Give Us Our Daily Bread (Part 2)
Luke 11:1-3
Intro. – The Lord’s Prayer teaches us many things. But when we consider this part of the prayer there are two lessons that we cannot afford to overlook:
1. Luke 18:1-8 records the parable of The Importunate Widow which teaches us prayer is a necessity. 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 "… Ye have not because ye 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.
2. Luke 18:10-14 records The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican which teaches us that prayer is an awareness of need.
This section of the prayer teaches us many important truths. However, the most important is the need for you to begin to claim the promises of God for your daily needs. It actually raises the question – "How does God give us our daily bread?"
I believe in a God who is personal. I believe in a God who speaks to me as a man would speak face to face with his friend.
God has given us many resources to draw strength from. Two of the most important are: 1) His Word, and 2) Prayer. These are the steps to placing yourself in a position where God can begin to bless you.
Let’s consider each of those separately for a few minutes.
I. The Word of God (Hebrews 4:12)
Hebrews 4:12 – "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
A. What is interesting about that passage is the context in which it is written. The subject of Hebrew 4 is the importance of entering into the rest that God has provided for us and that there are many who will fail to enter because of unbelief.
1. Verse 11 admonishes us to labour to enter into that rest, lest any man fall into the same unbelief that has kept others from experiencing the rest that God has provided for his people.
B. The opposite of unbelief is faith.
1. Romans 10:17 tells us how to obtain faith – "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
2. Hebrews 11:6 says – "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
3. So if my daily needs are going to be met I must begin to read and study the Word of God for myself so that I can know what the promises of God are and then begin to claim them for my needs.
C. We must understand that the bible is God’s Word.
1. The Bible describes God’s complete revelation of Himself to humanity. It is a record of God’s dealings with humanity and His words to them. A great truth is that God is still speaking through the Bible.
2. I cannot know spiritual truth unless the Spirit of God reveals it to me. When you come to understand the spiritual meaning and application of a Scripture passage, it is because God’s Spirit has been at work. When God speaks to you through the Bible, He is relating to you in a personal and real way.
D. How do I claim the promises of God’s Word for my daily needs? The sequence is this:
1. You must read the Word of God—the Bible.
2. The Spirit of truth takes the Word of God and reveals a promise to you.
3. Look for two things in that promise:
a. The promise itself.
b. The stipulation of the promise – This is what I must do if I am going to experience the blessing from God.
4. Begin to walk in obedience – Begin to meet the requirement of the promise. As you begin to meet the requirement of the promise it is the same as claiming that promise for your daily needs. As we begin to obey his Word:
5. God honors his Word by fulfilling his promise to us.
E. The Spirit uses the Word of God to instruct us in the ways of God.
1. Isaiah 55:8-9 says – "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
a. Luke 11:2 says – "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth."
1. The ways of God are found in the promises. Without the help of the Spirit of God, the ways and things of God will be foolishness to us. But with the help of the Spirit, we can understand all things.
2. When the Holy Spirit reveals Truth, He is not teaching you a concept to be thought about. He is leading you to a relationship with a Person. He is your life!
3. When God reveals the truth of His Word to me I am in the presence of a living Person. He is Author of the Scriptures. The Author is telling me through His Word how He will give me daily what I need to make it.
Transition: It is important to understand that the Word of God is only one part to the puzzle. The second part is:
II. Prayer (James 5:16)
James 5:16 – "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
A. Prayer is a relationship with God.
1. Prayer is two-way fellowship and communication with God. You speak to God and He speaks to you. It is not a one-way conversation. Prayer includes listening as well. In fact, what God says in prayer to you is far more important than what you say.
2. Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity. God doesn’t need your prayers, but He wants you to pray. You need to pray because of what God wants to do in and through your life during your praying. When the Holy Spirit reveals a spiritual truth to you in prayer, He is present and working actively in your life.
3. The Spirit of God often uses the Word of God when you pray. I find that when I pray about something, Scripture often comes to my mind. I don’t see it as a distraction. I believe He is trying to guide me through the Scripture. I have found that as I pray about a particular matter, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to my heart and my mind to reveal to me the truth of his promises. I immediately stop my praying and open the Word of God to the passage I believe the Spirit of God brought to my mind.
B. What happens when you pray?
1. I have found that God always has far more to give me than I can even ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
2. You can’t even think a prayer that comes close to what God wants to give you.
a. If God wants to give you more than you are asking, would you rather have what you are asking or what God wants to give?
3. Only the Spirit of God knows what God is doing or purposing in your life. Let God give you all that He wants to give.
4. What happens as you seek God’s will concerning your needs in prayer?
a. God takes the initiative by bringing you to recognize your need.
1. You must read the Word of God—the Bible.
b. As you bring your need to the Lord in prayer the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, reveals to you the will of God in heaven – the promises of God.
1. The Spirit of truth takes the Word of God and reveals a promise to you.
c. In the Spirit, you pray in agreement with the will of God in heaven.
1. Look for two things in that promise:
a. The promise itself.
b. The stipulation of the promise – This is what I must do if I am going to experience the blessing from God.
d. You adjust your life to meet the requirement of the promise.
1. Begin to walk in obedience – Begin to meet the requirement of the promise. As you begin to meet the requirement of the promise it is the same as claiming that promise for your daily needs. As we begin to obey his Word:
e. God works in you and through you to accomplish His purposes for your life.
1. God honors his Word by fulfilling his promise to us.
C. Sometimes we pray and it seems as if God if is silent.
1. There are two things that you need to do:
a. Make sure there is no sin in your life that you have not confessed before the Lord. If you search your heart and you know that you are clean before God then:
b. Continue doing what you should be doing – praying and reading the Word of God searching for the answer. Because as you read the Word of God, the Spirit of God will help you understand what God is doing in your life.
1. Illustration – Let me illustrate this with the story of the death of Lazarus (John 11:1–45). Let me review the sequence of events. John reported that Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Having received word that Lazarus was sick unto death, Jesus delayed going until Lazarus died. In other words, Mary and Martha asked Jesus to come help their brother, and there was silence. All the way through the final sickness and death of Lazarus, Jesus did not respond. They received no response from the One who said He loved Lazarus. Jesus even said He loved Mary and Martha. Yet there was still no response.
Lazarus died. They went through the entire funeral process. They fixed his body, put him in the grave, and covered it with a stone. Still they experienced silence from God. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go.”
When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Mary said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 32).
It seems as if Jesus had said to Mary and Martha:
"You are exactly right. If I had come, your brother would not have died. You know that I could have healed him because you have seen Me heal many, many times. If I had come when you asked Me to, I would have healed him. But, you would have never known any more about Me than you already know. I knew that you were ready for a greater revelation of Me than you have ever known in your life. I wanted you to come to know that I am the resurrection and the life. My refusal and My silence is not rejection. It is an opportunity for Me to disclose to you more of Me than you have ever known."
c. Often times the silence of God means that He is ready to bring into my life a greater revelation of Himself than I have ever known.
d. Application – You can respond to the silence of God in two ways:
1. One response is for you to go into depression, a sense of guilt, and self-condemnation.
2. The other response is for you to have an expectation that God is about to bring you to a deeper knowledge of Himself.
Conclusion
God wants to take us deeper than we have ever been before. He desires to reveal himself to you in ways that you have never seen him before. He wants to bring heaven to earth. There is no greater opportunity for that to happen than be praying for our daily needs to be met. There is a promise in his Word that addresses your need. Take God’s Word and begin to read it and as you are reading it begin to pray in earnest as to the answer that God has for you.
