Series: Things Jesus Wants Us To Know
Part 11 -
Luke 11:1-13
INTRO: Do you ever take a Red-lettered Bible and marvel at the words of Christ? Does His wisdom contained therein reach you like none other? Well, this is what I am trying to do with this series, let us see what He wants us to know from His Word. So, do you think it would be neat to sit down with God and ask Him questions? What about ask Him for favors or help in our day to day problems? Well this we can and do all the time. We may not be face to face, but we do talk to God. Prayer, that is what we all it. That is something we need in our lives.
I have been doing a series entitled "Things Jesus Wants Us To Know. We have been working through the Gospel of Luke. We have learned many things. Today I want to look into Luke 11. We see here an instance happening when the disciples ask the Lord about prayer. I don’t have to tell you how tantalizing prayer can be. After all, we are actually communicating (our wants and desires) to God -- directly. Let's read God's Word and see how Jesus responded to their request.
Luke 11:1 - 13 1And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.3
Give us day by day our daily bread.4
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.5
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;6
For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?7
And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.8
I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.9
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.10
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.11
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?12
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?13
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?Something like 58 words makes up what we term as the Lord's prayer. What an example of simple, straightforward reaching out to God. Not a lot of wasted repetition or excess blabber, just laying it out like it needs to be said. There is so much we can learn from the Lord's example and His teaching.
Let's look and see what we can hear…
Jesus gave us some guidelines in Matthew 6 about prayer. Let us listen to them.
Matthew 6:5 - 8 5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.7
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.We can see He wants us to…
Pray hardest when we are alone - in fact that is where real prayer needs to be
Avoid making a show - 5
Do not seek to be seen (and gain your only reward) - 5
Find a secret place - closet or a room as newer versions translate - 6
Keep your requests personal with God alone - 6
Pray in a simple method - 7
No unneeded repetitions - 7
Just ask - 7
Ask, knowing He hears and answers prayer - 8
Oh yeah…He already knows what you need before you even ask
So, we can see that prayer is something Jesus had knowledge about. He knew the best way to reach God was to be forthright and "face to face" so to speak - or to talk to Him one on one, not with an audience or put on a show.
But, back to Luke. It seems that the Lord was doing what He taught in Matthew. He had been praying. Not on a street corner, not with great fanfare, but in a certain lace - I think He had a spot where he like to go, maybe in a garden, on a hillside, by a stream, just a quiet place to get alone with God. His disciples were probably aware of His time spent in prayer and had seen the results. They wanted some of the results and no doubt had a desire to be closer to Jehovah themselves. So, they asked Him, to teach them to pray. After all, John's disciples prayed. Isn't it funny how we want what the others are doing instead of what God wants us to have?
So the Lord lays out an inspiring yet simple pattern of prayer…
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. "
Let's look at the things He laid out…
He recognized God - Our Father which art in heaven
He honored God - Hallowed be thy name
He expressed hope and expectation - Thy kingdom come
He showed a desire to do His will - Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth
He asked for simple sustenance - Give us day by day our daily bread
He sought forgiveness - And forgive us our sins
He reminded himself of his obligation - for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us
He sought closeness to God - lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil
Not a great, drawn out performance, but simple down to earth talking to God.
That is what I am talking about! That was what He was talking about a simple conversation with God.
Mother Teresa shared the following:
Prayer is simply talking to God.
He speaks to us: we listen.
We speak to him: he listens.
A two-way process:
speaking and listening.
Really, does that not describe it? Talking to God. We do not have to impress Him, He knows so much more than we. We do not have to do anything more than share our need and desires. Just talk to Him.
So, we can see Jesus tells us to pray in a private setting, pray in a simple unheralded manner, and simply talk to God.
When we pray, we need to know prayer is not like…
A kid in a candy store - picking and choosing to our delight
Catalog of sales items - waiting for our choice
Take a number station - waiting for our turn
An easy fix for all our problems - prayer does not make them go away - but it might help us face them and with His help overcome them
But, it is more than just requests. More than just asking. More than just obligation. The Jews prayed three times a day as a rule. I think when Jesus prayed, something happened. Yeah God hears. Yes, He answers. Yes, He knows what we need and will do what is needed. But, it was different when Jesus took to His knees. God was there. Is He there for us? I think so. The real question is, " Are we there for Him?"
When I think of prayer, I envision Michaelangelo's painting from the roof of the Sistine Chapel, "The Creation of Adam." I know it is not about prayer. I know it represents God's touch and life bringing moment to Adam. But to me, I see the two outstretched hands. More importantly their fingers are touching - or almost so.
It so reminds me of when my boys were little. I would put my finger to their finger. My hands so much bigger than theirs, yet we were communicating, touching, letting each know we were there. To me, that is what I see in that painting. God is there. He says, "Hey, what do you want? What do you need? I am here. I'll be there. Just ask."
You know He is there. He is available if we call on Him.
So what have we learned today?
Jesus wants us to know God hears our prayers
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Jesus wants us to know prayer is more than just asking, requesting, requisitioning, begging and pleading to God
Jesus wants us to know prayer is about getting alone and close to God
Here are some things we might be praying about…
Seeking God's will and direction in our lives
Seeking God's blessings that we might serve
Seeking strength that we might help others
Seeking God's help for others
Seeking a closer life with God
Seeking salvation - certainly one we do not want to forget
Jesus wants us to know prayer means we are never truly alone
Jesus wants us to know prayer is like an extension of our private faith
And so important…
Jesus wants us to know prayer is a important and special part of living a close life with the Lord
As we stand, would you recite with me the Lord's prayer as found in Luke…
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. "
Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 052007am