Luke 11:5-10 “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; (6) for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; (7) 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'? (8) 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. (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.”
In this section we want to discuss the importance of being persistent when we pray the prayer of faith outside of God’s revealed will. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus very clearly taught us to be persistent in our prayers, i.e. we are to ask and keep on asking until we receive. So how do we reconcile this concept with what we have discussed in the previous section, i.e. receiving by faith and giving thanks by faith at the time we ask? The answer to that question lies in the example given to us in this account. In this example we see that if the friend in need had approached his neighbour at any normal time of day he would have received all that he needed without any dispute. The problem was that he had approached his friend at a very inopportune time, i.e. at midnight. And so it wasn’t his request for bread that met with resistance, but rather it was the timing of his request which hindered him from receiving. So how does this principle impact on our prayer lives? What our Lord is trying to teach us from this example is that when we ask according to God’s revealed will, i.e. that which He has promised in His word, then we can fully expect to receive from Him the moment we ask. However, when we ask outside of God’s will as revealed in His word, then Jesus is telling us that in those instances it is still possible to receive from the Lord, but that will require a greater degree of persistence, and may also require a greater degree of faith on our part in order to receive.
Matthew 15:22-28 “And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." (23) But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." (24) But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (25) Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" (26) But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (27) And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." (28) Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
We have stated earlier, that the prayer of faith will only work if it is prayed in line with the revealed will of God. However, in the above quoted passage of scripture we have an account of someone receiving the answer to their prayer, even though they were praying outside of God’s revealed will. So how do we explain this? Clearly this woman was praying in faith, for our Lord commended her for her great faith, and therein lies the clue. It is possible to receive from God using the prayer of faith, even when our request is outside of God’s express will. In this instance Jesus revealed that, during our Lord’s earthly ministry, God the Father did not want Him to minister to the gentiles. And so even though it was the will of the Father that Jesus should heal the sick, it was not His express will that Jesus heal the sick among the gentiles. Nevertheless in this example we see that this woman put into practice the principle that Jesus taught about asking and keeping on asking until our prayers are answered. This woman’s prayer first met with silence from the Lord. Nevertheless this woman was persistent and kept on asking. Jesus eventually explained to her why He was not going to answer her prayer. Nevertheless she remained persistent and kept on asking, stating her reasons for asking, even though it was against God’s revealed will. And as a result she finally got what she asked for. And so we see from this example that even if we ask outside of God’s revealed will, it is still possible to receive from God. Nevertheless, it will require persistence on our part and may also require a greater degree of faith in order to receive the answer to our prayer.
Michael E.B. Maher
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