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Study Guide

 

1. Read Luke 11:1-4. What question did Jesus' disciples ask prior to his telling them the parable of the Importuned Friend (or "Friend at Midnight")? The first part of his answer came in Luke 11:2-4, two of the best-known verses in all scripture.

 

 

2. Read Luke 11:5-8 (with JST footnote 5a). How many times is the word "friend" used in this parable? From the 5a footnote, to whom did the Savior compare the importuned friend?

 

 

3. At what hour did the importuned friend's neighbor come knocking at this door? What was his request?

 

 

4. What was the initial response of the awakened friend? What was his eventual response? What is the connection between the three friends and prayer?

 

 

5. Read Luke 11:9-13 (with footnote 13a). What might be the difference between asking, seeking, and knocking? How does each relate to prayer?

 

 

6. How did the Savior use the "how much more so" principle in Luke 11:11-13 to strengthen the faith of his listeners?

 

 

7. Read Genesis 18:20-33. How did Abraham importune the Lord regarding the destruction of Sodom? Did he ask, seek, and knock?

 

 

BONUS: How is the Parable of the Importuned Friend similar to the Parable of the Unjust Judge (or Importunate Widow)? How are the two parables different?

Importuned Friend (or "Friend at Midnight")

Luke 11:5-13

Related Articles:

 

"Religious Health-O-Meter" (Infographic and article)

 

"Ask, Seek, Knock," Russell M. Nelson, Nov. 2009 Ensign

 

"That We Might 'Not... Shrink'" David A. Bednar, CES Devotional 2013

 

"Let Us Ask of God," S. Michael Wilcox, Dec. 2004 Ensign

 

"Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer," Richard G. Scott, April 2007 Conference

From the Institute Manual:  Luke 11:1–4. “Teach Us to Pray”

No doubt the apostles, being faithful Jews, were themselves men of prayer; yet as they watched Jesus in prayer, they were so humbled and impressed as to ask, when he had finished, “Lord, teach us to pray.”Here he gave them a simple pattern, the same as had been given in the Sermon on the Mount. It taught them “how Deity might appropriately be addressed in prayer, of the praise and adoration that should be extended to him, and of the type and kind of petitions men should make to him. As far as it goes it is one of the most concise, expressive, and beautiful statements found in the scriptures. It does not, however, reach the heights of one of Jesus’ later prayers among the Jews, the great Intercessory Prayer (John 17), nor does it compare with some of the prayers he uttered among the Nephites. (3 Ne. 19.)” (McConkie, DNTC,1:235.)

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