Does God Care?

KEY VERSE: “For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh flindeth; and to him who knocketh it shall be opened.” —Luke 11:10

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Luke 11:5-13

THIS PARABLE FOLLOWS the well-known outline of prayer which Jesus gave to his disciples when they requested that he teach them to pray. Unmistakably, the lesson is perseverance in prayer. Since Jesus preceded this particular parable with the outline of his model prayer we can take for granted that when he stressed the importance of continuing to ask in order to receive the blessings for which we stand in need, he is speaking of the things which the Heavenly Father is pleased to give us.

Prayer is communion with God, and Jesus would have us remember that we need this communion. We should not suppose that the blessings he is pleased to give us need be requested only once, at the beginning of the Christian life, or even at the beginning of each day. Think of the request, “Thy kingdom come.” How many times this petition has gone up to our Heavenly Father during the Gospel Age! This prayer is still in the hearts and on the lips of God’s consecrated people, but his will is not yet being done in earth as it is in heaven.

When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we do not expect that this one petition will suffice for weeks to come. Although the Lord understands our daily needs, he wants us to realize those needs, and to become more conscious of our source of supply, by the repeated request of things which our Heavenly Father promises to supply.

Immediately following the parable, Jesus raised the question, “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Of if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”—vss. 11-13

Verses 5-9 give an encouraging lesson based upon the parable. The man of whom bread is asked was indifferent; he did not wish to inconvenience himself to get up in the night to give bread to a friend who is in need. He was not a wicked man—but his own comfort seemed more important than his friend’s need. Eventually the man, “evil,” or imperfect, though he was, did bestir himself to answer his friend’s repeated petition. “How much more,” Jesus said, “shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Our Heavenly Father is not moved in any sense by self-interest, nor is he indifferent. He is wholly unselfish and is interested only in what is best for his children. We can never go to our Heavenly Father at a time when it is inopportune to him. He never sleeps; he is never weary. If it seems that he does not grant our petitions immediately, it is because in his wisdom he knows what is best for us as New Creatures, and because he wants us the more earnestly to seek the blessings which he has promised.

In this lesson the Holy Spirit is referred to as being a necessary gift from God. Jesus reminds us that all our needs as New Creatures are of a spiritual sort—blessings which come to us through the Word of God and our understanding of the precious truths of his divine plan.

The Apostle Paul speaks of the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 5:5) If we have the Holy Spirit, we have the love of God blessing our lives. God’s love is evident as he provides for all our needs. We can always be certain that our needs will be supplied, according to the abundance of his grace in Christ Jesus!

Jesus concluded with these words: “I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”—vss. 5-9

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