Luke 11:6 "'[F]or a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.'" 

This is part of Jesus' teaching to His disciples on how to pray. He has just taught them the Our Father, and then He goes into this parable of a man who comes to his neighbor's house at midnight asking for food because a friend has dropped in unexpectedly. His neighbor initially tells him to go away, it is too late and he is already in bed. But Jesus says if the man persists, eventually his neighbor will get up and give him what he needs, if only to allow himself to go back to sleep. (Luke 11:5-8) This is how we are to pray, with persistence, constantly asking God for what we need.

In the line I got for today, the man says a friend has arrived on a journey, apparently coming in very late and unexpectedly, and he has nothing to serve him. I am the kind of person who likes to try to be "ready for anything." I was just saying this morning at my Gospel Group that I think I may be too concerned about the future and whether or not I am prepared for the unexpected job loss, medical emergency, or the like. In my mind, I feel like I need to see a way I would be able to handle such things. But the funny thing is, the emergencies that actually come my way are never the ones for which I have prepared. I am, like this man, not prepared for the unexpected midnight visitor (unless all he needs is a roll of toilet paper, which I have learned to keep in stock:)! I think that is the point, though. God wants me to rely on Him, not on myself. He wants me to find myself unprepared at midnight so that I will come knocking at His door. That is where I will learn or remember that everything comes from Him in the first place, and He will always give me what I need.

If we already had everything we needed, we would have no need to turn to God. He would rather have us wake up at midnight, realize we are unprepared, and ask for His Fatherly help. (And keep asking, He will give us what we need when we need it!)