Purpose: To explain the right reasons to pray.
Aim: I want the listener to pursue a deeper prayer life.
INTRODUCTION: My message today is only for those who long to see God do greater things. My message today is only for those who are tired of the lukewarmness that we so often feel in our own hearts that allows us to go from one day to the next, one week to the next, and one month to the next without seeing God do very much out of the ordinary. We are too content to live in the realm of the natural instead of the supernatural.
We need to get our priorities in order! The best way to do that is to focus on Jesus and the best way to do that is to learn about Him in the Bible and pray to Him regularly. "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2, NAS)
I want to do something very different this morning. Instead of just talking about the importance of prayer, I want us to also participate in prayer together. So, I have asked the other pastors here to lead us in prayer at different times during this morning's message.
When we get to our text in Luke 15 Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples a pattern for prayer that is often called the Lord's Prayer. Then Jesus continues by giving some more instructions about prayer. He begins with a very short story which teaches us to:
Vs.5-8 I. Pray Earnestly "because of his persistence"
The purpose for this story is very simple: pray with boldness.
"The word [persistence in verse 8] can even mean "impudence." It conveys the ideas of urgency, audacity, earnestness, boldness, and relentlessness--like the persistent asking of a desperate beggar." [1]
The first man in the story had an important need. A friend of his arrived late at night from out of town, perhaps unexpectedly, and he had no bread to serve him. He went to his friend's house at a late hour and begged for three loaves of bread.
At first his friend refused because it was so late and he would have to disturb his entire family. Maybe he had young children who had just fallen asleep. Parents understand how hard it can be to get a baby to sleep so waking them could cause a real problem
The second man decides to help his friend because he desperately needs the bread, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered him so late at night.
We will pray earnestly only when we see that the need is great.
Our biggest problem is not unanswered prayer, it is unasked prayer.
We don't pray more because we don't feel the need to pray more. When we feel a desperate need in our lives we WILL pray. Jesus pointed out that this was the failing of the church in Laodicea: "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked," (Revelation 3:16--17, NAS)
I would like to ask Pastor Derick to come and pray that God would open our eyes so that we can see how much we need Him.
"Restore our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:4--6, NAS)
Vs.9 II. Pray about Everything "ask...seek ...knock"
"The tenses of the verbs are important here: 'Keep on asking ... keep on seeking ... keep on knocking.' In other words, don't come to God only in the midnight emergencies, but keep in constant communion with your Father." [2]
Paul picked up on this idea in (Philippians 4:6, NAS) "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
Jesus commanded us to make sure that our hearts are at home with Him: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (John 15:4--11, NAS)
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6, NAS)
As we mature in Christ we will begin to see that other believers have great needs that we should pray about as well, so we will pray for others and not just ourselves. Paul shows us what some of those needs are:
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might " (Ephesians 1:18--19, NAS)
"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. " (Ephesians 3:16--19, NAS)
"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Philippians 1:9, NAS)
"and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12, NAS)
"May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5, NAS)
"and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake. " (Philemon 6, NAS)
I would like to ask Pastor Jose to come and pray that we would live our lives aware of God's presence and be more diligent to pray for each other.
Vs.10 III. Pray Expectantly "everyone ...receives... finds ... will be opened"
A dad with a three-year-old son had just gone through the bedtime routine of reading a story, listening to his prayers, answering a dozen questions, giving him a hug, and saying good-night four or five times before slipping out of the room. Finally, after a long, hard day, he could relax. He sat down in his easy chair and it was quiet for about five minutes before he heard, "Daddy, can I have a drink of water?" He said, "No, son, be quiet and go to sleep." It was quiet for a couple of minutes before, louder than before, he heard, "Daddy, can I have a drink of water?" "Son, I said to be quiet and go to sleep!" There was silence again, but it didn't last long. "Daddy, please can I have a drink of water?" The dad could see that he wasn't getting anywhere, so he said, "Son, if I hear one more sound out of that room, I'm going to spank you!" You could hear a pin drop. The silence was thick for about one minute. Then he heard, "Daddy, when you come in here to spank me, would you bring me a drink of water?" Now the dad knew that his son really was thirsty! Why? Because he was boldly persistent in his request.
