And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. (Luke 11:9-10, N.L.T.)

An old saying in preaching circles says, “A text taken out of context is a pretext.” The saying simply means that the writers of the Bible didn’t pen down random thoughts in random order. To the contrary, each writer organized the content of his book in a systematic, intentional way that was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). In most cases, the order stems from the chronology of the events recorded in the book, but in some cases the order is topical rather than chronological.

Okay, so why am I bringing this up? I’m doing it because Luke places our text passage right on the heels of Christ’s story about a man who knocks on the door of his friend’s home at midnight and asks for three loaves of bread. The door-knocker needs the three loaves because another friend of his, one who is in the midst of a journey, has showed up very unexpectedly and very hungry at the door-knocker’s home.

Jesus says, “Even though friendship alone won’t compel the friend who receives the late-night request to get out of bed and give the bread, he’ll do it to end the door-knocker’s persistent midnight knocking.” Following this illustration Christ’s next words in Luke’s gospel are, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.” You see, Luke wants the illustration and the promise to walk hand in hand. The illustration segues directly into the promise.

You say, “Well, what’s the big deal about that?” The big deal is that the context for Christ’s promise is one of intercessory prayer as the door-knocker in the illustration is doing nothing less than interceding (making request) for his hungry friend. It’s the friend, not the door-knocker himself, who needs the bread. As for the guy who is asleep in bed, he’s merely the person through whom the door-knocker gets the traveler’s need met.

Now, to be fair, this same promise about asking, seeking, and knocking is also given in Matthew 7:7-8, and in that passage the context has nothing to do with intercessory prayer. So, it’s not right to say that Jesus intended the promise to be used exclusively for intercessory prayer. It is clear, however, that the promise can and should be claimed in this way. (For the record, I’m in the camp of those who believe that Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9-10 are the record of two separate quotes from Jesus that were spoken in two different settings at two different times.)

The upshot of all this is that if you’ve been praying that God will meet the need of a certain individual, don’t stop praying. Don’t stop asking for that request. Don’t stop seeking that answer. Don’t stop knocking on God’s door. After all, God is the friend of yours who has the bread, and He’s the one who will at some point honor your persistence by granting your request so that the need of that other individual can be met.