Di Friend for Midnight

Midnight. Di village dey sleep. One dog raise im head. And somewhere for di small road, somebody dey knock one door. Knock. Knock. Knock. And dem no go stop.

Jesus don dey pray, and when e finish, one of im disciples come meet am with one request. Lord, teach us how to pray. So Jesus give dem one short prayer wey dem fit carry go anywhere, di one wey many of us know as di Lord Prayer. Father, make your name dey holy. Make your kingdom come. Give us every day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we dey forgive. No lead us enter temptation. But Jesus no stop there. E want make dem know di kind God wey dem dey talk to. So e tell dem one story, and e start am with question. Imagine say one of una get one friend.

Picture am. E don late. Your lamp don off. Then somebody tap di door, and na one old friend stand there, dust full im body from di road. E don dey travel for di cool of di night, and now e don reach, e tire and hunger dey catch am. You hug am. You carry am enter inside. And then your heart fall. You open di bread basket. Empty. Nothing to put for im front. For your village, dat one no be small shame. Visitor don enter your house, and you no get anything to give am. So you comot quietly enter di darkness, and you go your neighbour house.

My friend, you call through di door, lend me three loaves of bread. One person wey I know just reach from journey, and I no get anything to give am. And from inside, one voice wey sleep full and wey dey vex answer. No disturb me. Di door don lock. My children dey bed with me. I no fit stand up give you anything. You fit almost hear di crowd dey laugh. Everybody know dat voice. Everybody don be dat voice before. But you no go. You knock again. And again. Jesus talk, Even if e no go stand up because e be your friend, but because you no gree stop, e go stand up give you as much as you need. Di door open. Di bread come out. Three loaves, maybe more.

Then Jesus turn di story to di people wey dey listen. So I tell una: ask, and dem go give una. Search, and una go find. Knock, and di door go open for una. Everybody wey ask dey receive. Di one wey search dey find. And di one wey knock, dem go open for am. And e ask dem one more question, about dem own families. Which father, if im son ask for fish, go give am snake instead? Or if e ask for egg, go give am scorpion? No way. If una, wey be sinners, know how to give good gifts to una children, how much more una Father wey dey heaven go give di Holy Spirit to di people wey ask am? Di neighbour wey dey sleep give for di end. God no be like dat neighbour. Na di Father wey don already wake.

Why empty bread basket be big matter like dat? For di world of di Bible, to welcome traveller na holy duty. Think about Abraham, wey run go bake bread for three strangers for im tent. Dem dey bake bread fresh, many times every day, so house fit finish bread before night. And di house of poor family dey often be one room, everybody dey sleep close together. To stand up mean say you go wake di children. One more thing: di word wey dem dey often translate as persistence no common. Some scholars read am as boldness wey no get shame from di person wey dey knock. Others think say e be about di man wey dey sleep wey no want shame. Any way wey e be, di point na di same. Keep dey ask.

Di Friend for Midnight. You go find am for Luke chapter eleven, verse five to thirteen. Jesus no talk say prayer be like to collect bread from neighbour wey dey vex. E talk say God better pass dat one far far. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin you don stop to ask God for, and wetin e go mean to knock again?