Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Luke 11:5-8

Jesus taught the disciples on a number of occasions “that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

While it is true that we are friends with God, and that He is our Father, it is also just as true that Jesus showed us that it was ‘persistence’ in prayer that is also called for.

That word ‘persistence’, here in Luke 11:8 in the NASB, is translated as ‘importunity’ in the KJV.  Importunity is defined as,

Importunity:the quality or state of being importunate. : an importunate request or demand.

Importunate: persistent, especially to the point of annoyance or intrusion.

Understand then, you can’t ‘annoy’ God.  Nor, does God really consider it an ‘intrusion’ when you ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16).  Of course, God is not tired by our incessant asking, nor when we approach Him to have our needs met.

But, just as relevant is the fact that, in Jesus’ teaching, the man did not hear the one asking because he was his friend.  He was his friend, that is already established.  But, the man in the house simply would not have answered, friend or not, simply for his own reasons (he was in bed, in the parable).

But, Jesus’ own instructions were what?  To keep on knocking.  To bang on the door hard, over and over.  To get to the point of human ‘importunity’!  And, this is how Jesus taught us to pray!

Now, we could get into too much debate as to what God’s reasons for not answering immediately.  I’m sure there are answers, but that is not the point.  The point is, simply, keep asking.

Yes, He is our friend.  Yes, He wants us to have it.  But, if you want it, if it’s a godly request, and you want it bad enough, you’ll get it.  Just keep at it!