The Friend at Midnight Receives Loaves of Breadby CBPepper
11:10Luke 11:10
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Every one who asks receives, every one who seeks finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened, as a universal and certain promise. It belongs to the parable of the friend asking for bread at midnight, where God is set in contrast to a reluctant neighbor who answers only to end disturbance. He is no unwilling giver wearied by repeated petitions, but a compassionate Friend and loving Father who welcomes wholehearted seekers and gives good gifts rather than harm. The greatest good gift He gives to those who ask is the Holy Spirit, which He is far more willing to give than sinful earthly parents are to give good things to their children. Receiving calls for persistent, earnest, continual asking, seeking, and knocking in faith, humility, and holy boldness, pressing the petition even when the answer does not come at once, in order to receive from God to impart to others.
Setting and Sure Promise
Every one who asks receives, every one who seeks finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened, as a universal and certain promise without exception. Those who ask, seek, and knock in prayer receive, find, and have the way opened to them, and the assurance belongs to earnest, persistent prayer that keeps asking and pleading even when the answer does not come at once, sometimes waiting patiently in trust that petitions for weakness and illness are heard.
The promise stands in the parable of the friend asking for bread at midnight, and sets God in contrast with the reluctant neighbor who answers only to end disturbance. God is not moved merely to escape annoyance like a selfish or indifferent friend, does not offer the excuses of the reluctant neighbor, and does not refuse to open the door like one unwilling to answer.
He is a compassionate best Friend and loving Father who welcomes requests, watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. His treasure house holds abundant spiritual riches for everyone who recognizes need and asks in sincere, simple, trusting faith, and He gladly answers requests made in faith because He is compassionate.
The promise is illustrated by an earthly father giving good things to his child, showing that God gives good gifts rather than harm. A father does not answer a child's hunger for bread, fish, or an egg by mocking it with a stone, serpent, or scorpion, and God's parental tenderness makes Him far more willing to give than sinful earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children.
God is true and unchanging and has staked the honor of His throne on fulfilling His word to hear the cry of all who come to Him confessing unworthiness and sin. Christ as High Priest like Aaron bears the names of all His people on His heart in the holy place and remembers every word by which He encouraged trust, so there is never refusal on grounds of trouble or a shut door and never a word that He cannot help. Those who beg at midnight for loaves to feed hungry souls will succeed.
In reverse, the unjust judge lets the widow ask, seek, and knock in vain, knowingly refusing to relieve her or restrain wrongdoing from selfish ambition and arbitrary power until her persistence threatens his reputation and moves him to grant justice, unlike a Christlike judge who relieves and restrains wrong. Seeking and knocking succeed because holy, loving angels hover round commissioned to minister to seekers and knockers. Each person must work intelligently for the immortal inheritance and free the soul from its burdens instead of depending on others to pick him up and place him on vantage ground, giving the angels opportunity to assist him.
Gift of the Holy Spirit
The greatest good gift the heavenly Father gives to those who ask is the Holy Spirit. Everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and everyone who knocks has the door opened, and the promise is illustrated by a father giving good things to his child rather than harm. Unlike a reluctant friend who answers merely to end inconvenience, God watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. Humble, contrite prayers are precious to Him and none are lost, and the invitation is for all who call on Him for help and strength in trouble rather than relying on people.
His parental tenderness makes Him far more willing to give the Spirit than sinful earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. He would not mock a child's hunger for bread, fish, or an egg with a stone, serpent, or scorpion, and with still greater willingness He gives this good gift to those who ask Him in faith and earnest desire. He is willing to do far more for His people than they can conceive, giving the Spirit out of great love and goodness, and those who come as repentant sinners through Jesus may wait at His throne of mercy with firm confidence that He hears and answers.
What is received is proportioned to desire, faith, readiness to receive, and willingness to use and share the light and knowledge given. That the seeker finds and the one who knocks is admitted is a dependable fact and an unfailing principle of God's government, so those who truly seek Christ's grace will not be disappointed. When the Spirit is asked for in faith, divine and human agency are joined, and the gift is shown in the heart and life with power to witness for Christ. Asking for the Spirit brings communion with Jesus and unity with Christ to those who place themselves ready to receive His gifts. It also brings fitness for God's work, so that prayerful, teachable workers who look to God for wisdom receive the Spirit to help them understand truth, serve others, feed hungry souls, and impart to others what they have received in consecration, self-denial, and following Christ.
