Introduction

As many of you know, I have been in seminary at Regent College for over the past year and a half, and I am exactly halfway there till I finish my degree. This year we also joined a Baptist church in Vancouver and I have begun an internship there, being mentored by the pastor. Through both the seminary and our new church, God has been teaching me and shaping me in tremendous ways. This morning I want to take a passage that I studied in one of my seminary classes and share it with you. My professor helped me grasp the truth in this text and I hope to offer you the same. And since I am already sharing with you a bit of my Regent education, allow me to share a bit of my new church in Vancouver with a story that I heard from my pastor. It will help introduce today's message.

 

A traveler in Asia visited a pagan temple on a great-feast day, and he was extremely puzzled by what was going on. There was a long line of people all waiting to worship a giant statue of a god enclosed in a sacred shrine. The traveler noticed that the worshippers brought with them small pieces of paper on which prayers had been written. The worshippers would then roll up their paper into tiny balls. Then they would dip it into a bucket full of mud and fling it at the god. The man found this behavior so peculiar that he enquired as to why this statue was covered in mud balls. He was told that if the mud ball stuck fast to the statue then the prayer would be answered, but if the mud ball fell off then the god had rejected the request.

 

Imagine if this was the way Christians were to pray to God. Imagine if our confidence in prayer depended upon the stickiness of a mud ball. Imagine if our God was as passive and unresponsive as a slab of stone. Thank God that He is a Living God, one who is not only sovereign and all-powerful but also near-to-us and all-loving. And thank God that the basis of our prayers rests in something more secure and more reliable and more trustworthy than simple mud and stone.

 

This morning our emphasis will be on prayer. I am not going to try to convince you to pray because every Christian already knows he should pray, but what we do not always know is how to pray. In particular, when we pray most of us do not know how to frame our requests in such a way that honors God while inclining him to act. It is so easy for our prayers to sound like selfish pleas that treat God more as a genie in a bottle than as a loving, sovereign Lord in heaven. So this morning we are going to ask the question, “When we pray, on what basis do we make petitions to God?” For those idol worshippers, they made their petitions on the basis of a mud ball's ability to stick to a slab of stone. But what about the Christian? In what do we root our confidence that God is listening to our prayers and is willing to act? On what do we base our prayers?

 

This is fitting topic for us today because we have come to worship on the last day of the year, on the brink of a brand new year, and with every new year all of us are experiencing a mix of expectancy and anxiety. There is much to look forward to in this new year, but at the same time there is much to worry about. So with so many unknowns that lay ahead of us and therefore so much to pray for, it is only fitting for us to learn how to pray. To ask, “on what basis should we make our petitions to God when we pray?”

 

The Parable of the Friend at Midnight

Turn with me please to Luke 11 and here we will find Jesus teaching his disciples on the very subject of prayer, particularly on how to pray.

 

READ Luke 11:1-13.

 

His disciples had just seen Jesus return from one of his many extended times of prayer, where he probably spent the entire night praying to his Father. And we find here the only recorded request from the disciples for Jesus to teach them. They may have asked him to teach them many things, but in all the Gospels their only recorded request of Jesus was to teach them how to pray. They realized that all the amazing things Jesus was doing was emerging from his relationship with his Father, which he was connected to through prayer. So what was pressing for them was to learn how to pray.

 

Well Jesus answers in two ways. First, in v2-4 he teaches them what is known as the shorter form of the Lord's Prayer. Second, in v5-13 he teaches them what is known as the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. This parable was given to motivate his disciples to want to pray by teaching us what to base our prayers upon. This is where I want to focus our attention this morning.

 

Now to best understand this parable, it helps to imagine the scenario happening before your eyes, and to actually distinguish the three characters involved. First we have Person A, who is at home late one evening. Then we have Person B, who has just arrived from a journey and has taken up residence with his friend Person A. Lastly, we have Person C who lives next door to Person A in the same village. So when Person A is visited by his friend Person B in the middle of the night, Person A wants to be a good host so he prepares a meal for his friend but discovers he has no bread. So Person A walks next door to Person C's house to borrow some bread. Now remember it is midnight and Person C has already put his kids to sleep and is in bed himself.

 

Now in 1 st century Palestine , homes were simple one-room structures so the whole family slept in the same room and usually on the same mat. That means for Person C to get up and help Person A would mean to risk waking up his kids. I am sure that those of you here with kids can sympathize with Person C. Once you finally get your kids to go to bed, only a huge emergency like an earthquake necessitates waking them up. So clearly we have an awkward situation. Person C tells Person A in v7, “ Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.” Now at this point, Jesus gives us the main point of the parable when he says in v8.

 

Two Interpretations

Now there are actually two different, but plausible, interpretations of this parable and which way you take it depends on how you interpret two particular words in v8. Reread v8 with me and allow me to interject labels for each of the pronouns to distinguish between the two men. Jesus says, “I tell you, though he (clearly referring to Person C in the house) will not get up and give him (referring to Person A outside) the bread because Person C is Person A's friend, yet because of the man's boldness Person C will get up and give Person A as much as Person A needs.”

