Catching Every Word

/ Megan Wright

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers—if your children ask  for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:5-11

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer – how to pray, what it means to pray, and why prayer truly does matter. After reciting part of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells a story about two friends. One of the friends asks to borrow a loaf of bread, and he keeps knocking and knocking on his friend’s door. Finally, after a while of knocking the friend who lives in the house came to the door—not because of their friendship but because of the other friend’s persistence. Jesus then says that we should knock and keep on knocking. He tells us to not give up in prayer and asking Him for things. Finally, Jesus closes out this passage by comparing earthly fathers to our Heavenly Father. He says that if imperfect fathers here on earth even give their children good gifts, then how much more will our perfect Father in Heaven give us exactly what we need and more if we just ask Him.

Prayer is one of the most powerful tools Jesus left us with. In this passage, the friend who lived in the house eventually answered the door not because his friend was at the door, but because his friend wouldn’t stop knocking! The friend was shamelessly persistent and did not give up until finally the friend who lived in the house got up and gave him what he needed. And these were imperfect people who lived here on earth. If these friends will give each other what they need when they need it, how much more will our Father in Heaven give us what we need? 

Here on earth, in this day and age, we are used to getting what we want exactly when we want it. If we want to watch a movie, there are endless possibilities on a variety of streaming services. If we need a gallon of milk, we can just drive to the store and pick it up in a number of minutes. We no longer have to go to our friend’s house to ask them to borrow a gallon of milk. If we want to check in on an old friend, we can find their social media and catch up on their whole life. We don’t have to go visit them to catch up with them. If we want to know how to do something, we can just Google it or watch a quick YouTube video to see how to do it. We no longer have to experiment and figure out the best way to solve our problems.

Our lives have sped up exponentially and we now move at rapid speed. We have infinite knowledge in our hands because of the Internet. We can communicate with anyone, anytime. And honestly, I don’t think this is how we were wired. I don’t believe God created us with the intention to have all information at the tips of our fingers. Because when the thing we want to know is an Internet search away, we don’t have to be curious. We don’t have to figure out how to do that new thing we’ve been wanting to try. We don’t have to meet up with our old friend in-person to catch up on life. We can get whatever we want, exactly when we want it. And when that doesn’t happen, we start to get upset and frustrated and impatient. Patience is no longer a daily practice in our lives. It is no longer something we value. Curiosity is not required. 

And so when it comes to our prayer life, we often get discouraged and upset at God when we don’t hear a response right away. We wonder where God is and why we haven’t heard anything. But first of all, I don’t think God moves at the pace our society moves at. We move so fast, and we always have to be moving. It’s weird to stop moving, as we learned from 2020. But I believe God moves at a slow, simple pace. We know Jesus did during His time on earth. When Jesus walked this earth, there were no cars, no transportation (other than donkeys, wagons, etc). There were no cell phones, no technology. Life moved at a slow, steady pace. People actually had to have conversation with one another in order to communicate. People stayed at each other’s houses, had meals with each other. There were tight-knit communities of people who loved on each other and who were there for each other. They were in the moment. And they weren’t perfect, but they took the time to listen to each other. There were lots of flaws in society at this time, a lot of injustices between people groups, and a lot of hatred toward other people groups. But within their tight-knit communities, there was often peace because of their constant togetherness. When Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, He walked along at the slow, steady pace that existed within His culture and community. And when He grew up and gained followers and disciples, He walked everywhere. At a slow yet steady pace. And He loved His people, and He wanted to be close to them. He ate dinner at many different people’s houses, even Pharisees. And especially the people who everyone despised and avoided. The outcasts. 

