Keep Knocking

Read This Week: Luke 11

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – Luke 11:8-10 NIV

“If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again.” That is the famous phrase of exhortation coined by Thomas H. Palmer in a book called Teacher’s Manual. The origin of this saying was for Palmer to encourage children to do their homework and keep going when it was difficult to focus on their studies or needed the confidence to keep going. The full quote is actually “Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again”. It is profound in its simplicity and earnest in its desire to spur people on to the potential that lies in wait if one will simply keep trying.

Jesus sent a similar message of faith and persistence to His followers in Luke 11. He uses a parable about a grouchy neighbor to contrast the love and care of God when we seek and ask Him to meet our needs. In the story, we see a man going to his friend’s house looking for food to satisfy his hunger. But the friend is already in bed and unwilling to get up to feed him. The Message captures the response of the friend like this in verse 7:

The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 

Jesus suggests that the man not stop looking for food just because his friend will not get up on the first try. The Lord asserts that the man should keep knocking on the door, and because of his shameless audacity, the friend will surely get up and give him as much as he needs. Jesus says his persistence, faith, and well-intended request will lead the man to the necessary provision.

Christ has a clear message for His followers, if a sleepy and seemingly selfish neighbor will finally feed his friend, how much more will a loving Father provide for His children who keep seeking Him. God is not like the friend. He never sleeps on us, does not get irritated or impatient, is supernaturally generous, embodies grace and kindness, and the Scriptures say He delights in meeting the needs of His followers. The Lord responds to the steadfast asking, searching, and banging on His door.

God wants His family to come to Him and pursue a deeper relationship first. God also desires for us to look to Him for our needs. And if it does not turn out like we want it at first, we are to keep pursuing the One who ultimately knows what is best. We are to keep knocking on His door. We are to try, try again with God. Jesus was clear: For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened

8 Comments

  1. Jeri Centers on May 24, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    Luke 11 verse 9

    When you need help-Daily ask me don’t hold back. I will provide, Just watch what I will bring. I want to give you a deeper understanding, wisdom above everything else. So stay true to My teaching not to be led away by the false.

    What that means to?

    To ask according to His perfect will, Stay close to His laws. Ask for assurance then rest and Believe, trusting in His provisions. Ask for whatever you desire, for God is up to the task but always Remember to ask…

  2. Heidi on May 27, 2022 at 10:44 am

    Father God already knows what we need.
    Prayer is communicating with Father God, prayer is talking to Father God.
    Jesus wanted the disciples to talk to God as Father, He wants us to teach others also, just as we have learned
    to talk to God, listen and respond to Him, He wants us to continue to learn and grow deeper in our Love for them.
    May Your kingdom come, This prayer is asking Father God that more and more people will accept Jesus and have a relationship with them too.
    We need to teach people that God is our provider, everything He gives us are blessings, not to worry, the word us means were all part of the family of Father God. It’s important to teach that yes food is important but spiritual food daily is important too and that people need to know and learn more and more about Father God He knows what we need, he is right here with us all the time and He loves to bless us.

    Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to die in order to forgive us, thank you Father God for forgiving us for making wrong choices.
    At times in your life people will do things that can upset you, or they hurt us by their words. Whatever the situation or reason, or who it is, Jesus is saying to forgive the person. That’s not always an easy thing to do sometimes, forgiving someone may not take the hurt away in the moment, or the memory of what happened, but you can ask Jesus to delete it and it helps set your heart free from it, if you keep thinking about it or you keep telling everyone about it, ask Father God if you have forgiving them, if you haven’t forgiving them keep taking to Jesus about it, He will help you through the process. It’s ok to find someone who will give you the right advice about the situation, counsel you with godly advice, but if someone is not part of the situation or helping you through the process with God’s help it becomes gossip.
    Realize that no one has the power to make you feel or do anything without your consent.

