What does Luke 11:8 mean?

This completes Jesus' parable explaining why believers should feel free to ask God to fill their needs. A man is awakened in the middle of the night by a neighbor who desperately needs bread for a sudden visitor. The neighbor doesn't want to get up and disturb his children, but if he doesn't, the man's knocking will disturb them, anyway. The man is a friend. The neighbor understands the social responsibility of hospitality. But in the end, it's the man's persistence that forces the neighbor to get up and hand over the bread (Luke 11:5–7).

"Impudence" means to be bold, even with no regard for what is proper. A child who runs to her father during his online, on-camera meeting, because she knows he loves her, is bold and improper. She doesn't care if he's being interviewed live for a news broadcast; she just knows she is free to go to her father at any time. We can have the same freedom with God.

In the next section, Jesus uncovers this application of the parable. The two men are neighbors and friends, linked by a common cultural expectation of sacrificial hospitality. Even so, the man only gets out of bed because the neighbor is annoying. God the Father, to whom the disciples pray (Luke 11:2), will readily give to His children because He loves them (Luke 11:9–13).