In the King James Version of the Bible, the word importunity appears only once. In the book of Luke, Chapter 11: 1 – 13, Jesus is teaching on prayer. If you are not careful, you might compartmentalize the text and overlook the example He inserts into His teaching in verses 5 through 8, as if they are totally unrelated to the topic at hand.
1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
5 And he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
What is importunity?
- Urgent need at an inopportune time, i.e.: at midnight when everyone is asleep and unexpected, unanticipated needs arise
- It could be health crisis, food crisis, money crisis, soul crisis
- You are asleep in your bed, all is quiet, then suddenly there is a knock on your door, or maybe a phone call interrupts your sleep
- You have a need, though you are in bed, you are wide awake, looking up at the ceiling, with no answer on how to solve your crisis
- Worse still friends show up with their needs, panic tries to take over
- The human response is to feel bashful (head down, eyes lowered), timid, ashamed, because you can’t even meet a basic need, like providing bread for yourself, you are unemployed, no job, no income coming in
- Your ability to provide for yourself, your feeling of self-worth has undergone a severe whipping and you have zero pride left
- Importunity forces you to beg, and society does not like beggars
- Despite the stigma, beggars have troublesome persistence, they do not give up
- Beggars do not stop at the first “no”; they move on to the next person
Impudence kicks in which may seem contemptuous to others. You throw away your shame and a boldness takes over with a complete disregard for what others think or what they may say about you. Your impertinence is unnerving to onlookers.
How dare you have the unmitigated gall and audacity to come boldly into the Presence of God but in humility, bowing at His Throne, because you know from whence your help comes? You are dying and you need His lifeline.
Importunity is the opportunity for God to show up BIG in your life and on your behalf. He will SHOW OFF for His Child.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Do me a favor; better yet, do yourself a favor. Since you are awake anyway, while looking up at that ceiling, look beyond it!
Psalm 121
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Isn’t it good to know that Your Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe, He never sleeps, and neither does He get tired?
In your moment of crisis, of importunity, be like Jacob who had wrestled with God all night. He wrestled with the angel, and at the dawning of a new day, he said “Lord, I will not let you go until you bless me.”
Be like Jabez who has one of the shortest stories ever mentioned in two verses of the Bible, 1 Chronicles 4:9 – 10. When he was born, his mother had such a hard delivery she gave him a name that meant sorrow. He lived with that stigma until one day he sought the Lord in prayer.
9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!And God granted him that which he requested.
Be like the Syrophenician woman who came to Jesus, begging that He cast out a devil from her daughter. Though she was a Greek, she refused to let that stop her. She said (and I paraphrase) that even if she couldn’t have the bread that Jesus was giving first to the children, she would be grateful for the crumbs that the dogs ate. Guess what? Her daughter was healed and delivered.
Jesus had his own moment of importunity when in the garden of Gethsemane (which means the place of the oil press, of being crushed and squeezed).
Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Peter had his moment of importunity when he was thrown in to prison and the church was interceding on his behalf. God answered their prayers and sent an angel to set him free. Those in the church didn’t believe that God had answered their prayers, except for a young girl named Rhoda.
Acts 12:5 – 17
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
In 1562, an English writer by the name of John Heywood wrote in his collection of proverbs that beggars can’t be choosers. His exact words were, “Beggers should be no choosers, but yet they will”.
The saying meant that those who depend on the charity or kindness of others, should not be selective about what they receive.
I disagree with that statement. When that charity or kindness is extended with disrespect and harshness, we must be oh so careful because God sees how we treat others.
Being kind to others means we honor God. But when we oppress the poor, it is an insult to God (Proverbs 14:31).
When you give to the poor, you are lending to the Lord, and He rewards (Proverbs 19:17).
What does importunity look like in everyday life?
- Begging relentlessly, repeatedly
- Can be annoying or intrusive
- Looks like a child who keeps pestering or whining for something
- Pestering someone at inappropriate times until he or she finally responds
What does importunity look like in faith and prayer?
- Exuberant praise
- Nonstop worship as a lifestyle, especially in your personal life which reflects publicly
- Shameless boldness
- Persistent knocking until the door opens
- Audacious prayer
Luke 18:7-8
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Importunity got you down? Do not give up. Talk to the Lord: ask, seek, knock. He is still answering prayers.
O! How sweet it is to trust in you Jesus. You come through every time.