A Picture of Prayer
"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish 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?" Luke 11:11-13

From the human perspective, read about an importunate petitioner and an unwilling provider in Three Friends. Here from the divine perspective, we have earthly evil providers contrast with the willing heavenly Provider.

Bread (staple), fish (supplement), egg (savoury) sustain and strengthen natural life.
Stone (hard), serpent (harmful), scorpion (hurtful) devastate and destroy life

The Holy Spirit sustains and strengthens spiritual life by His good gifts and graces.

"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

"And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come 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." Luke 11:5-8

Midnight is a time which portrays events and activities at the crucial hour of the Scripture. It bears a sense of mounting crisis when deadline looms and time is running out.

Lend me
"All we receive from God is lent to us. We are not the owners, but the stewards of God's bounties. We must render an account to Him some day of all that was committed to our trust." August Van Ryn

Three loaves
1. The loaf of faith for the midnight of doubt
2. The loaf of hope for the midnight of despair
3. The loaf of love for the midnight of darkness

"And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come 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." Luke 11:5-8

A Parable of Prayer
By continuity, a reluctant friend answers a request
By contrast, how much more a ready and willing God answers our prayers

Three Friends
1. A friend in need
- no rest (sleep needed)
- no food (sustenance needed)
- no cover (shelter needed)

2. A friend indeed (right thing to ask, small trouble to seek, wrong time to knock)
- the necessity to help
- the inability to help
- the possibility for help

3. A friend in bed (who would heed)
- reluctant because of inconvenience
- responded because of importunity

Read Part 1.

"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." Luke 11:2-4

The Pattern of Prayer

Pray as sons - Our Father
Pray as saints - Hallowed be Thy name
Pray as subjects - Thy kingdom come
Pray as servants - Thy will be done
Pray as supplicants - Give us day by day
Pray as sinners - Forgive us our sins
Pray as soldiers - Lead us not into temptation
Pray as sufferers - Deliver us from evil

"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Corinthians 10:11

The literal view - all these things happened
The typical view - unto them for ensamples
The spiritual view - they are written for our admonition
The dispensational view - upon whom the ends of the world are come

Read Part 1, Part 2.

"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen." Luke 9:28-36

Peter, John and James - The order of names is different from Matthew's and Mark's accounts. Peter speaks of death, John speaks of resurrection and James speaks of glory.

Moses and Elias spake of His decease
- The decease of Moses was mysterious
- The decease of Elias was miraculous
- The decease of the Lord was not only mysterious and miraculous but was momentous and monumental.

Advocacy: Christ is the Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1)
Priesthood : Christ is the High Priest to God (Hebrews 4:14)

Advocacy: Christ is Faithful and Just (1 John 1:9)
Priesthood : Christ is Merciful and Faithful (Hebrews 2:17)

Advocacy: Based on His Death (Romans 5:10, Hebrews 2:9, 1 Peter 3:8, 1 John 2:2)
Priesthood : Based on His Life (Hebrews 7:25)

Advocacy: Past suffering for believers' sins (Hebrews 9:26)
Priesthood : Present sympathy with believers' weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15)

Advocacy: Restores a believer from sin (1 John 1:9)
Priesthood : Keeps a believer from falling (Hebrews 2:18)

Advocacy : Intermittent (1 John 2:1)
Priesthood : Continuous (Hebrews 7:25)

Advocacy : Believers to come humbly before Mercy's Seat
Priesthood : Believers to come boldly before Throne of Grace

"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Isaiah 32:1-2

A king shall reign in righteousness - Christ
wind - cold, tempest - wet, dry place - dry, weary land - heat

Christ, the hiding place
- screen of relief in the cold
- shade of rest in the heat
- shelter of retreat in the wet
- stream of refreshment in the dry

"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica .... Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry .... Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works." 2 Timothy 4:10,11,14

Luke - began well and ended well
Demas - began well and ended badly
Mark - began badly and ended well
Alexander - began badly and ended badly

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13

1. Relationship - Our Father which art in heaven
2. Reverence - Hallowed be Thy name
3. Realisation - Thy kingdom come
4. Recognition - Thy will be done in earth
5. Rule - As it is in heaven
6. Reliance - Give us this day our daily bread
7. Remission - And forgive us our debts
8. Reciprocation - As we forgive our debtors
9. Restraint - And lead us not into temptation
10. Rescue - But deliver us from evil
11. Reign - For Thine is the kingdom
12. Right - And the power
13. Radiance - And the glory
14. Result - For ever. Amen