Prayer #1—Appropriate Shamelessness

God delights to answer prayer. But sometimes we hesitate to pray, even though we have access to the throne of grace because the way has been opened for us. Jesus urged us, on the basis of his reputation with the Father, to ask for expressions of grace, “so that your joy will be full.” Nevertheless, we still hesitate. So through his various spokesmen, he communicated many other encouragements, each designed to help us focus our faith so we miss out on none of the goodness of God.

Jesus said, “None of you has a friend, who, if you went to him at midnight and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for someone is visiting me, and I have nothing to feed him;’ would answer, ‘Do not bother me; … I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you anything because he is your friend, yet because of your shamelessness, he will get up and give you as much as you need.” Luke 11:5–8

God answers us when we pray shamelessly. Because there’s no shame in being finite, approaching the throne of grace with no sense of shame as we do so is what God desires to see. When we appeal to him with this attitude of heart he will extend his resources immediately and without reservation. God responds to this mind-set in us because he does not perceive such shameless petitioners as doing anything inappropriate. We who pray shamelessly recognize and admit our inability to meet our own needs adequately. Rather than feeling shame at our limitations and trying to disguise our inadequacy by cobbling together whatever debris happens to be about; in shameless humility we acknowledge God’s infinitely superior wisdom and power, and request his assistance in fulfilling our needs. When we come to God in such a shameless fashion, he is inclined to demonstrate the glory of his self-sufficiency by responding to our deficiency unreservedly, regardless of the need expressed: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Majestic and All-sufficient God, open my eyes to the propriety of my insufficiency, so I can expectantly knock on your door at any hour, in Jesus’ name.