PARABLES OF CHRIST
THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT
DR. JIM DIXON
LUKE 11:1-13
MARCH 7, 1999
1857 was not a particularly good year in American history. The Civil War was looming, banks were failing, unemployment was soaring. Depression had brought a virtual stop to railroad construction and factory output, and many American families were in the midst of economic ruin. It was not a good time spiritually either. There was a kind of spiritual lethargy that was just sweeping over America. And yet, it was in that year, 1857, that the North Reformed Dutch Church on Fulton Street in New York City hired a pastor of evangelism. His name was Jeremiah C. Lanphier. Lanphier was not a clergyman. He had not been to seminary. He had no theological training. He was not ordained. He was a businessman. He had a great love for Christ, and he had a great love for evangelism, and he had a great devotion to prayer.
He decided that one of the first things he would do would be to start a weekly mid-week noontime prayer meeting at the church. The church was on Fulton Street, there in the midst of the business district. He wanted me and women to be able to take their lunch break in a time of prayer, at least one day a week. September 23, 1857. That was the first mid-week prayer meeting at the Fulton Street Church. At 12:10, Lanphier was the only one there. No one had shown up. He began to pray that God would just send someone. By 1:00, the end of the hour, four people had shown up, and they had a brief time of prayer together. In the next few days, Jeremiah Lanphier began to pray that God would send more people the next week. In the next week, 20 people showed up. And then the next week, 40 people showed up.
The hour of the prayer time was really very simple. It would begin with a hymn, and then they would have testimonies. People were only allowed to share their testimony for 5 minutes and then Jeremiah Lanphier would ring a bell, and they had to sit down. Then there were prayer requests and then a time of prayer for those who had requested it. They would always conclude exactly at 1:00 so people could get back to work.
Well, in two or three months, the church was just packed, and so they had to go from a weekly prayer hour to a daily prayer hour. Every working day from 12:00 to 1:00, they had these prayer times. It was the beginning of the Fulton Street Revival. Historians tell us that it led to the great awakening of 1858, the third great awakening in America’s history. The revival spread. It spread to every major city in America and throughout America, throughout the major cities of America. Businesses literally shut down at 12:00 noon so men and women could go to that prayer time at their lunch hour. This great awakening resulted in the conversion of one million people. It produced the greatest philanthropic output in America’s history. It elevated the poor, and it led hundreds of thousands of lost souls to be found through faith .in Jesus Christ, and it all began with four people joining Jeremiah Lanphier at noontime prayer meeting on September 23, 1857.
People want to know. Could it happen again? Could it happen today? Could we have the fourth great evangelical awakening in America today? Certainly, with God all things are possible, and certainly the Holy Spirit has power to do anything, but we understand historically that most revivals and awakenings have been tied to times of economic depression. You see, moral ruin and moral depravity is not enough to get most people’s attention. Most people need to be hit in their pocketbook before they begin to take notice of God. Historically, revival and awakening have occurred in times of great economic depression or recession.
Well, we are in a time of economic prosperity today, but we, as Christians, are still called to be faithful in prayer. We are called to be faithful in prayer in every season, and in every time, and in every place. Our passage of scripture for today concerns prayer. Luke, chapter 11, verses 1-13. It’s all about prayer. In this section, there is the parable of the Friend at Midnight, but before the parable, Jesus shares with His disciples an abbreviated version of the Lord’s Prayer.
You see, the Bible tells us that Jesus gave the disciples the Lord’s Prayer on two different occasions. He gave them the Lord’s Prayer when He was in Galilee on the Mount of Beatitudes. During the Sermon on the Mount by the Lake of Tiberius, He shared the greater version of the Lord’s Prayer with the disciples. But then, in Judea, near Jerusalem, traditionally on the Mount of Olives, He shared, as recorded in Luke’s gospel, the 11th chapter, an abbreviated version of the Lord’s Prayer again.
Some people view the Lord’s Prayer as formalistic. This is true of the Roman Catholic Church, and it is true of many mainline Protestant denominations who use the Lord’s Prayer liturgically. They view the Lord’s Prayer formalistically, a set formula, a set form, the words of which are to be recited every time we pray. The Lord’s Prayer is recited corporately in many churches, word for word, and it is recited devotionally by many people word for word. It is argued that we should use the Lord’s Prayer formalistically because Jesus said, “Whenever you pray, say…” but even though those words in Luke 11:2 could be taken to imply that this prayer was meant to be formulistic, when we go to Matthew’s gospel and we go to the 6th chapter and the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus introduced the longer version of the Lord’s Prayer, we see clearly that He did not intend for this prayer to be formalistic.
Jesus says there, “Pray, then, like this…” The Greek words clearly tell us that we are to pray in a manner similar to this. Pray in a way similar to this so that Jesus didn’t mean for the Lord’s Prayer to be formulistic. He meant for it to be exemplary, not something we would just copy and recite, but something that would be an example of the type of things that prayer should include. There’s nothing wrong with using the Lord’s Prayer formalistically, corporately or individually, but that’s not what Jesus intended. He intended for the Lord’s Prayer to be exemplary.
