I Beg Your Pardon…

A little while ago, my wife and I were watching a movie called “Fireproof.” It’s a Christian movie about saving a failing marriage. The husband, after making several half-hearted attempts to rekindle the relationship, goes to a friend for advice. The friend tells him that he needs to BEG the Lord for help if he wants things to work out.

This idea of begging the Lord for help has been rattling around in my brain since watching that movie. And then, lo and behold, at last Sunday’s Community Worship, Rev. Elphick mentioned that we ought to beg or implore the Lord for His power to overcome our temptations and evils.

Admittedly, I rarely beg the Lord for much at all. In my prayers, I’m usually polite, and I say “please,” and I kindly ask for things. “Lord, please help me with this and that.” Begging doesn’t come naturally to me, as I’m generally willing to roll with whatever comes my way—both the good and the bad. But I really wanted to try begging.

What does begging look like? It’s not like putting a cup out on the street, waiting passively for people to throw in some change. The begging that the Lord talks about can be found in the parable of the “Friend at Midnight” immediately following the Lord’s Prayer in Luke 11 and in the parable of the “Persistent Widow” in Luke 18. In both parables, the central character is in need of some sort of help and are unwilling to take no for an answer.

Also, in both of these parables, the provider of help begrudgingly grants the assistance, not out of love for the person begging for help, but solely on account of the persistence of the beggar. Jesus’ point is that His infinite love is ready and willing to provide help should we ask for it in earnestness.

And by the way, have you noticed the language and tone of the Lord’s Prayer? It’s not very polite. “Give us this day our daily bread.” “Forgive us our debts.” The verses of the Lord’s Prayer, which, as I said, immediately precede the parable of the Persistent Widow, are persistent and imperative.

The Lord directs us to be persistent and speak with imperative language, not because He can’t be bothered, and not because we should boss the Lord around, but because we are the ones that need to experience desperation and earnestness, which only the Lord’s power can overcome.

It’s hard to beg when you don’t feel desperate. So, what I do is I clench my eyes, and I force emotion into my throat, and I give begging my best effort… and I think it might be working.