By Sheridan Voysey
Having tried for years to have a child, Richard and Susan were elated when Susan became pregnant. Her health problems, however, posed a risk to the baby, and so Richard lay awake each night praying for his wife and child. One night, Richard sensed he didn’t need to pray so hard, that God had promised to take care of things. But a week later Susan miscarried. Richard was devastated. He wondered, had they lost the baby because he hadn’t prayed hard enough?
On first reading, we might think today’s parable suggests so. In the story, a neighbor (sometimes thought to represent God) only gets out of bed to help the friend because of the friend’s annoying persistence (Luke 11:5–8). Read this way, the parable suggests that God will give us what we need only if we badger Him. And if we don’t pray hard enough, maybe God won’t help us.
But biblical commentators like Klyne Snodgrass believe this misunderstands the parable—its real point being that if neighbors might help us for selfish reasons, how much more will our unselfish Father. We can therefore ask confidently (vv. 9–10), knowing that God is greater than flawed human beings (vv. 11–13). He isn’t the neighbor in the parable, but the opposite of him.
“I don’t know why you lost your baby,” I told Richard, “But I know it wasn’t because you didn’t pray ‘hard’ enough. God isn’t like that.”
If the neighbor in the parable represents God, what does it suggest God is like? If verses 11–13 clarify the parable, what then is God like?
Some believers in Christ struggle with the apparent promises of Luke 11:9–10. It seems that Jesus is offering a blank check that we present to God in prayer, assuming He must grant our requests. Christ’s words, however, may be a hyperbole—an extreme exaggeration to prove a point. Jesus clarifies the point He’s making when He describes the heart of His Father (vv. 11–13). The heavenly Father loves us deeply and desires the very best for us—which must be defined by Him and not by us. This means that when we go to God in prayer, we can be assured His responses will always be trustworthy.
哪位父亲，如果你的儿子要一条鱼，会给他一条蛇？路加福音 11:11
他们多年来一直希望有个孩子。当苏珊怀孕时，理查和苏珊都很高兴。然而，苏珊的健康状况对婴儿的成长构成了一些危险的因素，因此理查每天晚上睡觉前，都不断为妻子和孩子祈祷。一天晚上，理查觉得他不需要那么努力地祈祷，因为上帝已经承诺会照顾好一切。但一周后，苏珊流产了。理查十分痛苦。他想知道，他们失去孩子是因为他没有足够努力地祈祷吗？
初读这段经文时，我们可能会认为经文的比喻暗示了这一点。在这个故事中，一位邻居（有时被认为代表上帝）只是因为朋友坚持的恳求才起床帮助朋友（路加福音 11：5-8）。以这种方式阅读，这个比喻表明，只有当我们不停地求告时，上帝才会给我们需要的东西。如果我们祷告不够努力，也许上帝不会帮助我们。
但是像 Klyne Snodgrass 这样的圣经评论家认为这误解了这个比喻——它的真正意义在于，如果邻居可能出于自私的原因帮助我们，那么我们无私的父亲会更愿意帮助我们。因此，我们可以充满信心地求告（第 9-10 节），知道上帝比有缺陷的人更伟大（第 11-13 节）。祂不是比喻中的邻居，而是他的对立，祂比那个隣居更爱我们。
“我不知道你为什么失去了你的孩子，”我告诉理查，“但我知道这不是因为你没有足够‘努力’地祈祷。上帝不是这样的。”
如果比喻中的邻舍代表上帝，它暗示上帝是什么样的？如果 11-13 节阐明了这个比喻，那么上帝是什么样的？
一些基督信徒与〈路加福音〉 11：9-10 明显的应许角力。 似乎耶稣提供了一张空白支票，我们在祈祷时将其交给上帝，假设祂无论在怎样的情况下，都必须满足我们的要求。 然而，基督的话为了证明一个观点，有可能极度地强调，使人能够明白。 耶稣在描述天父的心时阐明了祂的观点（第 11-13 节）： 天父深深地爱我们，并希望我们得到最好的——这必须由祂而不是我们来定义。 这意味着当我们向上帝祷告时，我们可以确信祂的回应永远是值得信赖的。
