BECAUSE OF HIS PERSISTENCE
"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 11:8 (NKJV)
Comment: In this passage of the Bible, Jesus Christ was teaching about importunity in prayer. Importuning means to beg, urge, or solicit persistently. God wants the believers, His children to be persistent in their prayers, on whatever they are asking for. Do not give up so soon.
A number of believers could not get what they are asking for, from God, because of this lack of persistency. A measure of persistency is required to get God's hand drawn on whatever is being asked to be done by Him.
Jesus Christ Himself was the One Who taught this principle of prayer. Persistency is needed on the part of the believer who wants to receive from God.
You have to Pray Until Something Happens. There are different types of prayers found in the Bible, and this is one of them. Just because the prayer of faith is popularized; some have taught that If you ask for a thing, and repeatedly asked the second time or third time you are asking in Unbelief. This principle is applicable solely on the prayer of faith and not on other types of prayer.
In the prayer of intercession, you would have to keep asking until an answer is gotten. If you are interceding or supplicating or standing in the gap for someone or a group of people; you have to be persistently asking until an answer is gotten.
A prayer of faith is when you lay hold on a particular Scripture on what you are having as a problem; It could be a particular ailment in your body or a particular financial need to be met, and pray with the Scripture; believing God has heard you and received what you asked for. Afterwards, you started thanking God for the manifestation of what you do believe that you have received. This is a simple explanation of prayer of faith (Mark 11:22-24).
However, the rule of not asking the second time or third time does not apply to persistent prayer illustrated in Luke 11:5-8 and Luke 18:1-8.
It was Jesus Christ who taught both types of prayers; the prayer of faith found in Mark 11 and the prayer of persistency or importunity found in Luke 11. The two prayers are not contradictory. You use or apply different prayers to different situations at hand. It all depends on the problem that the believer is confronted with.
In our text, Jesus said: " . . . YET BECAUSE OF HIS PERSISTENCE HE [the friend who was being asked for help] WILL RISE AND GIVE HIM AS MANY AS HE NEEDS" (Luke 11:8 NKJV).
In other words, Jesus Christ was saying the friend of the man would grant his request because of his persistence. Likewise in the case of the widow in Luke 18:1-8; where the unjust judge finally said he would avenge the widow on her enemies because of her continual coming (Luke 18:5). Jesus Christ now said in verses 7 and 8 of that Luke 18: 7 AND SHALL GOD NOT AVENGE HIS OWN ELECT WHO CRY OUT DAY AND NIGHT TO HIM, THOUGH HE BEARS LONG WITH THEM? 8 I TELL YOU THAT HE WILL AVENGE THEM SPEEDILY.”
The persistence of the man and the continual coming of the widow made them receive their requests.
Jesus Christ further said in that Luke 11 verse number 9 and 10:
9 “SO I [Jesus] SAY TO YOU, ASK AND KEEP ON ASKING, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU; SEEK AND KEEP ON SEEKING, AND YOU WILL FIND; KNOCK AND KEEP ON KNOCKING, AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO YOU. 10 FOR EVERYONE WHO KEEPS ON ASKING [persistently], RECEIVES; AND HE WHO KEEPS ON SEEKING [persistently], FINDS; AND TO HIM WHO KEEPS ON KNOCKING [persistently], THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED." (Luke 11:9,10 Amps).
This amplified Bible put it in a better way. You keep on asking, seeking, and knocking persistently for you to get an answer. This is about supplicating or interceding, being persevered about what you are asking for. If this dimension of persistency is not added, you may not get the desired result. Thus, do not give up so soon.
Now, having said that:
a. whatever you are persistently asking must be in line with God's Will for your life; and the Will of God is found in God's Word, the Bible (John 15:7). If you are persistent on a wrong thing, there would not be any answer—no matter how you cry or wail in prayers. God is moved by principles and not by emotions!
b. If also you are disobedient to an express command of God or a specific instruction of His to you; your persistence in prayer would not produce any result.
Let every wrong be made right, then you can be persistent in asking for mercy or justice; in such a case you would eventually get an answer.
No matter how you cry or weep If you have not done the right thing; your persistency would not produce any result.
Peace.