Jesus Talks About Prayer

Jesus Talks About Prayer

Luke 11:9-13

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who asks receives, and the

one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 11 “Now which

one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him

a snake? 12 “Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion?

13 “So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how

much more will 2your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verses 9 to 13, we have five statements about God

answering prayer. Jesus offers this repetition to drive home the point that God does

answer prayer. However, there are some stipulations around prayer, as we learned

throughout the centuries. This particular set of five statements is chock-full of the

culture of the day. Now I must say that over the centuries the interpretation of the five

statements is dead on even though many commentators and interpreters over the years

did not understand the culture. What I’d like to do is to explain the culture of each one

of the statements one by one.

So, Jesus said, Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it will

be opened to you. Interestingly enough, in Jesus' day, different kinds of people knocked

differently at a door. The woman of the house knew the different kinds of knocks and

knew that the severity of the person at the door by the loudness and pattern of the

knocks. In other words, a neighbor had a different knock than a beggar. If the person

at the door was a beggar, they would be knocking where the door met the ground,

which gave an entirely different sound than if it was a stranger who would use a rock

or stick knocking at the door. Therefore, the woman of the house would bring some

bread if she knew that the person at the door was a beggar.

So, by Jesus saying, Knock and it will be opened to you immediately, we understand

that God will open the door so that our prayers could come in, metaphorically, of

course. Jesus is saying God will hear our prayers, and he will know who is asking for

that prayer to be answered.

In verse 11 we hear the words that a father will give his son a fish if he asks for it instead

of a snake. This has to do with a child who cries in the middle of the night that he is

hungry. It was very dark at night in the homes because there were no lights to turn on.

One did not light a candle in the middle of the night because it would disturb the rest

of the family who were asleep. Therefore, metaphorically, the father could make a

mistake and give the child the wrong kind of food. The father would not intentionally

give his child a snake instead of a fish. Rather, parents were cautious and made sure

they gave their children what they needed. That is what this phrase is saying. Therefore,

we can deduce that God will give us that which we require even if we ask for something

that God does not believe we require.

In verse 12 it says if the child asks for an egg with his father, give him a scorpion. This

one I always found interesting and was thrilled to see that it is cultural. If the family

owned chickens, the chickens would stay in the house with the family. A nest of straw

would be constructed for the chicken. Scorpions were known to scurry into the house

and would hide inside the straw seeking food. Therefore, when the woman of the house

would go to get eggs from the chicken, she would be cautious so that the scorpion

would not sting her. If it were the middle of the night, it would not be a good idea to

stick your hand into the chicken nest to try to grab the egg because you might get a

scorpion instead. Again, this is a repetition that God will give you what you need.

In verse 13 we are reminded that parents always want the best for their children and

will give them the gifts they need to help them succeed in life. We are supposed to

imagine God as being that wonderful parent who wants to make sure that we get exactly