The Parable of the Friend at Midnight
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A man knocks at midnight, keeps on asking and gets the bread: Jesus teaches us to pray without giving up
What is this parable?
Just before this parable, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and he taught them the Our Father (cf. Lk 11:1-4). Then he told the story of the friend at midnight to teach them how to pray: with perseverance and trust.
The story
Jesus tells of a man who goes to his friend’s house at midnight and says: “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread” (Lk 11:5), because a friend on a journey has stopped at his house and he has nothing to offer him to eat. In that land, welcoming a traveler was a very important duty.
The friend inside answers that the door is already locked and his children are in bed with him, so he cannot get up (cf. Lk 11:7). But the man stays there and keeps on asking. Jesus says that even if the friend will not get up because they are friends, he will get up and give him whatever he needs because he keeps on asking (cf. Lk 11:8).
What does Jesus want to teach you?
The Lord is not saying that God is like that sleepy friend. He is saying: if even a friend will get up in the middle of the night, then the Father in heaven is so much more willing: “how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Lk 11:13).
Sometimes you pray and do not see an answer right away. God has not forgotten you. He wants you to keep going, so that your heart grows in trust, and he always gives you what is truly good for you, above all the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A lesson for you
- Pray every day, even when you have not yet seen your prayer answered.
- Pray for other people too, like the man who asked for bread for his guest.
- Be ready to help people in need, even when it is a bit of a bother for you.
- Before you go to sleep, tell God what you are worried about, as you would tell a close friend.
Identifying marks
- A man holding a small lamp, knocking on a door in the night: someone who prays, coming to God even when it is hard, without feeling shy and without giving up.
- Three round loaves handed out through the half-open door: a prayer that is answered; the Father in heaven gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (cf. Lk 11:13).
- The friend inside, wrapped in a blanket, opening the door a little: even though he does not want to get up, he still gives; God is far more generous than that.
- A village sunk in darkness under a starry sky: no hour is ever too late to pray; God always listens.
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Compiled by i-Catholic · About