children speedily (Ernst 1977: 366). For Jeremias it is God, not the petitioner, who is the parable’s original subject. But this surely misreads the introduction, which draws the disciple into the story’s twist. The effect of the introduction is simply to point out how committed the host was to meeting the traveler’s need and thus his boldness and shamelessness. God is not to be compared to the neighbor and his irritation, but contrasted to him, since 11:9–13 shows God to be gracious in granting