, “We will get the breakthrough. You watch and see.” On and on the temptations to give up come, but the faithful intercessor resists giving up and “pounds the target” in prayer. Suddenly signs of the impending breakthrough show, and then at last, success. The breakthrough comes.

When your feelings tell you that God will not answer, Jesus appeals through this parable to God’s goodness, promises and your friendship with Him to not give up. Your breakthrough is coming if you keep striking the target!