" And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, a lend me three loaves; for friend of mine in his journey is conic to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek. and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
In answer to their request to be taught to pray, the Lord here puts into the lips of his disciples the expression of spiritual desires; but it is not the entrance of the heart into the proper communion of the Church after the Holy Ghost had been given. The desires are perfect, but the place of conscious relationship to the Father, which gives confidence to the heart, was not yet known. It is looking up from earth to a Father in heaven, to care for them, and not sitting in heavenly places themselves. Still Christ teaches them, first, as to God-.to call God " their Father;" then directs them about the Father's glory; " Hallowed be thy name;" then as to the kingdom-" Thy kingdom come;" then to desire that the will of God may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Secondly, He comes down to notice their daily necessities. In these, he teaches the need of constant dependence-" Give us day by day our daily bread;" "Forgive us our sins," and " Lead us not into temptation." " Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive," supposes that grace is already known, and should produce softness of heart. If I know that all my sins are forgiven, as having been imputed to Christ, that does not produce hardness of feeling or indifference about them; neither as to my own sins, nor the failings of others. It is not a question of justification here, but the Spirit of grace and truth in the soul, and the conscience being kept tender.
In the parable of the friend at midnight, we are taught not right desires alone, but the necessity of earnest, continued supplication that waits on God. God is supreme in government; and, though His goodness is perfect and infinite, there is, rightly, majesty in His goodness, which takes notice of all the circumstances through which we pass. In answering my prayers, therefore, God will use His own time; and this is right. For suppose a child asks his father for anything, and the father replies, " You must wait a little, then you shall have it;" and the child says, "No, I cannot wait, I must have it now, I must have it directly"-surely this would not be the right conduct of a child toward his parent. So, if we get out of a waiting position, we get into wrong circumstances, and the evil has to be corrected and judged, then blessing will be the result. While waiting, faith is exercised, and the spirit is broken down by the sense of need. But there may be more than what needs correcting in us. Look at Daniel as an example. He was a man greatly beloved, and he prayed for three whole weeks, and ate no pleasant bread during that time. Now what was the meaning of this,? Why, that God had given Daniel such a deep sense of identification with Himself, in His purposes toward Israel, that He could make him wait three whole weeks before he has his request granted. This, in itself, was a great privilege; for it was having fellowship with God. So that it is an act of God's grace, if He makes us wait, in order to create a desire in our hearts, according to the deep interest we feel in what we seek at his hands. In the case of the friend who asks for three loaves of bread, there is a depth of interest betrayed in the desire for the thing; and because of his importunity he gains it. And there is always a certainty of God's answering in blessing, according to His thought and purpose of blessing-though He delay for the exercise of our hearts.
" And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." (Luke 18)