The words seemed to bounce off the page as I read Luke 11:1-13. This passage begins with Jesus teaching His disciples what we know as The Lord’s Prayer. He then paints a picture for them, inviting them to imagine going to a friend’s house late at night, asking for bread to feed visitors who have turned up on the doorstep. The friend refuses to open the door because it’s late and all the members of the household are in bed, but Jesus says, “ . . . because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need” (Luke 11:8b NIV).
“Shameless audacity.” What great words! I love words, so as they sprang off the page, I was keen to investigate. ‘Shameless’ can mean “brazen, without decency or modesty.” ‘Audacity’ is “daring, willing to take bold risks.” It reminds me of when my kids were young, and we’d go into a toy store. Their faces would light up, and without caring who heard them, they would boldly ask, and keep asking, for what they wanted. They were shameless and audacious.
God is not put off when we speak boldly and even brazenly. In fact, He seems to be inviting us to do just that. Yes, it’s important to be humble before God and to submit our will to His. Yes, there are times when we wait on God in silence. Yet here we see that there are also times when we can speak strongly, boldly, and brazenly. Just look at the way the psalmist spoke to God, “Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever” (Psalm 44:23 NIV).
There are other examples of people in the Bible speaking this way: the persistent widow asking for justice (Luke 18), the Canaanite woman pleading for her daughter’s healing (Matthew 15), and Abraham negotiating with God (Genesis 18). All displaying shameless audacity before Him.
I’m beginning to sense that I need a bit more shameless audacity in my prayers. Can you imagine praying to God with ‘shameless audacity’? If not, what holds you back?
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