Chapter 12—Asking to Give
This chapter is based on
Luke 11:1-13
.
Christ was continually receiving from the Father that He might
communicate to us. “The word which ye hear,” He said, “is not Mine,
but the Father’s which sent Me.”
John 14:24
. “The Son of man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”
Matthew 20:28
. Not for
Himself, but for others, He lived and thought and prayed. From hours
spent with God He came forth morning by morning, to bring the light
of heaven to men. Daily He received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In the early hours of the new day the Lord awakened Him from His
slumbers, and His soul and His lips were anointed with grace, that
He might impart to others. His words were given Him fresh from the
heavenly courts, words that He might speak in season to the weary and
oppressed. “The Lord God hath given Me,” He said, “the tongue of
the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him
that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine
ear to hear as the learned.”
Isaiah 50:4
.
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Christ’s disciples were much impressed by His prayers and by
His habit of communion with God. One day after a short absence
from their Lord, they found Him absorbed in supplication. Seeming
unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The hearts
of the disciples were deeply moved. As He ceased praying, they
exclaimed, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
In answer, Christ repeated the Lord’s prayer, as He had given it in
the sermon on the mount. Then in a parable He illustrated the lesson
He desired to teach them.
“Which of you,” He said, “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
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