Luke 11:5-8

DISCOURSE: 1520
THE FORCE OF IMPORTUNITY

Luke 11:5. And he said unto them, Which, of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

IT is common with proud infidels, when disputing against the doctrines of our holy religion, to reduce Jehovah, as it were, to a level with man; and to argue, that what would be unsuitable for man to do towards his fellows must therefore be unsuitable for God to do in his dealings with mankind. But what know we of Jehovah, that we should presume to judge of him by ourselves? or what claim have we on God, that we render him amenable to us for his dispensations towards us, when we might, every one of us, have been justly left, like the fallen angels, to have taken our portion in the abyss of hell, if He, of his sovereign grace, had not determined to put a difference between us and them? To bring Jehovah to our bar, and to try him there by a standard of our own, is impious in the extreme. His ways and thoughts are infinitely above ours; “nor will He give account to us of any of his matters:” and our province, in reference to his revealed will, is, not to dispute, but to believe, and to obey. Yet there are circumstances wherein we may, with great propriety, draw a parallel between God and ourselves: as, for instance, if there be any thing good which man will do, we may be perfectly assured, not only that God will do the same, but that he will infinitely exceed it. Thus our Lord, having taught his Disciples to pray, and wishing to encourage in them the utmost urgency and fullest confidence of success in prayer, he appeals to them respecting the effect of importunity between man and man, and teaches them to expect still greater effects from it in their addresses at the throne of grace. From this appeal of his, I will take occasion to shew,

I. The force of importunity in our intercourse with man—

[Our Lord supposes a sudden emergency to have arisen. A friend, on a journey, having lost his way [Note: See the marginal translation.], and wandered about till midnight, suddenly comes to our house, oppressed both with fatigue and hunger; and, whilst we joyfully afford him a lodging, we accidentally have no provision, not so much as a piece of bread, to set before him for his refreshment. (This is a case which may very well be supposed; nor is there in it any thing so extraordinary, but that it may fitly serve as a basis for a hypothetical proposition.) To what expedient would you have recourse? You yourself have a friend near at hand; and, whilst the weary traveller rests himself, you go to him, and knock at his door, and entreat him to lend you some bread for the occasion. (This, though undesirable in itself, on account of the unseasonableness of the hour, you would feel justified in resorting to, on account of the greatness of the emergency.) Your friend, who, with his children and servants, are all in bed, not liking to be disturbed at such an hour, and to have the disturbance spread over his whole family, excuses himself, and declines acceding to your request. (This is perfectly natural. What relates to self arises much more quickly in our minds than the concerns of others; and the trouble imposed on us, appears more immediately deserving our attention, than any which we are called upon to alleviate in others.) But you continue to plead with him the necessity of the case: and his friendly dispositions, which had not been sufficient to operate in your favour in the first instance, are awakened and called into exercise by your importunity; and he then arises, and gives you whatsoever you require. (In the whole of our intercourse with our friends, and indeed with the world at large, we find, that a perseverance in urging our requests will prevail, when higher considerations have lain dormant, and been ineffectual for the attainment of our wishes.)

This case is so simple, that it would be obscured, rather than elucidated, by any amplification of mine: it commends itself at once as a very probable occurrence, and as well fitted to illustrate the great truth which it was intended to inculcate.]
Let us, then, proceed to notice,

II.

The encouragement to be derived from it in our intercouse with God—

Our blessed Lord himself shews us how to apply the subject; first of all in a way of direct affirmation, “Ask, and ye shall have,” &c.; and then in a way of inference; namely, “If we, who are evil,” will not refuse to supply the necessities of others, “much less will God,” who is so infinitely good [Note: ver. 9–13]. To mark this inference, let the following considerations be duly marked:

1. Importunity, however urgent, will never offend our God—

Man it may offend; and not unfrequently does; and even irritates him to such a degree, as to draw from him expressions, which, in a calmer hour, he would not, on any account, have used. But God will never be offended: on the contrary, he tells us that “the prayer of the upright is his delight.” To what an amazing extent did he bear with the importunity of Abraham, when, in a long strain of consecutive petitions and arguments in behalf of Sodom, he urged the sparing of that guilty city for the sake of fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, yea, even ten righteous persons, who might be there! So, we may be sure, he will never be displeased with us, though we “cry to him night and day,” and “wrestle with him, as Jacob did, refusing to let him go until he bless us [Note: Genesis 32:26.].”]

