SO MANY THOUGHTS ON PRAYER
LUKE 11:1-13
#prayer
INTRODUCTION… preceptaustin.org/prayer_devotionals_and_illustrations
David Jeremiah is a Southern Baptist minister and you can hear him on the radio on ‘Turning Point’ and he has also written a few books. He has a 2004 book called “Prayer: The Great Adventure.”
He says in that book, “I scoured the New Testament some time ago, looking for things God does in ministry that are not prompted by prayer. Do you know what I found? Nothing. I don’t mean I had trouble finding an item or two; I mean I found nothing. Everything God He does through prayer. Consider:
Prayer is the way you defeat the devil (Luke 22:32; James 4:7).
Prayer is the way you get the lost saved (Luke 18:13).
Prayer is the way you acquire wisdom (James 1:5).
Prayer is the way a backslider gets restored (James 5:16–20).
Prayer is how the saints get strengthened (Jude 20, Matthew 26:41).
Prayer is the way we get laborers out to the mission field (Matthew 9:38).
Prayer is how we cure the sick (James 5:13–15).
Prayer is how we accomplish the impossible (Mark 11:23–24).
What we do for the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we receive from the Lord, and what we receive from the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we are in the Lord, and what we are in the Lord is entirely dependent upon the time we spend alone with the Lord in prayer.”
I found that thought provoking since I want to talk about prayer today and again re-iterate how important prayer is for the believer in Jesus Christ. I don’t think I can say it enough. I really don’t.
What I would like to do is read 13 verses from Luke 11 today and give you all the thoughts on prayer that are included in those verses.
Let’s jump right in with the passage we call “the Lord’s Prayer.”
READ LUKE 11:1-4 (ESV)
“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.” 2 And 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 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
I want to stop after these first few verses and lay out some thoughts.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Prayer is Learned (verse 1)
One of the first truths we notice in this passage is that prayer is not something we are born knowing how to do properly, but it can be learned and it can be taught. John the Baptist taught his followers how to pray. One of the disciples knew this and after watching Jesus pray and realizing his inadequacy in this area, asked Jesus to teach them all to pray. The disciples wanted to pray like Jesus… that is a worthy goal! Jesus did not look strangely at which ever disciple this was, but rather launched into helping the men around Him learn to pray.
For the disciples, prayer was a normal part of their spiritual lives and they knew that Jesus Christ could show them a better way. Jesus’ way is always the better way.
[GOSPEL
I mean that when I say that… Jesus’ way is always the better way. We sin and we go our own way and we end up broken and lost and hurting. Jesus’ way is to come to Him and confess sin and faith and He will forgive us because of what He has already done on the cross. Jesus’ way is Him in our lives and forgiveness. That is the Gospel.]
Anyway, Jesus knew could show them a direction in prayer that pleased God. He could teach them to pray just like others had been taught to pray. If we struggle in prayer, maybe we just don’t know how and we need to take it upon ourselves to ask. If we wonder what words to say, we can learn and then we can honor our Heavenly Father more when we pray to Him.
Jesus’ response is an example prayer that we can learn from. What do we find in this prayer?
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Always Keep The Holy Father in View (verse 2)
As I thought about how Jesus began His prayer, my heart kept focusing on the way Jesus focused on God as our Holy Father. “Hallowed” means “holy.” When Christians pray, we pray to a Holy Father in Heaven Who is perfect and so far above us that we can scarcely imagine Who He is and how we can hope to interact with Him. He is awesome in power and perfect in His will and purpose for us.
Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray and models for them and for us an understanding of God that is not only centered on His holiness, but is also very personal. God is our Father in Heaven. We who believe in Jesus Christ are His children adopted into His family and sealed with the Holy Spirit. God wants us to understand His personal nature (Job 16:19-21). He is not far off and unconcerned (Jeremiah 23:23-24). He is close by and loving (Acts 17:27). No matter your family background, nationality, gender, race, or economics, we are invited by a Heavenly Father into His redeemed family through faith in Jesus Christ. We belong to God.
How do we know that?
The Bible describes God as a holy personal God who takes us as His children and He loves us as a Perfect Holy Father should. Prayer is personal communication between a child of God and God the Father.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Seek His Way (verse 2)
In verse 2, we see another important thought about prayer. When Christians pray, we pray that God’s Kingdom and His will is done. We are praying in submission to God’s will every single time we communicate with Him. We are not praying that we get our way, but rather we are praying that God’s will and way is done in our lives and on Earth, just like it is done in Heaven.