All this to say, Jesus loves us and is speaking to us all the time. But are we listening to what He has to say? Or are we tuned in to what the world has to say to us and about us? Jesus wants us to hear what He has to say, but when our society is moving at the speed we are at, it is hard to slow down and catch the words that Jesus is speaking to us. Ultimately, it comes down to whose voice we care more about. Our King, or the world. Who are we willing to let speak over our lives? Who are we going to let influence us? Jesus hears our every prayer. His eyes are fixed on us. He is paying attention to our every cry. Steffany Gretzinger worded this beautifully in her song “This Close” with Chandler Moore. She said, “You’re not struggling to hear me, so I’m not striving to be heard. I am sure the One who made me is catching every word.” Jesus hears our words. But do we give Him space to respond? I have struggled with this many times. I pour out my heart to God, and thank Him, but then once I lay it all down, I don’t wait to hear His response. I just say Amen, and that’s that. But how much more beautiful would prayer be for us if we made it a conversation? A dialogue? Instead of just a one-sided statement or plead. Prayer is essentially just talking to Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our friend. And it is just like any other conversation with our friends here on earth. We say something to our friend, and our friend responds. But in our day today, are we giving God space to do the responding part? Getting to know Jesus happens through listening to Him and hearing His heart for us, His children. I believe Jesus speaks to us today, through a variety of ways. But are we listening? 

A few weeks ago at my church, one of the speakers talked about our relationship with God. There are 3 relationships that are most important to recognize. First and foremost, He is our Lord, and we are His faithful servants. This comes first because He created us and we must submit to Him and serve Him through the life He has given us. When you give your life to Jesus, this is how your relationship with Him really starts out. But as we dive deeper into our relationship with Him, He also becomes our Father, and we are His sons & daughters. He is still our Lord, and we are still His faithful servants, but now that we have gotten to know Him better, we have a deeper understanding of the relationship He desires to have with us. We are His children, adopted into His family forever. Nowadays, many people do not have a relationship with their earthly fathers, but God wants everyone to know that He is our perfect Father in Heaven. He loves us unconditionally, and nothing you could ever do or not do could change how much He loves us. And as we continue to get to know Jesus as our Lord and as our Father, he becomes our friend. And what a privilege it is to be called friends of Jesus. Honestly, we don’t even deserve to be His servants, and yet He desires a friendship with us. In John 15:14-15 (NKJV) Jesus says, 

“You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants,  for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” 

Unlike our friends here on earth, Jesus is the friend who is always there for us, who loves us, and who wants to be with us.

As our Father and our good friend, Jesus wants what is best for us. And when we hear an answer to our prayers, it may not always be the answer we were hoping for. Perhaps He said no to something you were so sure was the right thing. And maybe it was a really good thing, and it would have been an incredible addition to your life. But we have to remember that God is omniscient; all-knowing. He knows our past, but He also knows our future. Every little detail of it. Because He designed it. He knows exactly what we truly need, and He knows the perfect timing for everything. And so in the moments when we hear a no to something that we thought was right, trust that ‘no’. Trust that either it is not the right time for that good thing, or He has something better. If God says no to something in your life, it means He has an even better yes. So be persistent in your prayers to Him. But trust His response. Trust that what He says is wise and good. And He has even greater things in store for your life. Greater than you could ever imagine. 

I want to leave you with this – God gives good gifts to His children. He created this life for us to learn and to grow in relationship with Him, but also to enjoy. He loves to see a smile on your face, and He loves when you enjoy all the beautiful things that He has intentionally put in your life. The beautiful sunset, the tasty ice-cream cone, the kind people that you love. This life is not all about suffering. Although there will absolutely be battles and storms and hardships that we will have to fight through, there is light in this life, and the light we see is just a taste of what we will experience in Heaven for all eternity. So enjoy the little things. Ecclesiastes 5:18 (NKJV) describes it this way: 

“Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.”

Enjoy the little things that God has blessed you with, and imagine how much greater Heaven is going to be, seeing Jesus face-to-face and living with Him forever.

You are so loved. Go have a great day. 

— Laci

Further Encouragement:

  • John 15
  • Matthew 21:21-22
  • Luke 18:1-8 (The persistent widow)
  • James 2:23 NKJV

My Favorite Music Right Now:

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