How to Ask and Receive
Asking, seeking, and knocking are to be persistent, earnest, and continual, pressing petitions even when the answer does not come at once and waiting patiently in faith rather than giving up. Delay is not refusal and not a reason to stop, for sometimes the answer requires patient waiting while pleading continues with faith. The One who invites asking will not disappoint those who press their petitions, and the door will be opened to them.
Persistent asking brings the petitioner to greater earnestness and increases desire for what is requested. It brings closer spiritual union with Christ and is accompanied by increased faith and blessing. The testing and humiliation experienced in waiting may reveal sin and what hinders the Spirit's work, since prayer does not change God but brings people into harmony with Him.
Receiving requires asking in faith, complying with God's conditions and trusting His pledged word with a child's trusting love, claiming the promise, waiting and receiving in faith, and rejoicing in hope. Acceptance is by faith in God's word and not proved by joyful feeling, trusting that what is asked in faith is received and relying on Christ for strength and on His name and merits. God will be to those who ask all they let Him be, giving the things He has promised to those who believe they will receive them, when they ask with sincere, simple, trusting faith and recognize their need. Languid, half-hearted, faithless, empty, or listless asking brings no return from heaven. God abundantly grants requests when He sees they will be received with humble and grateful hearts rather than producing pride and being a cause of being lifted up, meeting sincere fervent prayer with blessings beyond measure.
The invitation is to come with humility, holy boldness, and contrition, trusting Christ who presents prayers before the Father mingled with His merit and righteousness. Humble, contrite prayers are precious to God and none are lost, and He watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. Asking also requires grace and divine enlightenment through the Spirit so people know what they need to ask for, and petitions shaped and prompted by the Lord will be answered. The promise is to be presented before the throne of grace in earnest, humble prayer and determined wrestling, putting God in remembrance and pleading His promises, believing He does just as He said, then going to work in faith. Every point of vantage ground gained is to be held fast with no weakening however strong the opposition, by working and praying, watching and waiting, hoping and trusting, and leaving everything to God who can thresh mountains with a worm. Prayer for instruction and guidance is to be made with faith and sustained attention while continuing work with a believing heart, not asking and then forgetting what was requested, but seeking light and knowledge until received.
Asking in Order to Give
The promise is that asking receives in order to give to others, as Christ continually received from the Father to communicate to men, living and thinking and praying not for Himself but for others. From hours spent with God morning by morning He came forth to bring the light of heaven to men, daily receiving a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, with soul and lips anointed with grace to impart to others, and with words given fresh from the heavenly courts to speak in season to the weary and oppressed. Asking is not for selfish improvement alone, but to seek benefits so they can be given to those in need, and the Lord gives grace to those who impart to others. God gladly answers requests made in faith so that people may serve others and become like Him, not to escape disturbance but because He is compassionate.
The disciples were to keep seeking God's blessings and spiritual food so they could give the bread of life to hungry people, for without receiving spiritual food themselves they would have nothing to impart. The promise applies especially when Christ's servants face unexpected needs and feel helpless, for God who appointed them to feed others supplies what they need for His work, likened to begging at midnight for bread to feed hungry souls. Asking in faith for the Holy Spirit brings the Spirit and fitness for God's work, and those who seek to feed hungry souls through earnest prayer will be successful. Receiving the Spirit and receiving Christ by faith carries the duty to impart to others and requires consecration, self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Christ. Believers who so receive become channels carrying the living truth to the world, for asking, believing, and receiving are connected.
Application to Daily Life
For the sick, asking, seeking, and knocking are to continue in faith even when the answer does not come at once, with earnest pleading and patient waiting rather than stopping. Weaknesses and illnesses are to be brought to God in trust that He hears the petitions made to Him. Delay is not a reason to cease asking, for persistent earnest prayer receives an answer, whether at once or after continued pleading. Petitions shaped and prompted by the Lord will be answered, and grace with the Spirit's guidance is needed to know what to ask.
In trouble, trial, discouragement, and darkness, God's people are to seek His help and strength rather than rely on other people, for He is near to help all who call on Him. As His children by creation and redemption they are to make every need known to Him without reluctance, even the smallest concerns, and to continue in prayer without fear of wearying Him. The promise is to be meditated on and claimed by faith, giving help and blessing through discouragement and darkness. Trials drive to heartfelt intercession and closer connection with Christ, and those who put the promise into practice trust that God gives good gifts, especially the Holy Spirit, to those who ask.
