Sunday
Morning Bible Study
October 15, 2006
Introduction
Last week as we finished the book of Ephesians, we talked about prayer. I
hope that more than a few of you thought about the importance of learning to
have a daily time of prayer. I’ve learned over the years that there are a few
topics that a preacher can preach on and be sure to have people feeling guilty
– and prayer tops that list. As Christians, we often talk a lot about prayer,
but I find that very few actually have a regular, daily time of consistent
prayer.
But my desire isn’t just to make us all feel guilty about prayer. I want us
to learn to pray.
All my life I’ve heard stories of famous Christians who have said at the
end of their lives that if they would do anything different in life, they would
pray more.
I think it would be cool if when we get to the end of our lives, we would
have no regrets about our lack of prayer.
Before we look at Luke 11, I find it interesting to keep in mind the events
that were immediately preceding it …
(Luke 10:38-42 NKJV) Now
it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman
named Martha welcomed Him into her house. {39} And she had a sister called
Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. {40} But Martha was
distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do
You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to
help me." {41} And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha,
you are worried and troubled about many things. {42} "But one thing is
needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from
her."
It’s an important thing that we learn to serve the Lord as Martha was
doing. But there is something even more important, and that was what Mary was
doing. Before we go out and serve the Lord, we must learn to wait upon the
Lord. Prayer ought to precede action.
Jesus knew this. He knew the importance of prayer.
Luke 11:1-13
:1-4 The Prayer
:1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place,
Jesus had a prayer life. He prayed regularly.
Mark records an incident where the disciples stumbled across Jesus in His
private prayer time.
(Mark 1:35-37 NKJV) Now in the morning, having risen a long while
before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He
prayed. {36} And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. {37} When
they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
We’re going to look at what is known as “The Lord’s Prayer”. But if you are
familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, you’ll notice that it’s just a little
different. In fact, not only are some of the phrases different, but it’s found
in a different time of Jesus’ ministry.
The traditional “Lord’s Prayer” is found in Matthew 6, in the “Sermon on
the Mount”. Matthew records Jesus giving this message at the beginning of His
ministry.
Yet Luke’s record of the Lord’s Prayer takes place much further into Jesus’
ministry. If you were to place Luke’s account into the book of Matthew, it
would be somewhere after Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration, found in Luke 9).
There’s no mistake. Luke simply records Jesus teaching the same thing at a
later time. In other words, the disciples didn’t get it the first time.
:1 when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach
us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
Apparently it was known in that day that John’s disciples knew how to
pray. The scribes and Pharisees asked
Jesus …
(Luke 5:33 NKJV)
Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and
make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and
drink?"
Jesus’ response dealt with the issue of fasting by saying,
(Luke 5:34-35 NKJV) And He
said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the
bridegroom is with them? {35} "But the days will come when the bridegroom
will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
But it’s kind of interesting that He doesn’t seem to deal with the issue as
to why His disciples weren’t praying. Maybe
there wasn’t a good reason as to why they weren’t praying?
Note: The disciples don’t say, “Teach us how to pray”, but simply, “Teach us to
pray”
For most of us, the “how to” is easy.
It’s the “doing” of the thing that is hard.
I love the fact that the disciples were so moved by Jesus’ own prayer life that
they wanted Him to teach them to pray.
:2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven,
say – there’s nothing really “magical” about prayer. It doesn’t require a special language filled
with “thee” and “thou”. It’s simply
speaking to God.
For those of you who feel like you’ve mastered prayer, pay attention to
what Jesus will teach – I find my prayer time always needs sharpening.
Father – prayer is aimed at a specific person. Address your prayers
to the Father
Illustration
Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary, Bill Moyers, was saying grace at a staff
lunch, and the President shouted, “Speak up, Bill! I can’t hear a thing!”
Moyers quietly replied, “I wasn’t addressing you, Mr. President.”
I think that when we are in a group, it’s good to speak up and speak
clearly so others can agree with you in prayer, but you’re not speaking to
them, you’re speaking to God. When you
pray in a group, don’t pray for the sake of the others in the group, pray TO
God.
He is also our “Father”.
(Psa 103:13 NASB) Just as a
father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who
fear Him.
In other words, God really cares about us.
:2 Hallowed be Your name.
hallowed – hagiazo – it
speaks of “being holy”. We need to
recognize that God’s name is holy, pure, worthy of worship.
There is a sense of worship in this phrase.
This is how the angels worship God:
(Isa 6:3 NKJV) And one cried
to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole
earth is full of His glory!"
There is a sense in which God’s “holiness” ought to cause us to tremble
with fear. When the first worship
service was started by the nation of Israel
in the wilderness, it met with tragedy as two of Aaron’s sons were killed because
they offered “strange fire”. They
offered something that God didn’t ask for.
(Lev 10:3 NKJV) And Moses
said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before
all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace.
Even though God is our “Father”, and He loves us like a father, He is also
very, very different from us.
He’s not “the old man upstairs”.
He’s not your “big buddy in the sky”.
He is holy. We ought to spend
more time on our face.
:2 Your kingdom come.
We are looking for God’s kingdom to come. We are looking for Jesus to
return. We ought to even be praying for it.
:2 Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
God’s will is done in heaven. Our prayers are about bringing God’s will
down to earth.
Prayer is about getting God’s will done.
One of the secrets of getting your prayers answered is learning to pray for
the things that God wants to do:
(1 John 5:14-15 NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in
Him, 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 the petitions that
we have asked of Him.
There ought to be a sense of submission in our hearts to God as we pray.
Prayer is part of our communication with God. But it’s not just about telling God what we
need, it’s also part of a process of learning what God wants as well.
