Audacious Prayer Series

Bob was trying to teach his daughter, Jenny, how to pray before meals. After a few weeks of coaching, Bob decided Jenny was ready to pray all by herself.

Jenny started out fine, thanking God for her mommy and daddy and brother and sister and for the rolls and the salad. Then she ended with a big, “THANK YOU, GOD, FOR THE SPAGHETTI!” and lifted her head.

Now, Bob had taught Jenny to end each prayer with, “In Jesus' name, Amen.” So he prompted her, “In…”

At first, Jenny seemed confused. Then she proudly exclaimed, “IN TOMATO SAUCE. AMEN” (Barbara J. Doll, Upper Saddle River, N.J. “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader).

Sometimes we don’t know how to pray, and as children, that’s okay, even humorous sometimes. But as adults, we face bigger problems and more responsibilities, and prayer becomes much more important.

John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, once said, “Real prayer is a serious concern, for we are speaking to the sovereign Lord of all the universe, who is willing to move heaven and earth in answer to sincere and reasonable prayer” (John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Prayer Book, edited by Louis Gifford Parkhurst, Jr. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no.10).

The question is: How do we pray to such a Lord? How do we pray to our Sovereign God in such a way that He WILL move heaven and earth to come to our aid? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Luke 11, Luke 11, where Jesus’ disciples had a similar question.

Luke 11:1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (ESV).

Imagine what it must have been like to hear Jesus praying.

While I was a student at the Moody Bible Institute, I was on one of my Practical Christian Work assignments with another student, visiting the home of an elderly gentleman. When we got ready to leave, the old man asked if he could pray for us, and we said, “Sure.” He bowed his head and began his prayer with one word, “Papa.” I tell you, a holy hush fell on that dinky little apartment in downtown Chicago. It was like we were transported to the very throne room of heaven itself, and as that elderly gentleman conversed with his Heavenly Father, I knew God was right there listening to every word. I was a young man at the time, 19 or 20 years of age, but it created in my heart a life-long yearning to be able to pray like that.

I’m sure the disciples had a similar feeling as they heard Jesus talking to His Papa in Heaven. “Lord, teach us to pray,” they asked.

Luke 11:2-4 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation” (ESV).

Jesus here gives his disciples a pattern for prayer. He gives them some specific things to pray for, and notice who’s interests come first—God’s. Do you see it? GOD’S name and GOD’S kingdom are the first concerns in prayer, for if you want God to pay attention to you, then you must first pay attention to Him. You must…

PUT GOD FIRST.

Put His interests before your own. Make His reputation and his rule your primary concerns.

That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed by your name.” Father, holy be Your reputation. Father, may people come to know and revere You.

Chuck Sackett, of Lincoln, Illinois, grew up outside the church, but he enjoyed going to Boy Scouts as a kid. As a scout, he learned about the God and Country Merit Badge, and he was determined to earn it, even if it meant going to church. So each week, he walked from his house, past the Rinards’ home, to a little church in the next block. He attended church just long enough to get the award, and then he quit. At that time, Chuck Sackett also worked for the Rinards, doing yard work.

Twelve years later, as an adult, he learned that Mr. and Mrs. Rinard were in a nursing home nearby. Out of friendship for the family, he and his wife decided to pay them a visit. Then as the Sackett’s got ready to leave, one of the Rinards said, “Chuck, do you remember when you used to walk to that little church? We've not missed one day since, praying that God would do something in your life.”

For 12 years, this elderly couple prayed for Chuck Sackett, every day. They prayed that God would one day do something in his life. He had no other Christian influence at the time, but in the meantime, he had become a believer in Christ and a preacher of the Gospel, primarily through the prayers of one couple. Wow!