The friend at Midnight (luke 11: 1-13) This is a good one.

Today in my Parables of Jesus institute class, we learned about the friend at midnight scripture, when Christ's disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.  I strongly encourage you to pull out your bible and read these scriptures so as to better understand what kind of lesson we had today.  First I was comforted by the obvious scripture, verse 13, where I thought about how much my earthly parents want my happiness, and education, and eternal love/family.  If my earthly parents want that for me, I cannot even comprehend how much my perfect, selfless Heavenly parents want that for me.  The best part about that is, that I know they have the power to get it for me as long as I am faithful!  After looking deeper at the parable though, I was touched by what my institute teacher had to say.  Who are the friends?  At first someone suggested that the friend in verse 7 that gave with importunity was Christ, but my institute teacher pointed out that Christ would never turn us away at first, like verse 7 friend did.  Who is the friend from verse 5?  He concluded that the friend that comes at midnight is adversity.  Adversity comes at the most inopportune times like midnight, and asks much of us like 3 loaves.  The friend from verse 7 then, is the means by which we acquire peace, or our struggling with that particular trial.   Even though that friend (struggle) does not let up at first, it eventually does, and for this adversity friend, and from this struggle friend, we walk away with so much more than just 3 loaves.  What do we learn from adversity?  So much more than mere victory in overcoming trial.  We take away with us strength, knowledge, and most importantly testimony.  Thus, adversity is indeed my friend.  How does this parable answer the disciples question of how to pray, though?  Well, it teaches of the struggle, and the kind of prayers that must be said in order to gain/learn from the situation.  It demonstrates the wrestle that we need to go through as we pray with everything that we have inside of us. Enos is another great example of this.  He was not content just praying.  The peace that he gained after praying for hours and hours was worked for.  He gave his whole heart into the prayers that he offered to our Father in Heaven. What a valuable lesson this was for me.  We know that the Lord gives us trials to teach us, and strengthen us for even more trials that lie ahead, but studying this parable just confirmed that knowledge for me, and taught me the best ways to get through those trials.  We must work with the whole of our heart to ask, seek, and knock, and eventually enter into the presence of our Father.  "For the happy man prayer is only a jumble of words, until the day when sorrow comes to explain to him the sublime language by the means of which he speaks to God." -Alexander Dumas
I am grateful for those trials that come knocking at our doors in the wee hours of the darkest nights.  Because of their friendships, I am truly and eternally enriched.