 

The words in question are the “man's boldness”. Scholars have debated over these two words. 1) What is the correct translation of the Greek word that is here translated in my NIV bible as “boldness”? The word in Greek is “anaideian”. Other Bible translations translate “anaideian” as persistence or impudence or shamelessness. The difficulty lies in the fact that the word only shows up once in the Greek NT and it is right here. 2) The other question is, “who is the word “man” referring to?” Is it Person A's anaideian? Or is it Person C's anaideian? As we will see, your choice makes a huge difference in your interpretation.

 

Now the traditional Western interpretation translates anaideian as boldness or persistence and refers to Person A's boldness or persistence in knocking even at such an inopportune time. So for a Western commentator, Jesus' main point is that we should base our confidence in prayer on our boldness or persistence to keep praying even when it is not opportune. Now this is a plausible interpretation because elsewhere in the Bible teaches the same thing. Turn over to Luke 18. Here we find the Parable of the Persistent Widow, and here Jesus is clearly teaching us about being persistent and bold in your prayers. v1 - 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

 

So with a Western interpretation, both parables would be focused on us, the one who prays, and the basis of our petitions to God is our own persistence to keep on praying. Now that interpretation is right on for the Parable of the Persistent Widow but most likely Jesus had a different emphasis on prayer when he told the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. There are commentators who disagree with this traditional Western interpretation and suggest that the parable is not about persistence and not about Person A who is doing the asking.

 

The other plausible interpretation argues that anaideian refers to a desire to avoid shame and the focus of attention should be on Person C. So instead of emphasizing Person A's boldness, we are talking about Person C's avoidance of shame. Now let me offer evidence that supports such an interpretation.

1) In v5 Jesus starts off his parable with the words, “Suppose one of you has a friend…”. Well the way the NIV translates this phrase actually takes away from the original wording. The ESV translates it more literally with the phrase, “Which of you who has a friend…” The difference is that when you read the NIV you miss the question that Jesus is asking.
 
2) Note that Jesus' question is actually rhetorical. Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight asking for bread to feed a traveler and have that very friend of yours turn you down because it is too late at night? That is the rhetorical question. All the disciples and every other 1 st century Jew would have answered unanimously: none of us. None of us would have such a friend. No one could imagine such a friend.

 

3) Now why is that? The reason why no one could imagine such a friend is because the original audience of this parable was living in a shame-based culture where the act of rejecting a neighbor in his attempts to be a good host would be inconceivable. It would be utterly shameful for Person C to reject Person A's request for bread. See this is why most Western commentaries miss this aspect of the parable. Western commentators do not live in a shame-based culture. But Eastern cultures such as our Chinese culture can better identify with 1 st century Judaism because we both share the same values that see shame as a negative vice and the avoidance of shame as a positive virtue.

 

4) So if we read v8 from the perspective of a shame-based culture, the most plausible translation for the Greek word anaideian is “shamelessness”. Look in any biblical lexicon and the most literal translation of anaideian is shamelessness, the desire to avoid shame. I learned from my Regent prof that linguistically, the concept of persistence actually was not even attributed to anaideian until after the 3 rd century. So during Jesus' days, anaideian would have been understood as shamelessness, the avoidance of shame.
 
5) So in this second interpretation, the parable is not about the one who is outside asking but rather about the sleepy neighbor who has to decide whether or not to help his friend. Jesus' main point is that Person C will not get up because he is Person A's friend, yet because of Person C's desire to avoid shame and to protect his reputation, he will get up and offer his friend some bread. He does not want the village finding out that he failed in his duty to be hospitable to a guest. That would mean losing face. That would bring shame to his family name. So even if friendship wont get him out of bed, his desire to uphold his own name will.

 

Jesus is teaching his disciples that there is something that goes beyond friendship, something that motivates us to act even when bonds of friendship fail. That something is the desire to avoid bringing shame to your name.

 

Resting in God's Anaideian

So unlike the Western interpretation, the focus is not on us Christians as the ones who pray but rather on the Lord who responds. The more Eastern interpretation makes God the main character and the parable is not so much about our persistence in prayer but rather about God's commitment to never bring shame to his own name when responding to our prayers. This interpretation of the parable is highly plausible because throughout Scripture we find passages teaching us that God is passionately committed to his own name.

 

Isaiah 48:9-11 – God is telling Israel why he has been delaying his wrath in spite of all their rebellion and idolatry.

9 For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off. 10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

 

Ezk 36:19-23 – God is telling Ezekiel the reason why he will bring back the Israelites from their exile in Babylon . Note that it is not for their sake he will do this but for the sake of his holy name.