When we look at the Lord’s Prayer, we see that our prayer life should consist of certain qualities. When we look at the Lord’s Prayer, we see that our prayers should be intimate as Christians. We should approach the Father with intimacy because Jesus taught us to begin our prayers with the word “Abba,” “Father.” This word Abba was the most informal way to address one’s father in Hebrew or Aramaic. It was, for many children, the first word out of their mouth, “Abba,” “Father,” “Daddy,” an informal intimate expression of address to a person’s father.
In all of Judaism, in all the scribal writings, there is no place where God is ever addressed as Abba. No individual would do that, but Jesus did that for He is God’s only begotten Son, the only begotten of the Father. He calls God, Abba, and He teaches us, who believe in Him, to address the Father in the same way, because we have become children of God through faith. What Jesus has by nature, we now have by adoption, and we have become sons and daughters of God, and so we can pray with intimacy, and we can come to God in prayer, and we can begin with this word “Abba,” “Daddy.”
And then we see, as we look at the Lord’s Prayer that our prayers are not only to be intimate, but we see that they are to begin with praise. “Hallowed be Thy name.” Jesus teaches us to begin our prayers with praise, “Hallowed be Thy name.” The Greek word for “hallowed” is the word “hagiazo,” which means “to set apart or revere.” The name of God is to be set apart and it is to be revered in praise. God alone is like this.
Sometimes, some of you write me letters. Occasionally I’ll get a critical letter. I notice that, oftentimes when you send me a critical letter, you begin with a few words of praise. This is probably good psychology. It’s not a bad strategy to begin your letter with a little bit of praise before you kind of express your complaint. But you really don’t need to do that. You don’t need to give me any words of praise because the reality is, I am not hallowed. I am not hallowed. God alone is hallowed. I am set apart, as you are, through faith in Christ for Christ, but intrinsically, I am not hallowed. Only God, Father, Son and Holly Spirit are hallowed. We are common, we who believe in Him, but he is hallowed, and we must begin our prayers with praise. The Bible says, “Come into His presence, into His gates, with Thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.” As the Psalmist writes, that’s what we should do in prayer.
Then Jesus tells us that our prayers should begin with submission. We should have intimacy in our prayer, and we should begin with praise, and we should come with an attitude of submission. “Thy kingdom come…” Now, the word for kingdom is the word “basileia.” This word basileia is sometimes a concrete noun and it is sometimes an abstract noun. As a concrete noun, the word basileia means “royal territory,” “a king’s territory or turf,” the boundaries of that king’s realm. But when it is an abstract noun, as it usually is, it refers to a king’s reign. The word basileia is being used dynamically and actively as opposed to statically. We should understand it that way here in the Lord’s Prayer so that when we say, “Thy kingdom come…” we’re saying “Thy reign come.”
Some people, when they say, “Thy kingdom come,” they’re thinking eschatologically. They’re thinking of the second coming of Christ and the new heavens and the new earth, perhaps the millennial kingdom. That can be part of your thought, but Jesus wants us to think in the present, “Thy reign come now,” “Come over my life with your reign.”
There is an ancient writing called the McKilta, and that ancient writing called the McKilta has a commentary on the books of Exodus. In that commentary, there is a story about a military commander who brings his vast army to the edge of a large city. He enters the city, and he asks the people, “Do you want me to reign over you?” The people are incredulous. “Why would we want you to reign over us? We want to reign over our own lives.” And so, they said no. This military commander left with his army, but he stayed nearby. Then he commanded his armies to build this beautiful fortress wall all around the city to protect them. Then the military commander instructed his army to bring a water system into the city and to plant crops so that they could provide food for the people. Then the military commander, whenever the city was under siege, with his armies he would protect the city and defend it, that the city might have victory. Then once again, after all these things, the military commander came back into the city and said to the people, “Do you want me to reign over you?” This little story was meant to be a parable of God’s relationship with Israel for God had led the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh. The children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea as if upon dry land, God had provided them with water from the supernatural rock at Meri bah, and God had provided them with food from heaven, manna, and God had given them victory over their enemies. God was saying to the Jewish people, “Do you want me to reign over you?”
And, you see, all throughout scripture, God comes to us and asks, “Do you want Me to reign over you?” And through the gospel, Christ comes to us, and He asks that question, “Do you want Me to reign over you?” You see, Jesus tells us through the Lord’s Prayer that every time we pray, we should answer yes. Every time we pray, we should say, “Yes, reign over me. Reign in my heart. Sit on the throne of my heart.” So, every prayer should have submission.
And then Jesus tells us that, through the Lord’s prayer, He tells us that when we pray, there should be petition. Prayers should be intimate. They should begin with praise. We should come with an attitude of submission, and all of this before we make petition. And, of course, in the remainder of the Lord’s Prayer, we see petition for provision. “Give me this day my daily bread.” Petition for provision. We see petition for mercy as we pray in contrition. “Forgive me of my sins or forgive us of our sins.” Petition for mercy.
