“Jesus Teaches About Prayer”
Luke 11:5-10
INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our series on “Lessons Jesus Taught”.
Prayer was important to Jesus. He had just given His Disciples instructions on prayer – 11:1-4
If prayer was important to Jesus … how MUCH MORE IMPORTANT ought prayer be to us!
11:5-6
Here, we see a man interceding for a “friend”. A “friend” goes to another “friend’s” house asking for food for a “friend” … he’s hungry. There were no convenient stores in Bible times … you asked friends for food when you were out of food.
The asking “friend” is an INTERCESSOR … a middle-man … for his visiting “friend”. It was the responsibility of the host to feed a guest in his house. It was a SHAME to not be able to provide for a guest.
That’s what God wants US to be … INTERCESSORS. The LOST don’t have access to our “Friend”, the Lord Jesus Christ. They don’t have access to His Throne. God won’t hear their prayers, other than their prayer of REPENTANCE.
I wish I could save everybody … BUT … I can’t. HOWEVER … I know Someone who can! AND … I can go to Him on their behalf. That’s what “friends” do! God has the resources to meet their spiritual needs … I don’t. THEREFORE … it’s MY RESPONSIBILITY to go to God on their behalf.
WHAT SHOULD I PRAY FOR?
o That they might see their NEED of a Savior.
o That they might see their HOPE as being only in Christ alone.
o That they might realize they are bound for an ETERNITY in the Lake of Fire.
I see their NEED … I know their only HOPE … I realize their FATE. SO … I am to PRAY.
“which of you …” ANSWER: ALL of us would do the same thing this man did … INTERCEDE on behalf of someone in need. See 11:11-12
MODERN PARABLE: Company comes all at once … unexpected. You’re unprepared … they’re hungry … stores closed. You go to a friend to borrow some eggs, bacon, bread. FRIEND: “Forget it … go home & leave me alone!”
11:7 – Everybody slept in one bed … even the goats & chickens slept in the house at night. It must have caused quite a commotion when there was a knock on the door at “midnight”.
IN SPITE OF the initial denial, he finally relented and gave him some bread. BUT NOTE: He didn’t give it to him on the basis of his “friendship” … BUT … on the basis of his PERSISTENCE … his “pestering” him.
11:8 – “importunity” = ‘shameless persistence & perseverance’. NOTE: This is a parable of CONTRAST. Jesus used this technique several times … see 11:13.
There are several things we need to see in this PARABLE OF CONTRAST:
1.- OUR ATTITUDE IN COMING
When we go to God in prayer, we don’t go to Him as His NEIGHBOR … or even His FRIEND … BUT … as His CHILD. You don’t have to knock down His door! WHY? Because He WANTS to meet all your needs. While I might be “bothered” if you came to my door at midnight … if my SON came to my door, it wouldn’t be a “bother”.
God gives us a PROMISE: Philip. 4:19 – “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” THEREFORE … we don’t need to be as ARROGANT as this man was to his neighbor … knocking down his door.
2.- GOD’S ATTITUDE IN ANSWERING
Our Heavenly Father, is MORE THAN DELIGHTED to meet all our needs. See 11:13. He WANTS you to come and ask of Him. He BEGS you to come and ask of Him. This is in CONTRAST to the neighbor.
3.- OUR ATTITUDE IN ASKING
What was the sole purpose in the friend coming to his neighbor at midnight? To get bread.
What should be our sole purpose in coming to God? To get what we ask for? Careful now! The important thing to remember in coming to GOD is … NOT so OUR WILL will prevail … but HIS WILL. See 11:2b – “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”
SOMETIMES, we ask God for ICE CREAM when we’re hungry … and God knows we need CORNBREAD & MILK. SOMETIMES, we ask God for CORNBREAD & MILK … and God wants to give us ICE CREAM!
God knows more about what we NEED than we do. We need to ALWAYS ask in His will.
