Having told His disciples what to pray, Jesus now gave them incentive to pray. He contrasted the character of God and the character of the reluctant neighbor (cf. v. 13; 18:1-8). This parable contains a very helpful and encouraging revelation of God's character (cf. 10:22). Understanding the character of God removes many of the problems we have with prayer.285This parable also encourages disciples to pray in spite of no immediate answers. It addresses the common feeling that prayer may be useless since God does not grant answers as one might expect Him to.
"The point of the parable is clearly not: Go on praying because God will eventually respond to importunity; rather it is: Go on praying because God responds graciously to the needs of his children."286
11:5-6 Hospitality was a sacred duty in the ancient Near East. When visitors arrived, the host would normally provide lodging under his roof and food to eat. The host in this parable did not have enough bread for his guest so he appealed to his neighbor for some. The fact that he came knocking on his friend's door at such a late hour as midnight indicates that this was an inconvenient time for the neighbor. Jesus did not explain why the man came so late, and the reason is irrelevant.
11:7-8 This unusual behavior of this "friend"is understandable since in the typical one-room Palestinian home the whole family, and even often the household animals, all slept near each other. In the parable the host's shameless persistence showed how strongly he regarded his friend's friendship. It shows how much he dared to ask and to expect from his friend. This persistence moved the friend to grant his request. The secret to the host's success was his persistence.
Jesus was contrasting, not comparing, God's attitude with the friend's attitude (vv. 9-13).287God's attitude toward His children is the opposite of the attitude of the friend toward his knocking neighbor. Jesus was not saying that persistence is unimportant. Indeed He taught its value elsewhere (18:1-8). His point here was that if persistence was effective with such a friend how much more eagerly will the heavenly Father respond when His children make requests of Him. God is more than the friend of disciples; He is their father.
