April 10, 2011
Morning Worship
Text: Luke 11:1-13
Subject: Prayer
Title: Teach Us To Pray
How important is prayer? I suppose a better question might be, “How important is prayer to you?” The truth is, if you are a Christian, then your life in Christ began with a prayer. When you prayed and asked Jesus to come into your life you began something special. But prayer is not something that is intended just to get you into the kingdom. It is intended to keep you connected to the kingdom. E.M. Bounds, who was a Methodist pastor/evangelist from Shelby County in the mid 1800’s wrote this, What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use--men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.
So let me ask again, “How important is prayer?”
In order for us to really get a grasp on the answer to that question I think we must look to the Word God and see how important prayer was to Jesus. It would be easy for us to look at Jesus as the Son of God and just think that because of that fat that His prayer life was automatically better than anyone else could ever attain. But the truth is that Jesus prayed because He understood that prayer was His lifeline to the Father and His source of hearing from the Father. If you look through the gospels you will find that there are about 13 instances where it specifically mentions that Jesus prayed. In addition, there are eight times where Jesus taught about prayer. If you look at the numbers alone and compare this with the number of times Jesus mentioned sin, heaven, hell, or the law, it would appear that the topic of prayer was not high on His to do list. But it is not the numbers that dictate the importance of prayer to Jesus, but what He had to say about it as well as what happened when He prayed.
Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.
E. Stanley Jones, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, K Hughes, Tyndale, 1988, p. 73.
Today I want to show you the importance of prayer in the life of every believer. In doing so we want to look at four points concerning prayer. 1) the purpose of prayer… 2) the pattern for prayer… 3) persistence in prayer… 4) the power of prayer.
Today, you can be transformed by your prayer life.
Lord, teach us to pray.
Read Luke 11:1-13
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER What is the reason we pray? It is because we need to connect with God and His will for our lives. Luke 10 tells us that Jesus was at the home of Mary and Martha, which was in Bethany. Bethany was just a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem and in between Bethany and Jerusalem was Jesus’ favorite place of prayer – the Mount of Olives. 1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place… In order to connect to God Jesus like to go to a specific place when possible. At this time Jesus had His disciples with Him. Now here it does not tell us what Jesus prayed or about the result of His prayer, but we know that there must have been something significant about it, for it caused His disciples to make this request, …When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” What must have happened at that time that would make one of the disciples ask this? I mean, they had been with Jesus before when He prayed. Turn over to Luke 3. I think that this one thing that happened at the very beginning of Jesus public ministry is the key to everything else concerning His prayer life. 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” What happened when Jesus prayed is what caused the disciple to make the request. Now I want you to understand this. The disciple asked, Lord, teach us to pray… He did not say, Lord teach us how to pray… He was asking that Jesus would teach them to pray so that heaven would open up for them as well. That is the purpose of prayer. In Daniel chapter 10, 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. 7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. 10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. The purpose of prayer is to release God’s will for His people on earth and this disciple wants Jesus to teach them to pray that way.
