Daily Devotional | Don't Give Up

Angela Yuan was a fervent prayer warrior on behalf of her son. Christopher had made choices that led him far from God, but his mother, a strong believer, prayed day and night on his behalf. She asked: “Lord, do whatever it takes to bring this prodigal son out of that far country to you.” Every time God answered, even in a small way, Angela wrote the blessing on a spool of adding machine paper. Years later, she held up that list which was now six-feet long, covered on the front and back! Angela’s story inspires us to “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

In our text today, Jesus follows His teaching on prayer (11:1–4) with a parable about a person who “seeks”—we’ll call this person the “Seeker.” In this story, the Seeker does his best to unconditionally love a friend who has come to stay with him. He has given him a place to stay, but he does not have any food to share with him (v. 6). The Seeker moves on to Plan B and asks his neighbor for a few loaves of bread. Much to the Seeker’s disappointment, his neighbor refused (v. 7).

Jesus tells His listeners that despite this negative answer, the Seeker persisted and became a Knocker. And, his righteous perseverance paid off (v. 8). Jesus summarizes His teaching on prayer in verses 9 and 10. Our prayer ought to move from words to observance to action. The verbs in verses 9 and 10 communicate that we should keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Like a loving parent, our heavenly Father is honored by the requests of His children (vv. 11–13). In return, God gives us our daily need, forgives us of our sins, and leads us down a path away from temptation and the Tempter.

>>  Your heavenly Father loves to provide for His children. Don’t hesitate to pray for areas that God can provide for you, and even more importantly, for those around you.