Coming to God in Jesus' name is not in vain, for everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and the door is opened to everyone who knocks. He invites His people to ask for His peace and rich blessing with assurance that they will receive it. He welcomes the humble and contrite, gives faith in Christ, forgives sin, and comforts the heart. Prayers are presented before the Father mingled with Christ's merit and righteousness, and are to be offered with humility and holy boldness.
Asking God to expose faults and seeking His help leads to self-knowledge, purification, and transformation of character. Persistent fervent pleading for purity and salvation continues until the soul longs for salvation and receives assurance of pardoned sin. As seekers behold Jesus in prayer they are changed into His likeness. They are to trust His word, strengthen faith, bring specific needs and thanks to Him, and hold fast to Christ until His transforming grace is seen in them, bringing His light and grace into their work and enabling them to reflect His character.
Earnest prayer for help to speak for God will be answered, including enablement to present the message with clearness and power by the aid of the Holy Spirit. The promise is to be presented before the throne of grace in earnest humble prayer and determined wrestling for the endowment of the Spirit to meet responsibility, make proper use of presented opportunities, and stand when truth is perverted, opposed, and diverted. This requires putting God in remembrance, pleading His promises, believing He does just as He said, then going to work in faith. Every point of vantage gained is to be held fast without weakening however strong the opposition, by working and praying, watching and waiting, hoping and trusting, and leaving everything to God who can thresh mountains with a worm.
Importunate prayer that refuses to accept denial is faith when offered for those who need saving. Their need is to be presented to Jesus, with themselves and the petitioner committed to Him, trusting Him as the only hope. Determined faith that continues to press petitions before God gains its object, as seen when pleading for pardon and for conversion of relatives and neighbors brought a richer experience. Lack of living faith and prayer leaves people without the grace God provides.
Prayer brings people to God as the source of the strength and power Christ received in His humanity. Those who seek God in prayer receive His gifts. At the footstool of mercy under the bow of promise they are sure to receive heaven's best gifts.
Every one who asks receives, every one who seeks finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened, as a universal and certain promise. It belongs to the parable of the friend asking for bread at midnight, where God is set in contrast to a reluctant neighbor who answers only to end disturbance. He is no unwilling giver wearied by repeated petitions, but a compassionate Friend and loving Father who welcomes wholehearted seekers and gives good gifts rather than harm. The greatest good gift He gives to those who ask is the Holy Spirit, which He is far more willing to give than sinful earthly parents are to give good things to their children. Receiving calls for persistent, earnest, continual asking, seeking, and knocking in faith, humility, and holy boldness, pressing the petition even when the answer does not come at once, in order to receive from God to impart to others.
Setting and Sure Promise
Every one who asks receives, every one who seeks finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened, as a universal and certain promise without exception. Those who ask, seek, and knock in prayer receive, find, and have the way opened to them, and the assurance belongs to earnest, persistent prayer that keeps asking and pleading even when the answer does not come at once, sometimes waiting patiently in trust that petitions for weakness and illness are heard.
The promise stands in the parable of the friend asking for bread at midnight, and sets God in contrast with the reluctant neighbor who answers only to end disturbance. God is not moved merely to escape annoyance like a selfish or indifferent friend, does not offer the excuses of the reluctant neighbor, and does not refuse to open the door like one unwilling to answer.
He is a compassionate best Friend and loving Father who welcomes requests, watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. His treasure house holds abundant spiritual riches for everyone who recognizes need and asks in sincere, simple, trusting faith, and He gladly answers requests made in faith because He is compassionate.
The promise is illustrated by an earthly father giving good things to his child, showing that God gives good gifts rather than harm. A father does not answer a child's hunger for bread, fish, or an egg by mocking it with a stone, serpent, or scorpion, and God's parental tenderness makes Him far more willing to give than sinful earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children.
God is true and unchanging and has staked the honor of His throne on fulfilling His word to hear the cry of all who come to Him confessing unworthiness and sin. Christ as High Priest like Aaron bears the names of all His people on His heart in the holy place and remembers every word by which He encouraged trust, so there is never refusal on grounds of trouble or a shut door and never a word that He cannot help. Those who beg at midnight for loaves to feed hungry souls will succeed.