II. THE PATTERN FOR PRAYER 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” This is not just a prayer to be recited. It is an outline for effective prayer. 1) Father… Recognize God for His love for all His children. 2) hallowed be your name… Remember God as the great I AM… Confess His Old Testament names as a reminder of His very nature. Jehovah Jireh – Provider - Jehovah Rapha – Healer Jehovah Shalom – Peace; Jehovah Shammah – With us; Jehovah Tsidkenu – Righteousness; Jehovah Nissi – Banner of victory; Jehovah Rohi – Shepherd; Jehovah M’Kaddesh – Sanctifier… this is not so much a petition as it is an act of worship… 3) your kingdom come… Matthew adds, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven…God’s will or His word being accomplished on earth the same way it is in heaven is proof that a kingdom is being established on earth that is an extension of the heavenly kingdom. 4) 3 Give us each day our daily bread… Now you can ask God for your needs. He has promised to supply all your needs… Don’t hold back. God’s will is that He be involved in every aspect of your life. 5) 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. We can ask God’s forgiveness for our sin. 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Matthew 6 directly connects God’s forgive to us with our willingness to forgive others. 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 6) And lead us not into temptation. James chapter 1 tells us that God does not tempt us. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. The word that is translated as sin here can also refer to testing. God does test us at times and that testing can lead to temptation and ultimately sin. The request is then that God would keep His children from falling into sin during severe testing. So then the outline goes like this. 1. Worship – Father, hallowed be Your name… 2. Confession – Your kingdom come… 3. Petition – Give us this day our daily bread… 4. Forgiveness – forgive us our sins… 5. Protection – lead us not into temptation…
III. PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER 5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. There seems to be somewhat of a conflict between what Jesus says in Mark 11:22-24 and what He says here. Mark 11, 22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Doesn’t it seem that if you have faith in God that you shouldn’t have to ask more than once? In fact some teach that if you ask more than once your faith is lacking. But lack of faith is not demonstrated in how many times you ask. It is demonstrated in your attitude while asking. If you ask in an attitude of a beggar – that is not faith. But, if you keep coming to God in faith, knowing that His word and His promises are true, you can keep asking until you receive. The example of the parable in 5-8 suggests that just as the man gets out of bed to provide for the needs of a visitor so not to bring shame upon himself, so God will also hear and answer prayer as not to bring shame on Himself. God is true to His word. If you ask according to His will He will do it. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. The words act, seek, and knock in the original Greek suggests an ongoing action. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. An elderly lady was once asked by a young man who had grown weary in the fight, whether he ought to give up the struggle. "I am beaten every time," he said dolefully. "I feel I must give up." "Did you ever notice," she replied, smiling into the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in the same old spot where they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing?" 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – a verse to remember – “pray continually”… 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
IV. THE POWER OF PRAYER In a book that I read recently called Waking the Dead, there is a quote from one of the early church fathers that says, “The glory of God is man fully alive”. That is the man that is fully aware of what God is prepared to do in his life and is willing to receive the fullness of every promise given. In verse 11-13 Jesus compares the limits of man to the limitless of God. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” What was it about Jesus’ prayer that brought Lazarus out of the grave? What is it in Jesus’ life that caused the disciple to say, “Lord, teach us to pray…?” in both cases it was the power of the Holy Spirit that came at the time of prayer. There are two things in verse 13 that I want to look at. 1) Jesus makes the comparison to man’s willingness to give to his offspring and God’s ability to give. … how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit… This is in reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But I also believe that it refers to the power of the Holy Spirit at work through your prayers. 2) What is the giving of the Holy Spirit directly connected to? It is the asking! … how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” That’s prayer. So when you pray God moves in the power of the Spirit. Zechariah 12:10, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. Again, that’s the Holy Spirit at work through prayer (supplication). Now go back to verse 11 and 12. If God has given you a promise then you must know that it is His will that you have that promise. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 1 John 4:14-15, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. The power of the Holy Spirit to work on the behalf of the believer only comes in the asking. You need to power of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You have to ask. You want the power of God for healing? You have to ask! You need the Holy Spirit to move on your behalf to restore relationships? Ask! And when you ask according to God’s word He will not give you a counterfeit – He gives what His word says is yours. James 4:3, You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 1:5 …he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James Duncan, preaching with great unction and power, was asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching. "The secret," he said, was "thirteen hours of consecutive prayer."
When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee work! Knee work!"
Livingston of Shotts, on two different occasions, preached with such power that in each service 500 were converted. Both sermons were preceded by a night of prayer.
Charles Finney, after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting, preached that night in a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied by such divine power that the whole congregation, except one man, fell
prostrate upon the floor, and voiced their agony under conviction of sin, in such loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop.
Of "Uncle" John Vassar fromThe Tract Society, his pastor says: "He absolutely prayed day and night -- prayed about everything, prayed for almost everything, prayed with almost everybody he met. He prayed when he went out and when he came in. He prayed before every religious service, and then prayed all the way through it. I have occupied the same room with him night after night, and rarely went to sleep without hearing him in prayer, or awoke without finding him in prayer."
Christ Life Newsletter.
Without prayer we will never be what God wants us to be.
Without prayer this church will never reach the heights that God intends us to reach.
Without prayer revival will never come.
Without prayer God’s will on earth will never be established.
Lord Teach us to pray!
