Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread (Part 1) Series

Give Us Our Daily Bread (Part 1)

Luke 11:1-3

Intro. – There are many passages in the New Testament that relate to the subject of prayer. However there are three that I want to draw your attention to if I may:

1. Luke 18:1-8 records the parable of The Importunate Widow who found a way to handle reluctant judges and discovered the key to release the power she needed.

Luke gathers up the whole point of that parable in his introductory statement when he said Jesus gave this that men might learn they must either pray or faint – one or the other.

Prayer is an absolute imperative in the Christian experience for it is the only channel man has to the power of God. James reflects this when in his blunt way he says "You have not because you ask not," {James 4:2b RSV}. If we do not ask we will never receive, so the first and most important lesson is that prayer is essential; prayer is a necessity.

2. Luke 18:10-14 records The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican -- "Two men went up into the temple to pray." Here we learned something of the nature of prayer. Prayer is not a parade of our accomplishments before God with what we are, nor is it an attempt to bring pressure upon him to constrain him to move in order to fulfill his debt to us because of what we have done for him. But, as we saw in the prayer of the publican, prayer is ever and only the cry of a helpless child in need to a wholly adequate, willing, and eager father. Prayer is an awareness of need in our own life or in the life of someone else for whom we are praying.

3. Luke 11 records The Model Prayer – How to Pray. This is the Lord’s own practice in this matter of prayer and the attitude of continual expectation that marked his prayer life, and extended deliberate periods of prayer. So impressive was this that his disciples, watching him pray, saw that here lay the secret of his amazing power and wisdom. At the close of the prayer, one of them said to him "Lord, teach us to pray."

This prayer is intended to become a guide to prayer. Each of these areas is capable of infinite expansion as to detail, but, in principle, this is a completely adequate prayer. Nothing more needs to be said if we have genuinely prayed as our Lord teaches us. There is no essential area of life neglected. God’s interest and love for man touches the whole of our lives in every single area. That is why Paul says "Pray about everything. And do not forget," he adds, "to thank him for the answers," {1 Thessalonians 5:18}.

We have considered The Address – Our Father which art in heaven: Focuses on the relationship God has with his children.

Next we considered The Name of the Person to Whom we are Praying – Hallowed be thy name: We approach God’s person with the recognition that God is holy – that is, he is set apart and unique. There is none like him, and no one has the authority he possesses.

Then we considered The Plan of God – Thy kingdom come: God has a plan for our life and desires to rule our life with Kingdom principles so that we can be a recipient of his blessings in our life.

Then we considered The Desire of God – Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth: God’s nature is to bless us when we pray we are to expect something to change.

Then we considered The Source of God’s Blessings – Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth: The basis for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven is contained in the promises of God – The promises of God are heavens answers to earth’s problems.

I want to consider tonight the fact that because we have the promises of God as the source and basis of God’s blessings in our life then we should not be bashful in asking for our daily needs to be met since it is God nature to bless us.

Illustration – Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered she had certain instructions for the little tike: "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask."

She put him in the child’s seat and off they went up and down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. Seeing the chocolate chip cookies he said, "Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?" She said, "I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all."