Then finally, petition for protection. “Deliver us from evil” or “do not lead us into temptation.” The word for temptation is the Greek word “peirasmos” which also means “testing” or “trial” or “hardship.” And so, we are to understand that we are to pray that God would not lead us into hardship, that God would not allow us to be overly tested or put into positions of extreme trial. And we pray to Him for protection. We petition Him for provision, mercy and protection.
Jesus tells this little parable of the Friend at Midnight which tells us how we are to make petition. As we pray for protection, as we pray for provision, as we pray for mercy, how are we to do it? Well, Jesus tells us through this little parable, the Friend at Midnight. Jesus said, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has just arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him.’ He will call from within, saying, ‘Do not bother me for the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed, and I cannot get up and give you anything.” Then Jesus said, “I tell you, although he will not or cannot get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, because of his shamelessness and continual knocking, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.” And I say to you, “Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it sha11 be opened unto you.”
Each of those words, ask, seek and knock, in the Greek are present continuous so that they mean “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.” Jesus wants us to pray in petition with perseverance, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking, even as the friend did at midnight. Persevere .in your prayers of petition. Whether you are interceding for a friend or a loved one, or whether you’re praying for your own family’s needs and your own needs, pray with persistence. Now, many of you probably read John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Maybe it was long ago, and you have forgotten most of it, but you might remember there was an episode there where Christiana, who was the hero’s wife, arrived with Mercy, who was a young pilgrim, and a group of children. They arrived at the Wicker Gate, and they began to knock on the wicker gate. No one came. Finally, this huge dog came. This dog was ferocious, and the dog began to bark. They were afraid and they backed away from the gate. They ceased their knocking. Finally, Christiana got the nerve up to continue her knocking, and the gatekeeper eventually came, and the dog’s barking abated.
But what is it in your life? What is it in your life that keeps you from persistent knocking? What’s the barking dog in your life that keeps you from being persistent in your prayer? Maybe it’s doubt. I mean maybe you’re just not confident that God really cares or that He’s really able to provide.
I read some time ago, and with this we’ll close the message, I read the story of Edmund Gravely. Edmund Gravely was a pilot. He had his own plane, and it was a Piper Aztec Twin Engine. One day, in the summertime with his wife, he got into that plane. They left the Rocky Mount Wilson Airport in North Carolina. They were on their way to Statesboro, Georgia. They would never arrive. As they were flying over the border of North Carolina, South Carolina, Edmund Gravely had a heart attack and he died right there in the pilot’s seat. His wife didn’t know how to fly, and yet she .kept the plane aloft for almost two hours. She radioed for help, and her cry was, “Please, somebody help me!”
The authorities heard her, and they tried to respond but she had turned off her radio. Now, somehow, by the mercy of God, she survived. She was able to crash land her plane in a flat area and crawl 45 minutes to a farmhouse. The authorities later asked her, “Why did you turn off your radio?” She said, “I didn’t think anyone was listening. I didn’t think anyone was there.”
Maybe you sometimes feel like that when you pray. Even though you’re a Christian and you’ve asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, and you know doctrinally and theologically that He is always there, maybe sometimes you just feel like He’s not there and He doesn’t care, and you don’t persevere in prayer. Jesus tells us in this little parable, to encourage us to persevere in prayer. We don’t persevere in prayer because we’re trying to change God. It’s not like we can hassle Him into doing what we want. It’s not like God is just going to be so tired of hearing our prayers, and He’s going to finally give in. The parable tells us that God’s more than a friend and indeed, more than a Father. We do not persevere because we have to change His heart. We persevere, I am convinced, because God wants our hearts to be changed. We need to learn perseverance in prayer that we might change. As we persevere in prayer, we draw closer to Him, and we learn patience and we learn dependence if we persevere in prayer.
God has made certain provisions contingent on our faithfulness to persevere in prayer. Now, this little parable concludes with a statement from Christ. “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give good gifts to His?” Jesus uses the supreme example of the Holy Spirit. How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Because this is the greatest of all gifts, the person of the Holy Spirit. We receive this gift of the Holy Spirit when we embrace Christ as Lord and Savior. All you need to do is knock. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door. If anyone opens, I will come in.” Actually, that passage in Revelation says He’s knocking, and He wants to come in. Of course, if we, in prayer, would invite Him… If we, in prayer, would say, “Lord Jesus, come in, He will come in and He’ll be our Lord and He’ll be our Savior.” The Bible says in that moment when we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, He actually sends the person of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Holy Spirit dwells within us and never leaves us. He seals us for salvation and never leaves us, forever and ever.
And so, as we come to prayer, we want to remember that prayer is a time that is to be intimate where we call God, “Abba,” “Father.” It is a time that is to begin with praise. It is a time where we come with an attitude of submission, saying “Thy reign come, and we embrace His reign anew.” It’s a time, certainly, of petition where we seek His provision and His protection and His mercy. Jesus tells us, through this little parable, that as we petition, we must do it with perseverance. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.