The Parable of the Friend at Night (the Importunate Neighbor) [S02E22]

The Parable of the Friend at Night (or the Importunate Neighbor), is a parable of Jesus, which appears in Luke 11:5-8. In it, a friend eventually agrees to help his neighbor due to his persistent demands rather than because they are friends, despite the late hour and the inconvenience of it.
Luke 11:5-8 5 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 importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
The lesson is drawn, not by comparison, but by contrast. A selfish man will grant an urgent request, in order to rid himself of one who disturbs his rest. But God delights to give. He is full of compassion, and He longs to grant the requests of those who come unto Him in faith. He gives to us that we may minister to others and thus become like Himself. {COL 141.1}
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[@danigan9564]

Powerful video!!!

[@phillipsmith6756]

I struggle with this understanding. If this is only about persistence in prayer, and we apply the (unique in the NT) word for "shamelessness" to the knocking/praying person - we are only left to imagine God as the rude, lazy, grumpy, impolite, grudging friend asleep; unwilling to help us unless we keep pestering Him. That is not how Jesus described the Father. The use of the original Greek in the OT, and in the 1st Century literature outside the Bible, is not simply persistent or bold. It describes people who are wicked, corrupt. immoral, self-centred (and shameless about that behaviour.)