In reverse, the unjust judge lets the widow ask, seek, and knock in vain, knowingly refusing to relieve her or restrain wrongdoing from selfish ambition and arbitrary power until her persistence threatens his reputation and moves him to grant justice, unlike a Christlike judge who relieves and restrains wrong. Seeking and knocking succeed because holy, loving angels hover round commissioned to minister to seekers and knockers. Each person must work intelligently for the immortal inheritance and free the soul from its burdens instead of depending on others to pick him up and place him on vantage ground, giving the angels opportunity to assist him.
Gift of the Holy Spirit
The greatest good gift the heavenly Father gives to those who ask is the Holy Spirit. Everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and everyone who knocks has the door opened, and the promise is illustrated by a father giving good things to his child rather than harm. Unlike a reluctant friend who answers merely to end inconvenience, God watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. Humble, contrite prayers are precious to Him and none are lost, and the invitation is for all who call on Him for help and strength in trouble rather than relying on people.
His parental tenderness makes Him far more willing to give the Spirit than sinful earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. He would not mock a child's hunger for bread, fish, or an egg with a stone, serpent, or scorpion, and with still greater willingness He gives this good gift to those who ask Him in faith and earnest desire. He is willing to do far more for His people than they can conceive, giving the Spirit out of great love and goodness, and those who come as repentant sinners through Jesus may wait at His throne of mercy with firm confidence that He hears and answers.
What is received is proportioned to desire, faith, readiness to receive, and willingness to use and share the light and knowledge given. That the seeker finds and the one who knocks is admitted is a dependable fact and an unfailing principle of God's government, so those who truly seek Christ's grace will not be disappointed. When the Spirit is asked for in faith, divine and human agency are joined, and the gift is shown in the heart and life with power to witness for Christ. Asking for the Spirit brings communion with Jesus and unity with Christ to those who place themselves ready to receive His gifts. It also brings fitness for God's work, so that prayerful, teachable workers who look to God for wisdom receive the Spirit to help them understand truth, serve others, feed hungry souls, and impart to others what they have received in consecration, self-denial, and following Christ.
How to Ask and Receive
Asking, seeking, and knocking are to be persistent, earnest, and continual, pressing petitions even when the answer does not come at once and waiting patiently in faith rather than giving up. Delay is not refusal and not a reason to stop, for sometimes the answer requires patient waiting while pleading continues with faith. The One who invites asking will not disappoint those who press their petitions, and the door will be opened to them.
Persistent asking brings the petitioner to greater earnestness and increases desire for what is requested. It brings closer spiritual union with Christ and is accompanied by increased faith and blessing. The testing and humiliation experienced in waiting may reveal sin and what hinders the Spirit's work, since prayer does not change God but brings people into harmony with Him.
Receiving requires asking in faith, complying with God's conditions and trusting His pledged word with a child's trusting love, claiming the promise, waiting and receiving in faith, and rejoicing in hope. Acceptance is by faith in God's word and not proved by joyful feeling, trusting that what is asked in faith is received and relying on Christ for strength and on His name and merits. God will be to those who ask all they let Him be, giving the things He has promised to those who believe they will receive them, when they ask with sincere, simple, trusting faith and recognize their need. Languid, half-hearted, faithless, empty, or listless asking brings no return from heaven. God abundantly grants requests when He sees they will be received with humble and grateful hearts rather than producing pride and being a cause of being lifted up, meeting sincere fervent prayer with blessings beyond measure.
The invitation is to come with humility, holy boldness, and contrition, trusting Christ who presents prayers before the Father mingled with His merit and righteousness. Humble, contrite prayers are precious to God and none are lost, and He watches over His people, hears humble prayer, freely gives blessings, and never turns away wholehearted seekers. Asking also requires grace and divine enlightenment through the Spirit so people know what they need to ask for, and petitions shaped and prompted by the Lord will be answered. The promise is to be presented before the throne of grace in earnest, humble prayer and determined wrestling, putting God in remembrance and pleading His promises, believing He does just as He said, then going to work in faith. Every point of vantage ground gained is to be held fast with no weakening however strong the opposition, by working and praying, watching and waiting, hoping and trusting, and leaving everything to God who can thresh mountains with a worm. Prayer for instruction and guidance is to be made with faith and sustained attention while continuing work with a believing heart, not asking and then forgetting what was requested, but seeking light and knowledge until received.