    In life temptation is going on all the time,
    Father God does not lead you to do wrong things
    It’s up to us to ask Him for help us to avoid difficult situations.
    Some situations might be to hard a test for your Faith, so keep asking, keep asking, keep seek for His help, keep searching for someone to help you, that will lead you in the right situation not go along with what your doing,
    and never give up because Jesus can help you through anything.
    Father I hope more and more people will come to you to for what they need in all areas of their life because you have all the answers and you love to help them, all they got to do is ask and keep seeking
    love you Father God, Jesus and Your Holy Spirit

  3. Alma on May 28, 2022 at 8:33 pm

    This week, God gave me a song from Luke 11 called “Trusting In You”:

    We are trusting in you, we are trusting in you we are trusting in you, our Lord
    Through all things, our highs and lows, our stress and anxiety we are trusting in You.

    Knowing we have brighter days ahead, knowing we have brighter days ahead
    We’re trusting in you, our Lord.

    You are our sun on a cloudy day, you are our light in the darkness
    Giving us joy throughout our day.
    We are trusting in you, we are trusting in you we are trusting in you, our Lord. Amen.

    Thank you, Lord, for always being there for me. What a beautiful relationship. I trust you in everything I do. All I have to do is come to you. I am blessed to be a child of you, Lord.

    • Jason on June 13, 2022 at 7:16 pm

      The first part of your song this week sets the hopeful tone for the rest of it, Alma. I love how you started your worship with these lines:

      We are trusting in you, we are trusting in you, we are trusting in you, our Lord
      Through all things, our highs and lows, our stress and anxiety we are trusting in You.

      It is good to declare our trust in the Lord in everything and every part of our lives. Faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God allows us to have peace, joy, and contentment in all things. It empowers us to navigate the highs and lows of life and to thrive amid our challenges while turning our stress and anxiety into rejoicing.

  4. Reach Church on May 29, 2022 at 12:16 pm

    This Week in the Life: Luke 11
    For the best experience, we suggest that you listen to the first song, then the message, and then the second song.

    1. Sunday Worship: https://reachchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-0529-Worship1.wav
    2. Sunday Message: https://reachchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-0529-Message.wav
    3. Sunday Worship: https://reachchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-0529-Worship2.wav

    Join the Party Line Live – Schedule: https://reachchurch.org/connect

  5. Lori Cesefske-Ross on May 30, 2022 at 10:25 am

    God loves us. He has a plan for us. As his children, we need to listen. Life is a journey fill your heart with love and peace.

    • Jason on June 13, 2022 at 7:02 pm

      Welcome to A Week in the Life, Lori! Thank you for sharing what God laid on your heart and for encouraging us. We constantly need to hear and be reminded of what you wrote that God has an eternal plan for us and through that, fills our hearts with love, joy, and peace to be on mission with Him in this life.

  6. Kathy on May 31, 2022 at 2:48 pm

    This is what I got from Luke 11. You need Jesus to teach you how to pray. You need to pray more and more. Do not try to impress Me with many words when you pray. Come to Me as your Father in Heaven. Prayer is a way to get My will accomplished in you and all around you. Jesus wants you to pray with the desire that My will be done. I want you to pray, trusting Me, saying do Your will because I know it is the best. Also ask Me to change you, where you don’t understand or accept My will. To pray our Father requires faith, to pray Your kingdom come requires hope, and to pray Your will be done requires love, because love it the incentive to obey all of My will. You are to freely bring your needs to Me. I do care about everyday things, so you should pray about them. There is also a need for daily forgiveness. As you are forgiven, you must show forgiveness to others. Temptation is a test. I will always give you a way out. I wait for your passionate persistence in prayer. Your persistence does not change Me; it changes you, to have a heart and passion for what I want. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking.. I love to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Me. The problem is you receiving it, not in My desire to give it to you. Will you be with Jesus or against Him? Where do you put your allegiance? Fill your heart with Jesus. Hear My word and keep it. My word and My work should be displayed by you. Let My light shine in you.

    What this said to me is I need to change the way I pray. I need to remember God is my Father, and I am his daughter. I need to pray more and more. I need to be passionate about praying to Him. I need to trust God and His will for Me.. Temptation is a test that I need to pass.

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