The Parable of the Friend at Midnight:

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 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. “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. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, 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 11:5-13 (NKJV).

This brief parable is given in the form of a rhetorical question, after which Jesus supplies the obvious answer in order to drive His point home. Then He goes on to offer some application of the parable’s teaching. So, we will follow this simple order in our examination of the parable: 1) the question of the parable, 2) the answer of the parable, and 3) the application of the parable. So, in this parable Jesus wants to encourage the disciples not to be afraid to keep asking every day for their daily bread. He wants them to know that they can be confident in seeking God to meet their daily needs. Perhaps the key term for understanding the meaning of this parable is the word translated persistence in the NKJV. Also, all prayer is to be focused ultimately upon the glory of God and the accomplishment of His will. And, even when we pray for our own needs, this should be with a view to the glory of God. If we want to be the kind of Christlike people the God has demanded of us, and if we want God to meet our needs – both physical and spiritual – to that end, and if we ask Him for such things, then we can be supremely confident that He will give us all that we ask for!