2. Nor can our petitions ever be unseasonable—

[Unseasonable they may often be, if made to man. His occupations may not admit of his attending to them at the time they are offered. But no hour is unsuited for our supplications to God. He is never disinclined to listen to the case which we spread before him, nor ever so occupied as to defer it to a season of greater leisure. We find the Scripture saints “preventing the night watches” in their addresses at the throne of grace [Note: Psalms 119:148.]; and, however sudden the emergency that calls for his attention, he has shewn himself, at all times, equally disposed to fulfil the desires which have been expressed even by a sigh, a look, a thought [Note: Exodus 14:15.Nehemiah 2:4.]

3. Nor can they ever exceed either his power or willingness to give—

[The friend who was applied to for bread, might have been in the same predicament with him who made the application: or, as was the case, he might, on some account or other, be unwilling to grant the request. But God is never either unable or unwilling to grant all that we can ask. On the contrary, we are assured, that he is “able to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask, or even think.” The weakest or the vilest of the whole human race should “find mercy and grace to help him in the time of need,” if only he sought it in Jesus’ name: nor should all the glory and felicity of heaven be withheld from one who applied to God in penitence and faith. “However wide he opened his mouth, God would fill it.”]

4. Importunity is the very mean which God himself has prescribed for our obtaining of blessings at his hands—

[He bids us not only to pray, but to “continue instant in prayer;” yea, to “pray without ceasing,” and to “give him no rest” till we have obtained the blessings which we have desired [Note: Isaiah 62:6.]. He has spoken a parable, for the express purpose of shewing us, that “we are to pray always, and not faint [Note: Luke 18:1.].” Immediately after my text, the encouragement given by our Lord to importunity in prayer is conveyed with such remarkable repetitions, as cannot fail to strike every attentive reader, and to shew how urgent God is with us, to make us urgent in our supplications to him.]

Application—
1.

Seek friendship with God—

[A man may expect to prevail with a friend, for things which he could not hope for as a stranger. And what may we not expect to obtain at God’s hands, if once we are reconciled to him in the Son of his love? Having given us his own Son, what will he withhold from us [Note: Romans 8:32.]? If, indeed, we continue enemies to God in our hearts by wicked works, we cannot hope to obtain any blessings at his hands; for we are warned, that “if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us:” but, if we come to him in Christ Jesus, with penitential sorrow, “he will never suffer us to seek his face in vain.”]

2. Whatever you ask of God, ask it in faith—

[If you come with doubtful hearts, questioning whether God be able or willing to relieve you, you cannot hope to obtain an answer of peace [Note: James 1:6.]. But the prayer of faith shall surely prevail. Whatever be the petition which we offer, provided only it be really good for us, it shall be given us [Note: John 15:13; John 16:7.]. True, the cup was not taken from the hands of our blessed Lord, nor was the thorn taken from the flesh of the Apostle Paul, though both the one and the other urged their petitions with repeated earnestness: but our blessed Lord was enabled to drink the cup of bitterness even to the dregs, and the Apostle had his affliction greatly sanctified to the good of his soul: and therefore, though the blessings asked were withheld from each, as to the matter of them, they were more effectually bestowed on each as to their ultimate effect. Thus, only leave to God to judge for you as to the gift that shall be conferred, and you shall be sure never, in any case, to ask in vain.]

3. Never be discouraged on account of any delay you may experience in the answers to your prayers—

[The importunate widow, though often repulsed, prevailed at last: and though God may not answer us so speedily as we could wish, it shall, in fact, be “speedily,” because it shall be at that precise moment when it shall be most for our eternal good. There are many reasons known to God for delaying to answer our prayers; and which, if known to us, would lead us to acquiesce in, and even to desire, the delay. We need to be stirred up to more importunity in prayer, and to be made more deeply sensible of our need of mercy. We need also to be made more thankful to God for his answers to prayer: and all these benefits may arise from delay. But, beyond the proper season, God will not withhold any communication which, in his wisdom, he sees needful for us. His declaration to this effect may be fully depended on: “The vision is for an appointed time; but at the end it shall speak, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come; it will not tarry [Note: Habakkuk 2:3.].” Only wait for the Lord, and you shall never be disappointed of your hope.]