Teach Me to Pray - Week #12: The Boldness of God's Friends

In this chapter, Andrew Murray moves on to Jesus' teaching in Luke 11:5-8. Up till now he has been emphasizing the fatherhood of God primarily; now he presents a different relationship with God that we have, that of a friend.

In a good father-child relationship, there's an expectation of answers to requests because the nature of a good parent is to provide for the child even when the child isn't necessarily behaving in accordance with the standards of the home. However, a friendship is different; "...with a friend it seems as if his kindness is more dependent, not on nature, but on sympathy and character...the relationship of a child to his father is more that of perfect dependence, whereas two friends are nearly on the same level. So our Lord, in unfolding to us the spiritual mystery of prayer, shows His desire to have us approach God in this relationship too - as those whom He has acknowledged as His friends, whose mind and life are in sympathy with His...for this we must be living as His friends. I am still a child even when a wanderer, but friendship depends upon conduct. (John 15:14)"

In the school of prayer Murray gives two lessons to be learned related to praying as a friend of God's: first, if we approach Him as His friend, we must be a friend of the needy. In other words, we must be both a friend of God's and a friend of people. The second lesson is that we may take great liberty in claiming an answer for our needy friend(s)

"...Life as the friend of God gives the wonderful liberty to say, 'I have a Friend to whom I can go even at midnight.'...When I come to God in prayer (as a friend) He always looks for the motive behind my petition. If it is merely for my own comfort or joy that I seek His grace, I will not receive. But if I can say that it is so that He may be glorified in my passing on His blessing to others, I am not asking in vain."

Taking Jesus' story from Luke 11:5-8, Murray emphasizes that the answer to this kind of praying may not come at once, because faith is critical in knowing and enjoying God. And faith grows and is tested in having to persevere in intercession.

"What a deep heavenly mystery there is in persevering prayer. The God who has promised, who longs and whose fixed purpose it is to give the blessing, holds it back. It is to Him a matter of deep importance that His friends on earth should know and fully trust their rich Friend in heaven. For this reason He trains them in the school of 'answer delayed' to find out how their perseverance really does prevail and what the mighty power is they can wield in heaven if they but set themselves to it."

Murray eloquently goes on to press this point of how precious our faith is to God and therefore how He must test it in the fire of delayed answers so that it is pure gold; in that testing we draw nearer to Him in intimate and holy fellowship, understanding His heart and His ways better and consequently able to agree wholeheartedly with His ways and methods of governing His kingdom.

The chapter ends with this wonderful word of encouragement which I pass on to you:

"Children of God working in love in your Father's service, take courage. Parents, teachers, preachers - all who have accepted and are bearing the burden of hungry, perishing souls - take courage. That God should truly require persevering prayer, that there should be a spiritual necessity for importunity seems puzzling to us. To teach us, the Master uses this strange parable. If the unfriendliness of a selfish earthly friend can be conquered by importunity, how much more will it avail with our heavenly Father who loves to give but is held back by our spiritual unfitness and our incapacity to receive what He has to give? Thank Him that by delaying His answer He is educating us in our true position and the exercise of all our power with Him..."

Lord, THANK YOU for wanting a friendship with us as well as a Father-child relationship. What an honor that you would invite us into a relationship where we can press You and insist on Your giving us what we need for our needy friends! Thank you that You delight in our persevering in the midst of delayed answers; thank you that You care enough about our maturing in faith so that we can steward wisely the answers to prayer when they come. How wise You are, O Father and heavenly Friend! Great are You and Your ways are great! We worship and adore You and say, "Keep on teaching us to pray" for the glory of Your name, Lord Jesus...Amen.