Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ “Suppose one of you has a friend,” he said, “and you go to him in the middle of the night and say, ‘My dear friend, lend me three loaves of bread! ⁶ A friend of mine is on a journey and has arrived at my house, and I have nothing to put in front of him!’ ⁷ He will answer from inside his house, ‘Don’t make life difficult for me! The door is already shut, and my children and I are all in bed! I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ Let me tell you, even if he won’t get up and give you anything just because you’re his friend, because of your shameless persistence he will get up and give you whatever you need.

⁹ “So this is my word to you: ask and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ You see, everyone who asks receives! Everyone who searches finds! Everyone who knocks has the door opened for them! ¹¹ If your son asks you for a fish, is there a father among you who will give him a snake? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? ¹³ So if you, evil as you are, know how to give good presents to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him!”