19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are the LORD's people, and yet they had to leave his land.' 21 I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

 

So it is clear from Scripture that above all things…God is passionate for his own name. He is committed to never let his name be profaned. And this commitment supersedes all other commitments. His passion for his name goes beyond his friendship with us. His passion for his name goes beyond his love for us. The good news in this parable is that even when we are unlovable God will still hear our prayers because he is passionate for his own name. We are God's people and just as Israel bore God's name among the nations, we as the church bear his name among the nations. And just as Israel acted in unloving ways that did not deserve friendship, we individually have acted in unloving ways and do not deserve friendship with God. But because we bear his name, because we carry his reputation around with us, for his own sake, that his name might not be shamed, God will show mercy to his church and hear our prayers.

 

So if we ask our thesis question again: “When we pray, on what basis do we make petitions to God?” The answer is not: on the basis of our own righteousness. Nor is it on the basis of our persistence to keep on praying. It is not even on the basis of God's love for us. Jesus' point in this parable is that even if God does not love us, because of the fact that we bear his name as Christians, he will still hear our prayers because of his passion to uphold his name. But Jesus does not end there. He goes on to say that God does love us as a good Father loves his children. Read v11-13. So we can be confident when we pray to God not only because he is a good Father who loves us, but ultimately because he will always act in such a way as to uphold his name and his honor.

 

This is the thesis I want you to take away this morning: Because God is passionately committed to his own name, we can pray with boldness and confidence.

 

Conclusion

Let me conclude by showing you an example from the Bible of someone praying on the basis on God's name and then I will offer you an example of how you can do the same in your own prayer life. Turn with me to Daniel 9:15-19. Daniel is an official in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon . The Israelites are in exile and in this prayer Daniel has just finished confessing the sins of the people. Now he is about to make an appeal to God that he might free his people from Babylon and bring them out of exile and restore Jerusalem. Now notice how he appeals to God. Notice the basis for his petition.

 

15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem , your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

 

Did you notice it? What was the basis of Daniel's petition to God?

Verse 17b – “For your sake O Lord look with favor….”

Verse 18a – “Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name.”

Verse 18b – “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

Verse 19a – “For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

 

So how can we pray in such a way as to base our petitions in God's passionate commitment to his own name? How do we pray for the sake of God's name? Well we do not appeal on the basis of our righteousness. We do not pray to God by saying, “Lord, because I've been trying to follow you and since I've been doing my best to obey you, please answer my prayers.” Instead Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer to base our petitions in God's desire to hallow his own name. Look back at Luke 11:2. When you pray say: Father, hallowed be your name. The rest of the prayer is rooted completely in God's passion to hallow his name, to honor his holy name.

 

Imagine what it would look like for HCC if we started to pray, in our congregational prayers and in our personal prayers, in this very same way. We ask for daily bread not simply for our sake that we may be satisfied but for the sake of God's name that He may be praised as the All-Satisfying One. We pray for the forgiveness of sins not simply for our sake that our consciences may be cleansed but for the sake of God's name that may He exalted as Just and the Justifier of sinners. We ask God to not lead us into temptation not simply for our sake that we may be righteous but for the sake of God's name that He may be savored as the Source of Greatest Delight.

 

I realize this is not how we naturally pray. Our prayers are usually centered on our needs and our desires, but Jesus is teaching us to pray God-centered, God-focused prayers. So we need to change the way we pray. But I want to make it clear that we are not talking about magic words or phrases. Just adding the phrase, “for your namesake” is not going to make it a God-centered prayer. We have to use our minds when we pray. We have to think theologically, think deeply, and ask, how is my prayer request connected to God's glory.

How is my prayer for healing connected to God's glory?

How is my prayer for safety connected to God's glory?

How is my prayer for my workplace connected to God's glory?

How is my prayer for my un-saved friends connected to God's glory?

We have to think about how my petition is related to God's name being glorified, and then we base our prayer on that very connection. That is how we pray for the sake of God's name.

 

So one way to apply what we have learned today concerning prayer is to pick up one of these (Hold Up Spiritual Journal). In this upcoming year, the church leadership will be encouraging each of you to take one of these spiritual journals and to incorporate it into your spiritual practices. In it you can journal and keep track of your prayers. So I encourage you to make your first prayer entry a prayer that is God-centered, God-exalting, and based solely upon God's passion for his own name.

 

Prayer

Oh Good and Gracious Father, for the sake of your name, we ask that you forgive our sins this day. Lord, because you are the Source of Greatest Delight, keep us from the fleeting pleasures of sin. For your honor and praise, let us live holy lives at work and at school, making ethical choices and decisions and showing loving kindness towards our neighbor. For the glory of Christ in the family, may husbands and wives love as Christ and his bride. May parents and children treat each other with honor and respect. That you may be exalted here in Houston and also among all the nations, cause this church to love each other, to live in unity, to be salt and light, to be bearers of good news through word and deed. For your namesake O Lord, may you blot out injustice and violence and suffering and war. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive, O Lord, pay attention and act, for your own sake, O Lord, because your church and this people are called by your name.

 

 

 




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