3 STEPS IN INTERCESSORY PRAYER: (11:9-10)
1.- BE VOCAL – “ask”
If you don’t ask, you won’t receive. That’s not to say that God hasn’t given you MORE than you’ve ever asked for. MOST of what you have, you’ve never asked God for. In His abundant GRACE, He has showered His gifts upon you … without you ever ASKING.
NEVERTHELESS … God wants you to ASK Him for things. WHY? (ASK) BECAUSE … if you don’t ASK Him, you won’t THANK Him. You won’t RECOGNIZE it as a gift of God.
“ask” – GK. – present tense – ‘keep on asking’
NOTICE what the friend did … 11:8 … “importunity” … ‘shameless persistence’.
See Luke 18:1-8. Another parable of CONTRAST. If the UNJUST JUDGE will give a just verdict AGAINST HIS WILL because of being pestered … will not GOD give to His children (Whom He loves) who pray earnest IN HIS WILL?
If you have a PROBLEM … a NEED … a DILEMMA … ask God to meet your need. You may not receive all that you ask God for … BUT … if you DON’T ASK … you might not get some of the things God has reserved for you.
Paul had a problem. 2 Cor. 12:7-9 – ribbon. Did Paul get what he ASKED for? (ASK) No. What did Paul get? He got the assurance that God knew about his problem … and would give him the grace to live with it. What if Paul HADN’T asked God for relief? (ASK) He probably would have resented God for allowing this in his life (like we so often do). INSTEAD … he asked God to take away his problem. THEN … he waited for God’s answer. AND … God answered him. NOT in granting him what he asked for … BUT … in giving him the grace to live with it. EITHER WAY, Paul is better off by coming to God and ASKING Him.
You might be SURPRISED, when you get to Heaven, and find out all the things God WOULD have given you … that you never got … BECAUSE … you never ASKED Him! James 4:2 – “You have not, because you ask not …”
ASKING gets us into the Throne Room of Heaven. We have ACCESS to the Throne Room of Heaven because of Jesus. Eph. 2:18 – “For THROUGH HIM we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
I don’t have any clout with God. I have to have an “IN” with God. If I wanted to see the Queen of England, I couldn’t gain access. BUT … if I walked in with my good friend Prince Charles ….
When you get to Heaven, what if God should ask you: “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” ANSWER: “I know Jesus! He has given me access through His blood on the cross.” GOD: “Come on in!”
Jesus is our INTERCESSOR. YOU are an INTERCESSOR. The Lost:
o Won’t pray.
o Don’t have access to God’s Throne.
o Don’t have the ANSWER (Jesus) … only the PROBLEM (sin).
You are to be an INTERCESSOR.
1.- BE VOCAL – “ask”
2.- BE VISUAL – “seek”
Before God will answer your prayer, it must be in HIS WILL. John 14:13-14 – “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
The other day, I got a BLANK CHECK from a lady (by mistake). WOW! Only1 problem, it was COMPLETELY blank … unsigned. I couldn’t cash it. The bank wouldn’t know if it was her WILL or not, if she didn’t sign it.
God doesn’t give you a SIGNED BLANK check. He only “signs” what is His will. THEREFORE, I need to ASK “in His will” before I will receive it. If it’s not HIS WILL, believe me, you don’t want it!
NOW … HIS WILL may not be what you asked for. BUT … HIS WILL is what’s BEST for you. THEREFORE … we are to “seek” HIS WILL in all that we “ask” for.
What do we usually “ask” (pray) for? Listen to your prayers, sometime. We usually “ask” for things that will make our life more COMFORTABLE … don’t we? That’s what Paul asked for, when he prayed for the “thorn” to be removed. Paul “asked” 3 times … Paul “sought” God’s will above all else (his true desire) … AND … Paul RECEIVED God’s will (though it wasn’t what he originally “asked” for). 2 Cor. 12:9 – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
WHY DON’T WE GET WHAT WE ASK FOR?
