Luke 11:9-10 

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

1 John 5:14-15

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Words are funny things. Sometimes we use them so freely and recklessly. Other times, just forming them on the tongue seems impossible – like when you are trying to ask that special someone on a date; or when you are trying to find the courage to argue an unpopular viewpoint; or when you are trying to find the right words to speak to God in prayer.

In today’s passage from Luke 11, Jesus told a story about a man who knocked on a friend’s door at midnight asking for bread. The friend, who was more than a little irritated at being bothered so late, basically said, “Go away. I’m trying to sleep. Come ask me tomorrow.” But when the midnight visitor insisted, the friend eventually relented, gave him some bread, and sent him on his way.

Then Jesus made this point – if your earthly boldness in asking for things can produce the results you desire, how much more will your heavenly Father honor boldness in your prayer life? After all, He LOVES you. He is never bothered, irritated, or inconvenienced when we pray. He just wants us to ask – boldly and confidently.

Praying boldly does not mean God will give you everything you want. Read 1 John 5:14-15 again. How did John explain this?