England's great prayer warrior, Adoniram Judson said, "I never prayed sincerely for anything but it came, at some time ... somehow, in some shape." [3]
"Prayer delights God's ear, it melts His heart, it opens His hand: God cannot deny a praying soul." Thomas Watson [4]
"Phillips Brooks said that prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness. Persistence in prayer is not an attempt to change God's mind ("Thy will be done") but to get ourselves to the place where He can trust us with the answer." [5]
Seeking and knocking implies action on our part. We must do more than just ask. If you lost something important you might ask if anyone has seen it. If that didn't help then you would begin to seek for it. If that didn't help you would knock on every door of your home in your quest to find it. If asking didn't help and then you gave up looking for what was lost it's because it isn't that valuable to you.
"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." Samuel Chadwick [6]
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones made this helpful comment: "The most fatal thing in the Christian life is to be content with passing desires. If we really want to be men of God, if we really want to know Him, and walk with Him, and experience those boundless blessings which He has to offer us, we must persist in asking Him for them day by day. We have to feel this hunger and thirst for righteousness, and then we shall be filled. And that does not mean that we are filled once and for ever. We go on hungering and thirsting." [7]
"Thou art coming to a King
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much". John Newton [8]
I would like to ask Pastor Mike to come and pray that we would love God so much that we would seek God will all of our heart, soul and mind.
Vs.11-12 IV. Pray Because God is Good "will not give him a snake...a scorpion"
In verses 5-8 Jesus talked about two friends. In these verses, though, He is talking about a father-son relationship. If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus Christ then you have no basis to ask God to bless you.
A snake with its silvery scales could be mistaken for a fish and a coiled up scorpion could look like a small egg to a child. The good news is that God is good. He will never make a mistake or give you anything to harm you. Andrew Murray put it this way, "Father-like giving is the Divine response to child-like living."
"I once spent the night in a crumbling hotel in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A friend and I ascended to our room, high in the building, in a tiny, creaking elevator. From our window I saw slums spreading out far beneath me, and I felt uneasy. That evening I prayed, "Lord, please save me from any danger of fire. You can see we're at the top of a dilapidated hotel, which is nothing but a firetrap. There isn't a fire station near, and I can't see any fire escapes outside the building. Lord, you know that this building would go up in flames in a second, and at this very moment it is probably full of people falling asleep with Marlboros in their mouths..."
"By the time I finished praying, I was a nervous wreck, and I hardly slept a wink all night. The next morning, as I evaluated my evening, I realized that my bedtime prayer had focused on my negative feelings rather than on God's assurances and promises, and learned an important truth: Unless we plead in faith, our prayers can do more harm than good." [9]
Satan's greatest trick is to get us to doubt that God is good.
I would like to ask Pastor Ramon to come and pray that we would grow in our understanding of how good our God is.
Vs.13 V. Pray for the Greatest Gift "give the Holy Spirit"
"In the original Greek, verse 13 does not say that God will give the Holy Spirit, but rather He will 'give Holy Spirit' (without the article). Professor H. B. Swete pointed out that when the article is present, it refers to the Person Himself, but when the article is absent, it refers to His gifts or operations on our behalf. So in this passage, it is not so much a prayer for the Person of the Holy Spirit, but rather for His ministries in our lives. This is further borne out by the parallel passage in Matthew 7:11 which reads, '... how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!'" [10]
If you belong to Christ you have the Holy Spirit. "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Romans 8:9, NAS)
That is where it starts, but then we need the Holy Spirit to have more of us.
"So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." (Ephesians 5:17--21, NAS)
CONCLUSION: E.M. Bounds said, "Nothing distinguishes the children of God so clearly and strongly as prayer. It is the one infallible mark and test of being a Christian. Christian people are prayerful, the worldly-minded, prayerless. Christians call on God; worldlings ignore God, and call not on His Name." [11]
Let's pray that we would possess the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit would possess more of us.
[1]John Jr MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., Lk 11:8 (Nashville: Word Pub., 1997).
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Lk 10:38 (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996).
[3]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 622 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
[4]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 622 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Lk 10:38 (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996).
[6]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 622 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
[7]Martyn Lloyd-Jones (The Sermon on the Mount [Eerdmans], 2:201)
[8]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 631 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
[9]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 625 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
[10]William MacDonald and Arthur Farstad, Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments, Lk 11:13 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
[11]Edward M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1999).
