The Essentials of a Victorious Importunate Prayer Life (7)
What takes precedence when God responds to prayer: importunity or relationship?
When Jesus taught about prayer, He taught us to pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2), thus, emphasizing our relationship to the Father as His children—as the ground for ASKing. But when He gave the illustrations on prayer, Jesus remarked that there is more to receiving answers to prayer than merely asking the Father for something based on being His children.
What made the sleeping friend get up to give his friend bread?
In the parable of the man who went to his friend at night for three loaves of bread, Jesus said:
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)
Jesus noted that the friend rose from his bed not because of friendship but because of the man's persistent and continuous knocking. Thus, when he opened the door, the Lord noted that he would give him more than he wanted. I can picture this friend saying:
"Did you say three loaves? Here, have six! Or, you want more? You know what? Take as many loaves as you want; I'll go get some for my children in the morning!"
He would make such a remark because he would not want his friend to return to disturb him again. True, friendship made it possible for the man to knock on his sleeping friend's door persistently, but it was his persistence that made the sleeping friend rise from bed to give him what he wanted and more!
Why did the unjust judge respond to the widow?
When Jesus told the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, He noted that the judge granted the widow's request to stop her from coming again to trouble him. Hear what the unjust judge said:
'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' (Luke 18:5, NKJV)
The judge granted the widow her request, not out of the kindness of his heart—he was unjust—but because the widow wore him out by her continual coming. The judge did not want to be troubled any further, so he granted what she requested. And I believe that he would have made sure that there would be no chance of her coming back to trouble him again—so, she would have received full justice!
What does God respond to when we pray?
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. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10, NKJV)
It is not that we can trouble the Father to the extent that He will be upset with us. Jesus tells us to continue to ASK until we get an answer from God. He wants us to know that although God is our Father, He expects us to keep on ASKing, until He responds.
Jesus wants us to know that when God answers our prayers, it will not just be because we are His children, but more importantly, it will be because we are importunate in prayer. The essence of Jesus' illustrations is to encourage importunate praying rather than praying lackadaisically and relying heavily on our relationship with God! Thus, He said,
whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them. (Luke 11:10, ERV)
The operative words in the above Scripture translation are "whoever" and "continues". "Whoever" makes no distinction about who receives, finds or has a door opened to them. It means anyone—child of God or not—can expect to receive a response from the Father! And not just by merely asking, seeking, or knocking, but "continues" to ask, seek, or knock—persistence and consistency!
Many unanswered prayers are based on a false premise by Christians
Many Christians assume that God is bound to answer them because they are God's chosen people. So, they believe that they would get answers to their prayers only because of their relationship with God. Thus, many Christians pray once about something and no more. They neither return to seek the answer nor remember that they had asked God for something. Such an attitude smacks of 'the spoilt child syndrome'. Suffice to say that God does not have spoilt children—not even Jesus! The Bible says
though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8 NKJV)
The importunate Syrophoenician woman
The story of the Syrophoenician woman is a classic case of someone receiving an answer to prayer, not because of any relationship with God, but because of importunity. The Syrophoenician woman was so named to emphasize that she was not a Jew. Indeed, when she went to ask Jesus for healing for her daughter, His response was emphatic:
"God sent me only to the lost people of Israel." (Matthew 15:24, ERV)
"It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs." (Matthew 15:26, ERV)
Yet, the Syrophoenician woman prevailed—she was not dissuaded. She kept on asking and circumventing every obstacle that sought to make it impossible for her to get what she wanted. Thus, when Jesus said He was only sent to Israel's lost souls, she pleaded for mercy. And when He said He could not give bread meant for the children to the dogs, she asked for the crumbs that fall off the table that the dogs feed off.
The Syrophoenician woman did not rely on a relationship with God because she had none. It was her persistence which the Lord considered faith enough to give her what she wanted:
"Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!" Right then her daughter became well. (Matthew 15:28, MSG)
Whilst it is generally true that God does not hear the prayers of sinners (John 9:31) yet, when such a person cries for mercy from a humble heart (Luke 18:9-14), God cannot and does not turn away from them. He hears them and grants their requests.
Unlike the Syrophoenician woman, many Christians would have been offended at the suggestion that they are unqualified to receive something from God. They would have raved and ranted until their sins rose to heaven. Rather than manifest humility and faith, they would display aggression, suggesting that God owed them big-time! But a woman who was not qualified and regarded as a 'dog' did not try to wriggle out of uncomplimentary statements but used them as a platform to receive what she wanted! Christians need to learn what it means to be humble:
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3, NKJV)
in honor giving preference to one another (Romans 12:10, NKJV)
Relationship with God is a plus, but importunity is the key to receiving answers to prayers
Jesus noted that though God considers our relationship with Him when we pray, it is our importunity that results in answered prayers. Thus, when He spoke about the unjust judge's response to the persistent widow, He said:
So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? (Luke 18:7, MSG)
When we approach God, yes, He is our Father, but we must go with importunity rather than depending on our relationship with Him. Our relationship with God is a given, and it provides a great platform from which to launch our importunity successfully.
The Lord Jesus is telling us that if people who do not have any special relationship with God can obtain a request from Him, how much more should those who have a relationship with Him? And He wants us to understand that it is not merely our relationship with God that gives us answers to prayer, but our importunity. Thus, He asks us to be importunate in prayer and not think we shall get what we are asking for, just because we are God's children.
The Pharisees and Sadducees missed the point
John, the Baptist, said to the Pharisees and Sadducees not to think that they would be accepted just because they were of the stalk of Abraham (Matthew 3:7-9). He told them that God could raise children from stones! And this, God did, when He brought us, the Gentiles, to Himself through Jesus Christ.
In the same vein, Paul warned us, Gentile Christians, not to think that God cannot detach us from Himself if we acted arrogantly like Israel, the natural branch:
For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. (Romans 11:21, NKJV)
Jesus' objective in telling the parables in Luke 11:5-8 and 18:2-6 as an object-lesson on prayer is to emphasize our need for importunity when praying rather than rely on our relationship with God. The friend who got out of bed did not do so because he loved his friend but because his friend kept knocking. The unjust judge did not grant justice because it was his duty to, but because of the widow's continual coming. Likewise, when we pray to the Father, it is our importunity that makes Him grant our request more than our professed relationship with Him.
Jesus, Himself, did not get a free pass!
The Lord Jesus did not rely on His special relationship with His Father while He was here on the earth, for He prayed with strong pleadings and tears (Hebrews 5:7). Jesus prayed so fervently that it is recorded that when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44, NKJV)
What importunity! What praying! The Father did not put things on a platter for Jesus. He had to persist in prayer, though He is the Son! God will not give us a free pass either, though we are His children!
When you pray, be importunate using your relationship with God as an advantage
You must place importunity ahead of your relationship with God when you pray. God knows you are His, yet, He will grant your request because of your importunity! Have you not wondered that those without the special kind of relationship we have with God are getting answers to their requests? Why? Because they would do anything to get that answer—they would neither eat nor drink until their requests are granted.
What about those of us who boast of being God's children? Sadly, we want to keep on feasting, give up nothing, make no sacrifices, yet expect answers from God just because we are His children? Think again!
We need to humble ourselves and remember that God has no spoilt children. Even our Lord Jesus, though He were a Son, had to learn the hard way. Therefore, ASK until the Father responds—use your sonship relationship as an advantage and persist in prayer!