How are we to pray? A couple of canines come to mind. Example one: first dog. I have a friend who got a whippet-mixed dog from a shelter. The dog became a gentle companion, but when she first arrived at my friend’s house, her eyes stayed down, her tail curled between her legs, and she backed away from human contact. The Greek word aidos describes that kind of bashfulness: keep your eyes down, know your place, and don’t bother people. Example two: second dog. I have another friend who got a golden retriever from a dog trainer when he was year-old pup. This dog is the most beloved of dogs. He looks you in the eye and persistently nudges his head into your hands. He expects your loving attention.
The Greek word anaideia describes that kind of shameless persistence. It means importunity: don’t be bashful! Don’t back off! Go ahead and disturb me! It is the opposite of the downcast eyes of dog number one, the negation of aidos. That word anaideia is only used once in the New Testament, here in Luke, when Jesus describes the shameless persistence of asking for bread from a neighbor in the middle of the night.
How are we to approach the living God? With anaideia!
In the first reading, God could have said to Abraham, “Shut up, man, you’re bothering me!” Abraham was pestering. He kept begging God to be merciful. How dare he speak to the Most High that way? Did he know his place? He did. But God was willing to be bothered.
How did Jesus name the Unspeakable Name? Father, Abba, my Daddy. For the Jews of his day, that was bold. That was brash. That was too intimate. But he expected the loving attention of the Most Holy One. He persisted in nudging God’s hand. Did he know his place? He did. He was the Beloved Son of the ever-loving Father.
Consider/Discuss
- When you go to pray, what dog are you? Are you bashful and keep your eyes down, unsure of the response that you’ll get? Jesus teaches us to pray with perseverance: go to your heavenly Father, keep on pestering, keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. Be brash. Be bold. Expect to be loved, expect to be heard, persistently nudge your head into God’s caring hands. Are you dog number one or dog number two when it comes to approaching God in prayer?
- Sometimes we may not feel worthy enough to pray. Or we feel that we are not being heard. Or we don’t get what we want. That may tempt us to give up on prayer, even give up on God. Yet at the same time, God has been called the hound of heaven who is even more relentless in pursuing us. Jesus never gives up on us. How have you experienced the Holy Spirit moving within you to encourage you, to urge you, and to implore you, to plead with you to keep trying, to keep praying?
Living and Praying with the Word
Um, you know, Lord, we don’t want to be too cocky. We don’t want to bother you. We don’t want to be presumptuous. Sometimes, we just want to put our tail between our legs and back away from you. But you tell us, “Be bold!” You tell us, “Come! Come to me; come and bother me!” Help us to be trusting like Abraham, so familiar in your friendship that we are not afraid to pester you for mercy. Do we know our place? We do. You have made us your beloved sons and daughters. Praise to you, God Most High!