How Can We Pray to God When We Lack Something?

Have you ever sat down to pray, but closed your mouth because you did not know what to say first? Luke 11 tells us not to hide what we lack but to ask God for it. Jesus connects this request with the promise of the heavenly Father, who gives the Holy Spirit.

Lack Revealed at Midnight

A man goes to a friend at midnight and asks to borrow three loaves of bread. A friend who is traveling has come to him, and he has nothing to give him to eat. He says what he does not have and makes a specific request for what he needs now.

The friend inside the house answers that the door is already shut. He says he cannot get up and give him anything because his children are in bed with him. The scene sets the need of the person asking for bread against the circumstances of the person inside.

Jesus says that even if the friend does not get up because they are friends, he will get up and give him as much as he needs because of his persistence. The passage does not say how many times he asked. Therefore, we cannot turn persistence into a particular number of repetitions. What we can clearly confirm is that he asked for what he needed and received according to his need.

The Word to Ask, Seek, and Knock

Jesus then says, “Ask, seek, and knock.” The one who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and the door is opened to the one who knocks. When we discover that we lack something, this means bringing it to God instead of quietly hiding it.

There is no need to divide these three expressions into different prayer methods. The passage repeatedly says there is an answer for the one who asks, seeks, and knocks. Once we know what we need, we can tell God about it.

Do Not Equate the Sleeping Friend with God

We should not take the friend who shut the door and went to bed at midnight as a picture of God. Jesus immediately speaks about the relationship between a father and a son. He asks whether a father would give a snake to a son who asks for a fish, or a scorpion to a son who asks for an egg.

Jesus says that even imperfect people know how to give good things to their children. Then he says that the heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. The passage does not explain in detail when an answer comes or what the result of every request will be. Instead, it makes clear whom we are asking. Prayer is not persuading someone to move reluctantly; it is asking the heavenly Father who gives the Holy Spirit.

Say in One Sentence What You Need Today

First, write down one thing you currently lack. Like the person asking for bread at midnight, you can say specifically for whom and what you need. Instead of deciding the answer in advance and dressing it up, bring your present need to God as it is.

Then remember that the heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Do not stop praying because you are focused only on the result you want; ask for the Spirit God has said he will give. Before or after praying, you can read Luke 11 directly and check again Jesus’ words about asking and the Father’s promise.