We must fundamentally understand that prayer has little to do with us and our way and our wants, but rather we are praying that we get in line with God’s will and His purposes and we live in His Kingdom. When we pray “Your will be done,” we are lining ourselves up with Jesus in submission to God’s will. We are praying so we get out of ourselves and into Him.
We need to understand that God’s will is not automatically what we want, how we want, or in the manner we want. God may never direct our lives on the path we want and prayer is the way to accept that and to understand His will and ways. I have to be honest, we want to be on God’s path, in God’s will, and part of God’s Kingdom because that is far better than any place or path we might choose for ourselves.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Ask God To Provide (Verse 3)
Jesus does not stop, but continues to teach the disciples to pray. When Christians pray, we pray in reliance on God for our needs. It is no accident that Jesus mentions bread. Bread is the most basic necessity and a staple in life. This is not a hard concept. We should ask God for what we need. This request of “Give us each day our daily bread” is a request to our loving Heavenly Father to provide for our earthly needs.
What I think Jesus is trying to model for us is prayer away from the idea of treating God like a vending machine. Prayer is not a magic formula that gets us what we want when we want and how we want. Vending machine prayers are self-centered. Vending machine prayers expect immediate results and a God that is at our beck-and-call. True Christian prayer trusts that God knows exactly what we need for a fulfilled life and He will provide.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Discuss Forgiveness Often (verse 4)
Verse 4 continues with another thought as Jesus is giving this example prayer. When we pray, we focus on forgiveness of ourselves and others. All of us know that living with other human beings is hurtful. Even if we were by ourselves, we would still have issues with ourselves at some point. Forgiveness is an essential element in effective prayer. Jesus says so.
Forgiveness is the removal of anger, guilt, shame, and the action of revenge. That is not a simple thing to pray about, but takes time in prayer to process. I have always found it interesting that in Jesus’ model prayer, Jesus includes two avenues of forgiveness. We are asking God to forgive us. That is essential. Part of prayer is clearing up the sin and mistakes that cloud our relationship with God. You and I must ask for forgiveness for our sins because our sins separate us from God.
READ COLOSSIANS 2:13-14
The Bible shares this truth with us: “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
We are also asking for forgiveness with other people. That is essential. Part of prayer is understanding where we have hurt others and taking steps of forgiveness with them. Part of prayer is also knowing where we have been hurt and taking steps to forgive those that have hurt us. Prayer is very much a cleaning of the heart when it comes to sin, bad attitudes, wrong motivations, evil thoughts, uncontrolled emotions, immoral plans, and everything else that plagues us.
Related to forgiveness is praying that we stay out of situations for which we need to ask for forgiveness about. Temptation is part of the Christian life. It comes from all areas of our lives, from all people, and even from within us. We can be tempted to be hateful, bitter, to fear, to gossip, to look down on others, and to sin in all sorts of ways. In prayer, we seek deliverance from circumstances that are tempting and we seek ways out of temptation that we can keep on the straight and narrow path.
ILLUSTRATION… preceptaustin.org/prayer_devotionals_and_illustrations
GREEK WORDS FOR PRAYER [adapted] [do not say the Greek words]
I was doing some reading on prayer and I was struck on how many words in the Bible mean prayer. In English, we have 1 word… prayer. The original language of the Bible is so descriptive and specific.
There is the word (aiteo) that means to ask with urgency and humility from one who is under another. The thought is asking with an expectation of an answer. Small tiny people urgently and humbly asking our Huge Infinite God for something sounds like prayer. There is a related word in my mind (deesis) which is a request only made to God because we know that only the answer can come from Him.
There is the word (deomai) which means to plead and to beg because of a need. I can see how that is prayer… we have a need in our lives and we come to the One in all of Creation Who loves and can provide.
Then there is the beautiful word (proseuchomai) which describes prayer as worshipfully seeking the face of God in submission, confession, petition, supplication (asking for self), intercession (asking for others), praise, and thanksgiving. That is prayer!
This is prayer!
Prayer is when you and I prayerfully come to God our Holy Heavenly Father and we submit ourselves to Him and pour out our hearts to Him. We need to be doing this all the time because without communication, we can’t have a relationship with Him.
Jesus continues to teach the disciples and moves from an actual example prayer to giving some small stories that illustrate even more thoughts about prayer. Jesus uses a normal way of teaching in this section of Scripture. Jesus gives truth in a small or low level example and then says that if that small example is true, then how much more is an even larger example True. He actually does this often in the Scriptures.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Persistent prayer is good (verses 5-8)
READ LUKE 11:5-8
“And He said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.”
Before we get too far… the weird word in verse 8… “impudence” sounds bad, but the way it is used here is “persistence.” I wish they had just put “persistence.”
