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LUKE 11:7 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Luke 11:6Luke 11:8
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.
Ask, seek, knock — the three escalating imperatives of persistent prayer — are paired with guaranteed outcomes: ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. The present tense imperatives suggest ongoing, continuous action, not a single request. The escalation from asking to seeking to knocking mirrors the midnight friend's willingness to press through social awkwardness to meet his need.

Church Fathers on Luke 11:7

The Savior had before taught, in answer to the request of His apostles, how men ought to pray. But it might happen that those who had received this wholesome teaching, poured forth their prayers indeed according to the form given to them, but carelessly and languidly, and then when they were not heard in the first or second prayer, left off praying. That this then might not be our case, he shows by means of a parable, that cowardice in our prayers is hurtful, but it is of…

Cyril of Alexandria · 5th century

God is that friend, who loves all men, and wills that all should be saved.

Theophylact · 11th century

Who is a greater friend to us, than He who delivered up His body for us? Now we have here another kind of command given us, that at all times, not only in the day, but at night, prayers should be offered up. For it follows, And shall go into him at midnight. As David did when he said, At midnight I will rise and give thanks to you. For he had no fear of awakening them from sleep, whom he knew to be ever watching. For if David who was occupied also in the necessary affairs of…

Ambrose · 4th century
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Luke 11:7 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy