These teachings from Luke are about persistence in prayer. Jesus tells his disciples not so much what they are to pray for, but how they are to pray; pray persistently, shamelessly, relentlessly. Never give up demanding of God what you desire.

Jesus has just taught his disciples the “Our Father”. One of its petitions is “Give us each day our daily bread”. The parable which follows immediately exemplifies this prayer of petition.

The parable sketches a difficult situation, exaggerated to its worst. A man in need approaches his friend for a favour late at night, a difficult and awkward time. In fact everything is against the petitioner – except for the shamelessness of his request, which in fact does get him what he wants. It’s not what is asked for as much as how the demand is made. The request presumes on the friendship between the two men to get what it wants.

If friendship with God is one reason for demanding what we want, another reason is our relationship of being children of our heavenly Father. A parent, imperfect though he may be, wants to satisfy his child’s wishes, not to tease him. How much more will your heavenly Father not give to those who ask him, says Jesus.

But Jesus doesn’t say that whatever we ask for will be given us. He says rather that we must adopt the attitude of asking continually, even if we don’t get, and not give up. With God, asking is not a transaction, quick and temporary; it is a relationship, slow and transformative. Through persistence in prayer we discover more and more about ourselves before God, and that’s the wonder of it. Luther once said, “Before God we are beggars, that is the only truth.”