The story of The Persistent Friend is
found in the book of Luke:
“And he said to them, "Suppose one of you
has a friend, and you go to him at midnight
and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves
of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and
I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, "Do not bother me; the
door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and
give you anything.' I tell you, even though he
will not get up and give him anything because
he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he
needs. "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be
given you; search, and you will find; knock,
and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who
searches finds, and for everyone who knocks,
the door will be opened. Is there anyone
among you who, if your child asks for a fish,
will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the
child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If
you then, who are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more
will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!"
(Lk 11:5-13) NRSV
© Beth Belcher, 2010
Parables on the Run
For You and Your Child
By Beth Belcher
The
Persistent Friend
Has one of your children ever
needed something and you were
too comfortable in your chair after
a long day’s work to want to get
up and get it for them? Or you
thought that they were asking for
what they wanted not what they
really needed? But when your
child persists, you realize that they
are serious and give in?
You are not alone.
Jesus told these stories to help us
see how much God loves us. He
took abstract concepts and made
them concrete by putting them
into terms we could understand.
Help your child to get their arms
around being a true friend by reading this parable. You may be surprised by how much you enjoy it!
The Persistent
Friend
What Does This Story
Mean?
*The friend in the story represents us as we seek
Jesus asked them what they would think
about this scenario. What if a friend of yours
called you very late at night and asked you
to please lend him some food since he had
unexpected company. You were very tired
from your work, the kids, and driving to and
from soccer, ballet and piano lessons. So you
told your friend your could not help him
and hung up the
phone.
But your friend
wouldn’t take ‘no’ for
an answer and kept on
pestering you until
you gave in and told
him to come and pick up a gift card for food
from a local grocery store.
Perhaps you helped your friend because you
were friends, but more likely you helped
your friend because he wouldn’t stop bugging you for help.
Then Jesus told them: ASK,
SEEK, KNOCK. For those
who ask will receive, those
who seek will find and
those who knock will have
the door opened to them.
Which one of you who was listening to the
parable would give their child something
that would harm them when they asked for
something to eat? God is so
perfect that if we who are
sinful would do the right
thing for our children, how
much more goodness will
God give us, through the
power of the Holy Spirit,
when we trust in God?
God and God’s help at all times, whether the
times are convenient or not.
*The homeowner represents God since God is
always at home though it may seem as if God is
busy since our prayers aren’t always answered
quickly enough.
*The persistence of the friend represents the way
we should not give up, even when it seems like
our prayers have no meaning or that God is not
listening. Persistence is our faithfulness in action—through prayer. If we truly believe, we will
not give up in our prayer life. If we find that we
have taken a break from regular prayer, we will
always come back to it.
*ASK, SEEK, KNOCK stand for our trust in God
and our willingness to continue our prayerful
relationship with God as God’s wisdom and
mercy are always in motion to show God’s love
for us.
*Children want to know that they are being listened to when they speak to others. There is
nothing more devaluing than to have someone
you love ignore your best efforts at communication. But children also need to understand that
sometimes God’s timeframe is not our timeframe. We cannot always expect that God will
answer our prayers when we want them answered. God will not give us what we want all
the time because sometimes it would go against
God’s ultimate Will for us, which is salvation.
Model patience for your child as you explain
that God knows what is best and that we cannot
control everything in our lives. Discuss the concept that faithfulness includes building up our trust in God. Pray with
your child and ask the Holy Spirit
for help in trusting God.