Luke 11:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Now by asking, He means prayer, but by seeking, zeal and anxiety, as He adds, Seek, and ye shall find. For those things which are sought require great care. And this is particularly the case with God. For there are many things which block up our senses. As then we search for lost gold, so let us anxiously seek after God. He shews also, that though He does not forthwith open the gates, we must yet wait. Hence he adds, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for if you continue seeking, you shall surely receive. For this reason, and as the door shut makes you knock, therefore he did not at once consent that you might entreat.

In these words our Saviour gives us a very necessary piece of instruction. For often-times we rashly, from the impulse of pleasure, give way to hurtful desires. When we ask any such thing from God, we shall not obtain it. To shew this, He brings an obvious example from those things which are before our eyes, in our daily experience. For when thy son asks of thee bread, thou givest it him gladly, because he seeks a wholesome food. But when from want of understanding he asks for a stone to eat, thou givest it him not, but rather hinderest him from satisfying his hurtful desire. So that the sense may be, But which of you asking his father for bread, (which the father gives,) will he give him a stone?

Or by the bread is meant charity, because we have a greater desire of it, and it is so necessary, that without it all other things are nothing, as the table without bread is mean. Opposed to which is hardness of heart, which he compared to a stone. But by the fish is signified the belief in invisible things, either from the waters of baptism, or because it is taken out of invisible places which the eye cannot reach. Because also faith, though tossed about by the waves of this world, is not destroyed, it is rightly compared to a fish, in opposition to which he has placed the serpent on account of the poison of deceit, which by evil persuasion had its first seed in the first man. Or, by the egg is understood hope.

If also any one from indolence surrenders himself to his desires, and betrays himself into the hands of his enemies, God neither assists him nor hears him, because by sin he has alienated himself from God. It becomes then a man to offer whatever belongs to him, but to cry to God to assist him. Now we must ask for the Divine assistance not slackly, nor with a mind wavering to and fro, because such a one will not only not obtain what it seeks, but will the rather provoke God to anger. For if a man standing before a prince has his eye fixed within and without, lest perchance he should be punished, how much more before God ought he to stand watchful and trembling?

Now unless the Holy Spirit were of the substance of God, Who alone is good, He would by no means be called good, since our Lord refused to be called good, inasmuch as He was made man.

The argument then persuading to frequent prayer, is the hope of obtaining what we pray for. The ground of persuasion was first in the command, afterwards it is contained in that example which He sets forth, adding, If a son shall ask bread of any of you, will he give him a stone? &c.

He spoke of this as well, designating them as wicked not solely for the reason stated, but also due to the inherent vulnerability of human nature to sin.

Consider then this, if the bread be not indeed the food of the soul in knowledge, without which it can not be saved, as, for example, the well planned rule of a just life. But the fish is the love of instruction, as to know the constitution of the world, and the effects of the elements, and whatever else besides wisdom treats of. Therefore God does not in the place of bread offer a stone, which the devil wished Christ to eat, nor in the place of a fish does He give a serpent, which the Ethiopians eat who are unworthy to eat fishes. Nor generally in the place of what is nourishing does he give what is not eatable and injurious, which relates to the scorpion and egg.

Or by the word knock perhaps he means seeking effectually, for one knocks with the hand, but the hand is the sign of a good work. Or these three may be distinguished in another way. For it is the beginning of virtue to ask to know the way of truth. But the second step is to seek how we must go by that way. The third step is when a man has reached the virtue to knock at the door, that he may enter upon the wide field of knowledge. All these things a man acquires by prayer. Or to ask indeed is to pray, but to seek is by good works to do things becoming our prayers. And to knock is to continue in prayer without ceasing.

Or, he calls the lovers of the world evil, who give those things which they judge good according to their sense, which are also good in their nature, and are useful to aid imperfect life. Hence he adds, Know how to give good gifts to your children. The Apostles even, who by the merit of their election had exceeded the goodness of mankind in general, are said to be evil in comparison with Divine goodness, since nothing is of itself good but God alone.

Hebrews: The Gospel of Luke does not specify the location where Jesus once prayed and subsequently taught His disciples about prayer at their request. However, based on earlier accounts by this same evangelist, we see that Jesus, on His journey from Galilee through Samaria for the Feast of Tabernacles, made His way past Jerusalem to Bethany. It is likely that He stayed there for the initial days of the festival until the evening (John 7:14). The event mentioned undoubtedly occurred shortly after Jesus' visit to the home of Martha and Mary.

"Ask, and it will be given to you." This final instruction marked the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse on how to enter the kingdom of heaven. Many who were listening might have struggled to adhere to all that He taught, finding His expectations to be overwhelming. Shortly thereafter, His disciples openly questioned, "Who then can be saved?" (Matthew 19:25). On a different occasion, He clarified that the burden He places on those who seek salvation is light, and the yoke is gentle (Matthew 11:30). As He wrapped up His Sermon on the Mount, He urged His listeners to persist in pursuing His outlined objective: "Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

To clarify this truth for His disciples, Christ shared a brief parable, saying, “Imagine that you have a friend who comes to you at midnight and you say to him, ‘Friend, please lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine has arrived unexpectedly from his journey and I have nothing to set before him.’ From inside, he would respond, ‘Do not bother me; the door is already shut, my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise to give you anything.’ Yet I tell you that even if he does not get up because of their friendship, he will rise and provide what is needed due to the persistence of the request. And I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

If you therefore consider the previous context, note the insights from Matthew 7:11. The phrase "He shall give the Holy Ghost" is expressed as "shall give the benefits" in the Eu. Matthew. The underlying meaning remains consistent: while the former emphasizes the tangible blessings received through prayer, the latter highlights the Source of all blessings and the distributor of spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4 ff.).

To illustrate the significance and effectiveness of heartfelt and earnest prayers addressed to our Heavenly Father, the Lord referred to a familiar scenario from daily life. Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight, saying, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.” The friend replies from within, “Do not bother me; the door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” Yet I tell you, even if he will not rise and give it to him out of friendship, he will nevertheless arise because of his friend’s persistence and provide whatever is needed. The Lord previously discussed the importance of perseverance and patience in prayer during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:7-11) and later in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8).