Luke 11:8

"I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs." Luke 11:8

It pays to be persistent. Look at this fellow. Guests arrive late at night. They are hungry and tired. As they settle into the guest room, he rummages through his kitchen to find a bit to eat - only to discover that his teenage son had been there earlier and had eaten every crumb of leftovers. "No problem," he thinks, "I will go to the neighbor. I know for a fact his fine wife baked today. They have enough bread to feed Caesar's army."

Off he goes through the night. He pounds on the door. No one answers. The lights are out. He pounds again. "Wake up Jonas! I need your help." Finally a weary Jonas opens an upstairs window. "What do you want, Silas? Bread you say? I'm in bed, the wife is cold and needs my warmth, the kids are finally asleep - at least they were - and you want bread? At this hour. Who could want to eat at this ungodly hour? Go to sleep. I'll help you in the morning."

The window slams shut. Silas is out in the cold, dark street again. He starts to turn away, but stops. Returning to his friend's door, he picks up a large stone and once again pounds on the door. A light comes on upstairs. Shadows are moving about. Silas thinks, "I've done it this time. He will empty the chamber pot on my head!" Time passes. A door bolt is thrown. With a creak and a groan, the door opens. Silently, belligerently, Jonas tosses a sack of fresh bread into Silas' face, slams the door shut, and mumbling under his breath about crazy neighbors, returns to his warm bed.

What got the bread for our friend Silas? His good friendship with Jonas? Hardly. His promise to return the favor? Never. It was the persistence - the continual pounding on the door. Jonas knew he would get no sleep if he didn't give in and provide bread for his neighbor.

Jesus encourages us to be persistent with the Father - not that God does not want to provide for us - not that He is asleep in heaven - not that He has nothing to provide. No, God wants us to persist so that we can prove how much we want something. I'm a father. I have been for far too many years. I've learned that persistence pays. Children knows that if they keep it up, they will eventually get what they want. Why? Because Mom and Dad know for a certainty what their children want - they've wanted it for a long time. They haven't given up on the idea. They want it bad.

Don't get me wrong. God will not always give us what we ask for. Sometimes it is downright bad for us to get everything we want - just like a wise parent draws the line at what they give their children. But He does want to know if we want something bad enough that we will keep at it. I've found over the years that if I'm really serious about getting something, I will keep after it - until the Father supplies. I've also found that sometimes I take matters into my own hands and wind up with a piece of junk - good for nothing junk. But that's a verse for a different day! Praise God, Amen and Amen.