Jesus Christ wants to communicate that persistence in prayer is good. Sometimes we wonder if God gets tired of hearing our prayers or we should not pray for the same thing over and over… Jesus tells the story of a neighbor to make His point. We can and should pray for the burdens that are on our hearts.
A neighbor comes and shamelessly knocks at the door and is persistent to get bread for guests. This dude is not going to go away until he gets the bread he needs. Persistence pays off for this guy with no bread. The neighbor wouldn't just get up because they were friends, but the persistence was the key and provision is made.
When it comes to prayer, we are the man at the door knocking looking for bread. But we are not praying to a slumbering neighbor. We are praying to our Heavenly Father Who wants to give us what we need. Remember Jesus’ way of teaching with the lesser to the greater. If persistence was good and important in the smaller example with the neighbor, how much more is it needed when you and I pray to God. We also pray to our Heavenly Father Who already knows what we need and so the request will not fall to a Heavenly Father Who does not care. He does care and He answers.
That leads us to the next thought.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Prayers are Answered (verses 9-10)
READ LUKE 11:9-10
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Lets also add more words of Jesus from John 15:7:
READ JOHN 15:7
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
As we think about these verses from Jesus, let’s add James 4:3 into the mix:
READ James 4:3
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
And I want to throw in one more passage from the Old Testament in here:
READ Psalm 66:18
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
Jesus is sharing with us important thoughts on prayer that agree with the Old Testament and other parts of the New Testament. This thought is that prayers are answered. Prayer is real. Prayer is communicating to God Who genuinely listens. Prayers are answered. Jesus encourages us to ask and seek and knock. He promises that the one asking will receive and the seeker will find and the doors will be opened. Jesus also reminds us that the state of our heart and the status of our relationship with Him and our motives for asking are all also important.
The Book of James reminds us to ask with good motives. In context, the James verse is warning us about selfishness creeping into our attitudes. We probably would like prayer to be what we want, but the Bible tells us that prayer must come from faith, abiding in Christ, and be with right motives.
* Pray from a righteous heart. The Bible speaks of having a clean conscience and we want to keep our sins confessed to the Lord so that nothing hinders our prayers.
* Pray from a grateful heart knowing that God will answer in His perfect will.
* Pray in the authority of Jesus Christ and in His Name always knowing that we cannot enter into God’s presence by ourselves, but only when covered by the blood of Jesus.
All of these speak to our motives in prayer if we want God to answer. He does answer. He is ready to answer. He is ready to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ and yet our motives and heart in asking are important. If you are praying about something and you do not see an answer, it could be that God has another answer in mind or it could be that you are not praying with right motives. Prayers are answered.
Our last thought on prayer today comes from the last few verses in this passage. Before we get to this last thought I want to review where we have been:
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Prayer is Learned (verse 1)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Always Keep The Holy Father in View (verse 2)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Seek His Way (verse 2)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Ask God To Provide (Verse 3)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Discuss Forgiveness Often (verse 4)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Persistent prayer is good (verses 5-8)
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: Prayers are Answered (verses 9-10)
We now come to our last thought that Jesus offers by way of a small example story. Again, remember the way He is teaching is to provide a small or limited example and then relate to us “how much more” is such a thing true for God.
THOUGHT ON PRAYER: God is a Good Giver (Verses 11-13)
READ LUKE 11:11-13
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Jesus circles back to His thought from the beginning of the passage that Jesus is our Father in Heaven and adds to that thought that God is a good giver. He mentions the earthly example of earthly fathers giving what their children need and ask for. The love of a father motives him to give from love and provide.
How much more is it that our Heavenly Father loves us boundlessly and also provides for us. He gives good gifts to His children.
[GOSPEL
The greatest gift God has given was Jesus Christ on the cross which makes not only our salvation completely possible, but also allows us to approach Him in prayer with confidence. Jesus is our confidence. Jesus’ victory on the cross not only gives us confidence in removing the guilt of our sin, but also gives us confidence in prayer.]
God is a good giver.
READ James 1:5
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
READ Psalm 20:4
“May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your counsel!”
READ Psalm 21:2
“You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips.”
READ Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
God is a good giver.
CHALLENGE
So how has this challenged you? The challenge today is to: Learn to pray persistently more with right motives to our Heavenly Father who answers with goodness. [repeat]
CONCLUSION… preceptaustin.org/prayer_devotionals_and_illustrations
We started with a quote from pastor and author David Jeremiah and we conclude with the same quote:
“What we do for the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we receive from the Lord, and what we receive from the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we are in the Lord, and what we are in the Lord is entirely dependent upon the time we spend alone with the Lord in prayer.”
