And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell 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 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:5-13

Let’s begin with a little visualization exercise. Someone is praying. What do you see in your mind now? There is a picture there. You can’t help it. We are just wired that way. What does it look like? Maybe someone with their head bowed and hands pressed together in front of them like the little praying emoji? That picture of someone praying is a quiet, contemplative picture. Maybe your picture is of someone with arms outstretched and head upraised toward heaven like someone worshipping at a gospel concert. That picture is still probably reasonably quiet. The common idea of someone praying is quiet, contemplative, possibly crying quietly with tears running down the cheeks, or sobbing in either repentance or desperation. Are these pictures valid in terms of a Biblical picture of someone praying? Yes, but these pictures aren’t complete when we consider how Jesus pictures someone praying

In the passage in Luke above, the actions most often noted are the asking, seeking, and knocking. But those are secondary to the real descriptor Jesus gave. He said this person was heard because of their impudence. “Impudence” is not a word we use a lot, so maybe we have an inadequate understanding of what Jesus was saying. Let’s start with a dictionary definition.

  1. Marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard for others: insolent.
  2. Synonyms: Arch, audacious, bold, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, insolent, nervy, sassy, saucy, wise

Is that what you picture when you picture someone in prayer? I doubt it seriously. But that is what Jesus in his story commended. Elsewhere there is an example of just such behavior. And Jesus commended this lady and her brash faith and healed her daughter instantly. Here is the story.

And Jesus went away from there (Gennesaret) and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Matthew 15:21-28

This Canaanite woman had a “crazy” daughter who was demonized. Today we would probably just consider the daughter to be mentally ill and not consider that an evil spirit might cause it. This woman wasn’t a Jew; she was, among Jews, an outcast. Jesus tried to ignore her, as did his disciples. Her reaction? Not only did she cry out (a rather noisy petition), but when that didn’t work, she essentially got in Jesus’s face. She planted herself right in front of him on her knees, asking for help. Again, Jesus rebuffed her. What did she do? She argued and did a good job too. Jesus was impressed. He referred to her actions as “great faith.” This story is an example of impudence. She was audacious, brassy, brazen, and bold. Do we pray like that? Maybe sometimes. I know I have when I was desperate, sort of like this Canaanite woman.

Are you desperate for God’s intervention in your life or the life of someone you love? Get bold, brassy, brazen, and impudent with Jesus. He commended this kind of prayer. I think he did it partially because only a person with faith will do this. A person who has some awareness of the holiness of God and our unworthiness to be in God’s presence on our own merits can’t easily press into God with such daring. He has instructed us to come boldly to the throne of grace, the place where Jesus rules in his kingdom. The throne room of God (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV).

We mostly learn to pray by praying. We get most of what we know of prayer by praying with someone else, and if they really know how to pray in its many expressions, we learn well. Unfortunately, in the United States, because we are generally not a seriously praying church, our disciples often don’t learn how to pray well. For many American Christians, the only example of praying they observe is either a formal public prayer during a worship service or someone saying grace over a meal. Fortunate is the new believer who is among believers who often find themselves prostrate before God in travail in prayer for others. Tears flow, and deep sobs rise from the desperate saint. Bold demands are made based on God’s covenant faithfulness. They are bold and brazen, and they get results. God is looking for praying, travailing saints to cry out to him.

How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those impudent saints who will boldly and brazenly cry out to God for the fullness of the Holy Spirit in their own lives and the church?

Be bold, brazen, brassy, and impudent. That will make Jesus happy.