1.- It’s not in God’s will.
2.- We ask with the wrong motives - James 4:2-3 – “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. [3] Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” We ask to make our life more comfortable … when God wants to make our life more conformable.
3.- There is sin in our life … and we are out of fellowship with Him. Did this work with your parents? Were you more likely to get what you wanted when you asked and you were living in disobedience to them? No! 1 John 3:22 – “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
SOMETIMES, God doesn’t answer our prayers, because we aren’t in fellowship with EACH OTHER. 1 Peter 3:7 – “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
Keep on “asking” … keep on “seeking” God’s will if God doesn’t give you what you initially ask Him for. THEN …
3.- BE VIGILANT – “knock” … ‘keep on knocking’
How many times did Paul pray for the “thorn” to be removed? It took 3 TIMES before God spoke His will to him.
How Long Should You Keep On Knocking?
1.- Until God ANSWERS your prayer. THEN … THANK Him! So many times, God answers our prayers, and we never stop to THANK Him.
2.- Until God gives you PEACE about the situation. God may not give you exactly what you ASKED Him for … BUT … He may give you the assurance that He will take care of it. There’s no need to keep bringing it up. You’ve given it over to God … and you have the assurance that He has taken care of it. He has given you the PEACE that it’s now in His hands.
CONCLUSION: 11:10
Keep on “asking” – Don’t ignore God … He wants you to ASK when you have a need. He’s the only One who can meet your needs.
Keep on “seeking” – “ask” that HIS WILL be done … not necessarily yours.
Keep on “knocking” – UNTIL you RECEIVE either: His answer … OR … PEACE that He will take care of it.
Let’s be more PRAYERFUL … God wants you to ASK of Him, far more than we do. Jesus said in John 15:5 – “For without Me, you can do nothing.” That’s why we need to pray more.
STAND – PRAY
“Forgive our lack of prayer … our lack of faith … our lack of asking, seeking, knocking … our lack of thanking You when You do answer our prayers.”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“Jesus Teaches About Prayer” - Luke 11:5-10
INTRODUCTION: Jesus gave His Disciples instruction on prayer – 11:1-4 – It was important to Jesus.
11:5-6 – The friend acts as an INTERCESSOR for another friend.
- God doesn’t hear the prayers of the LOST, except for the prayer of repentance.
- As Christians, we need to intercede for the lost – 11:11-12
11:7-8 – “importunity” = ‘shameless persistence & perseverance’.
- This is a parable of CONTRAST – 11:13
1.- Our Attitude In Coming
- God wants to meet all your needs – Philippians 4:19
2.- God’s Attitude In Answering
- God is delighted in your coming to Him.
3.- Our Attitude In Asking
- We should want God’s will to prevail – 11:2b
3 Steps In Intercessory Prayer – 11:9-10
1.- Be Vocal – “ask”
- God gives us MORE than we ever ask Him for.
- WHY does God want you to ask of Him?
- Luke 18:1-8 – Another parable of CONTRAST.
- You may not receive ALL that you ask for … BUT … if you don’t ask, you might not get some things God has for you.
- Paul had a problem – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
- Did Paul get what he asked for? What did he get?
- Access to God’s Throne Room – James 4:2, Ephesians 2:18
2.- Be Visual – “seek”
- Your asking must be in His will – John 14:13-14
- God’s will is always BEST for you.
- What do we usually ask for?
Why Don’t We Get What We Ask For?
1.- It’s Not In God’s Will.
2.- We Ask With The Wrong Motives – James 4:2-3
3.- We are Out of Fellowship With God – 1 John 3:22 – or, with each other - 1 Peter 3:7
3.- Be Vigilant – “knock”
How Long Should You Keep On Knocking?
1.- Until God Answers Your Prayer – THEN … thank Him!
2.- Until God Gives You Peace About The Situation.
CONCLUSION: 11:10
- John 15:5 – “For without Me, you can do nothing.”
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