Asking in Order to Give
The promise is that asking receives in order to give to others, as Christ continually received from the Father to communicate to men, living and thinking and praying not for Himself but for others. From hours spent with God morning by morning He came forth to bring the light of heaven to men, daily receiving a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, with soul and lips anointed with grace to impart to others, and with words given fresh from the heavenly courts to speak in season to the weary and oppressed. Asking is not for selfish improvement alone, but to seek benefits so they can be given to those in need, and the Lord gives grace to those who impart to others. God gladly answers requests made in faith so that people may serve others and become like Him, not to escape disturbance but because He is compassionate.
The disciples were to keep seeking God's blessings and spiritual food so they could give the bread of life to hungry people, for without receiving spiritual food themselves they would have nothing to impart. The promise applies especially when Christ's servants face unexpected needs and feel helpless, for God who appointed them to feed others supplies what they need for His work, likened to begging at midnight for bread to feed hungry souls. Asking in faith for the Holy Spirit brings the Spirit and fitness for God's work, and those who seek to feed hungry souls through earnest prayer will be successful. Receiving the Spirit and receiving Christ by faith carries the duty to impart to others and requires consecration, self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Christ. Believers who so receive become channels carrying the living truth to the world, for asking, believing, and receiving are connected.
Application to Daily Life
For the sick, asking, seeking, and knocking are to continue in faith even when the answer does not come at once, with earnest pleading and patient waiting rather than stopping. Weaknesses and illnesses are to be brought to God in trust that He hears the petitions made to Him. Delay is not a reason to cease asking, for persistent earnest prayer receives an answer, whether at once or after continued pleading. Petitions shaped and prompted by the Lord will be answered, and grace with the Spirit's guidance is needed to know what to ask.
In trouble, trial, discouragement, and darkness, God's people are to seek His help and strength rather than rely on other people, for He is near to help all who call on Him. As His children by creation and redemption they are to make every need known to Him without reluctance, even the smallest concerns, and to continue in prayer without fear of wearying Him. The promise is to be meditated on and claimed by faith, giving help and blessing through discouragement and darkness. Trials drive to heartfelt intercession and closer connection with Christ, and those who put the promise into practice trust that God gives good gifts, especially the Holy Spirit, to those who ask.
Coming to God in Jesus' name is not in vain, for everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and the door is opened to everyone who knocks. He invites His people to ask for His peace and rich blessing with assurance that they will receive it. He welcomes the humble and contrite, gives faith in Christ, forgives sin, and comforts the heart. Prayers are presented before the Father mingled with Christ's merit and righteousness, and are to be offered with humility and holy boldness.
Asking God to expose faults and seeking His help leads to self-knowledge, purification, and transformation of character. Persistent fervent pleading for purity and salvation continues until the soul longs for salvation and receives assurance of pardoned sin. As seekers behold Jesus in prayer they are changed into His likeness. They are to trust His word, strengthen faith, bring specific needs and thanks to Him, and hold fast to Christ until His transforming grace is seen in them, bringing His light and grace into their work and enabling them to reflect His character.
Earnest prayer for help to speak for God will be answered, including enablement to present the message with clearness and power by the aid of the Holy Spirit. The promise is to be presented before the throne of grace in earnest humble prayer and determined wrestling for the endowment of the Spirit to meet responsibility, make proper use of presented opportunities, and stand when truth is perverted, opposed, and diverted. This requires putting God in remembrance, pleading His promises, believing He does just as He said, then going to work in faith. Every point of vantage gained is to be held fast without weakening however strong the opposition, by working and praying, watching and waiting, hoping and trusting, and leaving everything to God who can thresh mountains with a worm.
Importunate prayer that refuses to accept denial is faith when offered for those who need saving. Their need is to be presented to Jesus, with themselves and the petitioner committed to Him, trusting Him as the only hope. Determined faith that continues to press petitions before God gains its object, as seen when pleading for pardon and for conversion of relatives and neighbors brought a richer experience. Lack of living faith and prayer leaves people without the grace God provides.
Prayer brings people to God as the source of the strength and power Christ received in His humanity. Those who seek God in prayer receive His gifts. At the footstool of mercy under the bow of promise they are sure to receive heaven's best gifts.