We ought to never be ashamed of saying, “but whatever is Your will” in our
praying.
We trust that God knows what is best, and we ultimately want whatever God
wants.
(Rom 8:28
NKJV) And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose.
So why pray if prayer is not about getting what I want?
1. We pray because Jesus told us to
pray.
2. Prayer is part of the process God
uses to mold us into His image. And as
we learn to delight ourselves in Him, as we learn to be more like Him, we will
find that the things we “want” are actually the things that God wants as well.
3. Prayer is one of our greatest expressions of faith – trusting in God.
Without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6)
:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
We ought to pray each day for our needs.
Lesson
Get to the point
Sometimes when I hear people praying in a group, it seems like we spend a
whole lot of time informing God about the situation, as if He doesn’t know
about it.
Just get to the point. Tell God what
you’re asking Him to do.
:4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to
us.
It’s not uncommon to spend time in prayer and at some time become
overwhelmed with your own sin, your own sense of inadequacy.
When the prophet Isaiah had a vision of God sitting on His throne, his
response was:
(Isa 6:5 NKJV) So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because
I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."
A very necessary part of prayer is confessing our sins and receiving God’s
forgiveness.
Our forgiveness isn’t based upon whether or not we’ve paid our debt to
society. Our forgiveness is based upon whether or not Jesus paid enough at the
cross to cover our sins. And He has paid
enough.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you confess your sins to God, then God WILL forgive you.
But there seems to be one little “catch” to God’s forgiveness.
God expects you to turn around and forgive others.
Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount:
(Mat 6:14-15 NKJV) "For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} "But if you do not forgive
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We must forgive others.
:5 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil
one."
Another translation might be, “keep me away from the place of temptation”.
Lesson
Be prepared for temptation
I think that part of this involves learning to have a mindset that I’m
aware that I’m going to face temptations today.
I’m in a much healthier place if I’m willing to acknowledge before God
that I know I’m weak.
:5-10 The Persistent Friend
:5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to
him at midnight and say to him,
'Friend, lend me three loaves;
:6 'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing
to set before him';
:7 "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the
door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to
you'?
:8 "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he
is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many
as he needs.
persistence – anaideia (“not”
+ “ashamed” or “bashful”)
The man gets up and gets what his friend asks for not because of their
close friendship, but because the friend is not embarrassed to keep pounding on
the door.
:9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
ask, seek, knock – all these words are in the “present imperative”,
meaning that we are to ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and
keep knocking.
There’s no promise that the answers will come if we quit too early. The
promise is that we will get the answers if we keep asking.
:10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to
him who knocks it will be opened.
Lesson
Persistent prayer
C.H. Spurgeon once said, “Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great
bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray
so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who
communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls
continuously with all his might.”
It’s tough to keep asking for things when you don’t see anything happening
as a result of your prayers.
Sometimes you simply feel foolish, almost embarrassed to keep praying for
the same things.
But Jesus wants us to be the “friend” who is not embarrassed to keep asking
for the same things.
Something happens when we learn to keep asking.
PUSHING AGAINST THE ROCK
There was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his
room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had a
work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord
explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This
the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down,
his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving
rock pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore
and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that
the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture
placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as; “You have been pushing against
that rock for a long time and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this?
You are never going to move it? etc.” Thus, giving the man the impression that
the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged
and disheartened the man even more. “Why kill myself over this?” he thought.
“I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be
good enough.” And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a
matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I
have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that
which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that
rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?” To this the Lord
responded compassionately, “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me
and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with
all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I
expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your
strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at
yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your
hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive
and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass
that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling
was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom.
This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.
Sometimes the thing that changes by our learning to be persistent in prayer
– is us.
Sometimes just the exercise of prayer, the exercise itself makes me
stronger.
Sometimes I find that what really needed changing was not the other person
or situation that I’m praying for, but me.
Sometimes as I pray I find that I’ve been looking at the problem the
wrong way and the one who really needed changing was me.
Sometimes we need to pray for things persistently because the thing itself
is going to require a lot of prayer.
The Bible often relates prayer with incense. In the Tabernacle worship, the “altar of
incense” was where the prayers were made.
The burning of incense seems to have been a picture to remind the people
of their prayers rising before God’s throne.
And prayer isn’t stinky, it smells sweet to God. The book of Revelation (Rev. 8) talks about
bowls of incense in heaven being poured out and causing things to happen on the
earth.
Sometimes I’ve wondered if some things require a bigger
bowl of incense than others.
I know that some prayers are answered with a single
prayer.
Others seem to require days, weeks, months, even years of
prayer. I’m not sure I know why.
But I find it helpful to remember in my head that I’m
putting a little more incense into the bowl with each prayer I pray. One day, when the bowl is filled, it will be
tipped over and God will answer the prayer.
Sometimes God wants us to learn to be patient. Perhaps the timing isn’t right for the answer
to come. Perhaps all the pieces aren’t
in place for God’s bigger plan to come to pass.
So we keep praying. We stay
faithful.
:11-13 A Good Father
:11 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give
him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a
fish?
:12 "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
A father would never think of doing such a thing.
:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him!"
We humans are pretty scary at times, but even we know how to gift good
gifts to our children.
Doesn’t it make sense that God knows how to respond to the prayers of His
children?
And note, Jesus says that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who
ask Him.
I think this is talking about more than just the baptism or the filling of
the Holy Spirit.
In context, the disciples have asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
A key element of prayer is the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26)
I think there is a sense in which more prayer brings more of the Holy
Spirit.
We’ll talk more about the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer next week as we
look into how prayer played a role in the ministry of the apostle Paul.