Luke 11:13 Importunate Prayer

The Divine Indwelling:

Comparing Views on Receiving the Holy Spirit Through Faith, Obedience, and Audacious Prayer

In Christian thought, the question of how and when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within a person is deeply significant. Some traditions teach that the Spirit is received automatically at the moment of salvation—either through faith in Jesus or through baptism. Others emphasize Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11:5–13, where He presents a model of bold, even socially inappropriate prayer, and concludes with a striking promise: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13). These two views reflect different understandings of how God interacts with people and how the Spirit is acquired.

Receiving the Spirit at the Moment of Conversion

One widely held belief is that the Holy Spirit is received as part of the initial experience of salvation. In this view, when someone genuinely believes in Jesus or is baptized, the Spirit is given immediately and automatically. This idea is supported by verses such as Romans 8:9, which states that anyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit, and Ephesians 1:13–14, which describes the Spirit as a seal marking those who have believed.

In this understanding, the Spirit is not something a person needs to ask for separately. Instead, it is a guaranteed part of becoming a Christian. Faith or obedience triggers the event, and God responds by giving the Spirit without delay. For example, Acts 2:38 connects baptism directly with receiving the Spirit: “Repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is seen as a promise fulfilled at the moment of conversion.

This view emphasizes the certainty of God’s plan. Once a person takes the step of faith or obeys through baptism, the Spirit is received as part of that process. The question is simple: “Am I saved?” If the answer is yes, then the Spirit is already present.

Receiving the Spirit Through Audacious and Importunate Prayer

A powerful alternative view of receiving the Holy Spirit is rooted in Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11:5–13, where He tells a parable about a man who knocks on his friend’s door at midnight, asking for bread. The friend responds from inside, saying, *“Do not bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” This response clearly signals that the request is inconvenient, socially inappropriate, and disruptive. Yet Jesus says the man will still get what he needs—not because of friendship, but because of his anaideia.

The Greek word anaideia is often translated as “shameless boldness” or “importunity,” but its deeper meaning points to audacity, impropriety, and a kind of boldness that ignores social norms. It is not simply persistence—it is a refusal to be polite, a willingness to trespass boundaries, and a boldness that risks offense. The man at the door does not hesitate, filter his request, or worry about waking the household. He acts with no regard for timing, etiquette, or propriety.

Examples of this kind of audacity in prayer might include:

- Asking God for something that seems too big, too personal, or too unworthy.

- Praying with raw honesty, without trying to sound spiritual or composed.

- Interrupting the “expected” flow of religious life with a desperate, unfiltered cry for help.

- Approaching God not as a distant ruler, but as a close friend who must respond.

What’s striking is that the knocker seems to assume his friend will not interpret his actions as offensive. He believes the relationship can bear the weight of his audacity. He assumes that the bond of friendship—or perhaps the urgency of the need—will override the impropriety of the request. And Jesus affirms this assumption, using it to teach about how we should approach God.

Jesus concludes the parable with a rhetorical question in Luke 11:13: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” This is not just a promise—it’s a challenge. If a sleepy, reluctant friend will respond to such boldness, how much more will a loving Father respond to those who ask with the same kind of daring faith?

This teaching reframes the Holy Spirit not as a passive gift automatically received, but as a relational gift actively sought through audacious prayer. It suggests that the Spirit is not given simply because someone has believed or been baptized, but because they have approached God with the kind of boldness that Jesus praises—boldness that may seem improper, but is welcomed by a generous Father.

In this view, salvation and the Spirit are not always received at the same time. A person may be justified—made right with God—through faith and baptism, but the Spirit’s indwelling may come later, when the person asks with the kind of importunity Jesus described. The Spirit’s role as teacher and guide, described in John 14:26, begins only after He is received through this kind of prayer.

Why Would Jesus Teach Importunate Prayer, Then Conclude with Luke 11:13?

This question goes to the heart of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11. Why would He tell a story about a man who receives help only after boldly trespassing social boundaries, and then end with a rhetorical question about the Father giving the Holy Spirit?

The answer lies in the nature of the gift being offered. Jesus is not just teaching about prayer in general—He is teaching about how to receive the Holy Spirit. The parable shows that God responds to bold, unfiltered prayer. The rhetorical question in verse 13 is meant to stir confidence: if even a reluctant neighbor will respond to such audacity, how much more will a loving Father give the Spirit to those who ask?

Jesus teaches this kind of prayer because He wants believers to engage with God personally, urgently, and without hesitation. The Spirit is available, but the asking matters. The kind of asking Jesus describes is not cautious or ceremonial—it is raw, direct, and relational. It is the kind of prayer that assumes God will not be offended by our boldness, but will be moved by it.

Comparing the Two Views

These two perspectives differ in several important ways.

One view teaches that the Holy Spirit is received automatically at the moment of salvation. Whether through faith or baptism, the Spirit is part of the initial experience. Human action—believing or obeying—is the trigger, and God responds immediately. The Spirit is a guaranteed gift, and the believer does not need to ask for it separately.

The other view teaches that receiving the Spirit requires a specific kind of prayer. Even after salvation, the believer must ask God with shameless boldness, as Jesus taught in Luke 11. The Spirit is not given automatically but is a response to persistent, relational asking. This view emphasizes the believer’s ongoing role in seeking God and the openness of the future.

In the first view, the question is, “Am I saved?” If yes, then the Spirit is already present. In the second view, the question becomes, “Have I asked for the Holy Spirit with the boldness Jesus described?” This shifts the focus from a guaranteed gift to a personal, persistent request.