Teach Us To Pray – Part 5
Luke 11:1-13 (5-13)
April 28, 2019
This morning, after a brief break to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord,
WE RETURN BACK TO OUR STUDY OF LUKE’S GOSPEL.
We are currently in a segment which
Highlights the teaching and theology of Jesus.
And the segment begins with a teaching from Jesus regarding prayer.
(1) “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
There is little doubt that the PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS
Was a STARK CONTRAST to the prayer life
That had often been modeled to the disciples.
• They had seen Pharisees praying on street corners…
• They had heard pagans assuming they’d be heard for their many words…
The first was HYPOCRITICAL prayer, the second was MANIPULATIVE
And in Jesus the disciples saw neither.
• He often retreated by Himself to pray.
• His prayers were not for a public show.
• And He didn’t seem to manipulate God through gimmicks.
And yet, when Jesus prayed God answered.
The prayers of Jesus were effective.
And so it is NOT SURPRISING that on this day
The disciples wanted to learn more.
Their simple request was “Lord, teach us to pray”
And that is exactly what we have here.
It is a direct question to Jesus and a direct answer from Him.
And thus far our study has been regarding what we called the first point.
#1 A PATTERN TO FOLLOW
Luke 11:1-4
Here we find what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer”
In reality it is “The Model Prayer” or “The Disciple’s Prayer”
And we have seen 6 aspects about prayer that we learn from our Lord.
1) THE FOUNDATION FOR PRAYER
“Father”
2) The Chief Motivation for Prayer
“hallowed be Your name”
3) The Focus of Prayer
“Your kingdom come”
4) The Discernment of Prayer (or faith)
“Give us each day our daily bread.”
5) The Humility of Prayer
“And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”
6) The Soberness of Prayer
“And lead us not into temptation”
These were 6 aspects of prayer which we learned from the Lord.
It really covers for us everything we might as regarding the question: HOW TO PRAY.
That’s what the disciples wanted to know,
And that’s what Jesus told them.
However, in our study we have thus far OVERLOOKED ONE KEY PHRASE from Jesus in that instructional portion of this prayer.
I want to call your attention to it now because it directly relates
To what Jesus is about to teach us regarding prayer.
After the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, we read this in verse 2.
(2) “And He said to them, “When you pray…”
NOT “if you pray” but “WHEN you pray”
It is the obvious reality hidden in the passage
That if Jesus is going to teach us how to pray
It comes with the expectation that His people will pray.
And in reality this may be the bigger issue facing the church.
It could very well be that the church struggles more with a faithfulness to pray than they do with their understanding of how to pray.
But I think we understand it when I say,
“This sermon of Jesus is a pointless sermon
If God’s people don’t apply it and actually pray.”
It is the underlying expectation.
One of the real criticisms of reformed theology over the years
(The belief that God is sovereign over all things)
Is that critics will ask, things like:
• Well, if God is sovereign, and has already decreed His sovereign will, then why
pray?
• A second question would be “why evangelize?”
Those are common criticisms.
There’s no point in praying or evangelizing
If God has already decided what He is going to do.
SO WHY DO WE PRAY?
And there is a primary reason.
WE ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”
Ephesians 6:18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”
Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”
There are certainly other benefits to prayer
But the simple fact that we are commanded is primary.
There will always be a mysterious element to how prayer works,
And specifically how God uses it to His sovereign purposes,
But there is no confusion regarding the fact that God uses it.
WE ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY.
Prayer is the natural language of the believer.
After all, Jesus called the temple “a house of prayer”
There is just no other way to state it than to say that
A Christian who is not faithful in prayer is a sinning Christian.
The command to pray is too clear.
Paul understood it.
Colossians 1:3 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,”
Colossians 1:9 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
He told us to pray for rulers:
1 Timothy 2:1 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,”
He himself prayed for the lost:
Romans 10:1 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”
We know that we pray for those who are sick, the suffering, and the spiritually weak:
James 5:13-16 “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
Prayer is too big of a part of the Christian life for it to be omitted.
So it is clear to us why our Lord would begin this lesson by saying, “When you pray”
But it is also clear that perhaps Jesus understood that
THE EXPECTATION in and of itself was NOT ENOUGH.
So our Lord goes beyond the question that was asked
And also adds at the end of His sermon a couple of points whereby
He will encourage the disciples not only how to pray,
But also to be faithful to pray.
Let’s move forward this morning and learn not only how to pray,
But may we also find encouragement to be faithful to pray.
A Pattern to Follow
#2 A PARABLE TO CONSIDER
Luke 11:5-10
In typical Jesus fashion,
He here gives the disciples more than what they asked for.
• He knows the needs of the human heart.
• He knows our weaknesses and temptations.
• And so He is so faithful to address not just what we ask, but also what we need to know.
And so without being specifically asked about it,
Jesus addresses another issue regarding prayer
That the disciples would need to know.
It begins with a hypothetical situation.
“Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;”
Jesus simply builds a situation for them to consider.
Here we have a man who is caught in a dilemma.
• It is midnight and he has received a knock on his door.
• A friend of his has just arrived in town from a long journey.
It is not necessarily uncommon that one might have arrived late like this
Since it was cooler to travel at night.
• The problem was that he caught his host unaware.
Now we have talked some about the expectation of hospitality in Israel.
It was almost considered an act of hostility not to offer hospitality.
It was expected that you would open your home
And wash your guest’s feet and feed them and shelter them.
• And that is part of the problem here.
• This man has nothing to put before his guest.
And so he has a decision to make.
He can either be a bad host or he can be an inconvenient neighbor.
He chooses the later.
So he goes to his neighbor (another friend) “at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;”
It is pretty much a given at this point that the friend is in bed.
This was a little before “The Late Show” started airing on TV
And so with television networks signing off early people went to bed.
But this man is going now to wake his neighbor up.
But the neighbor is not too happy about it.
(7) “and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’”
Now first let’s just point out what we see.
• This man is in bed asleep.
• His wife is asleep.
• His children are asleep.
To get up now would no doubt wake everyone up
And so this man basically tells his friend to go away.
It is also obvious to us then that this man’s generosity
Is not as evident as the man who is asking.
Where the first man was willing to be interrupted by a traveler,
This man is not willing to be interrupted by his friend needing bread.
You’ll see in a moment where that reality fits the story.
In a simple sense we have a man who doesn’t want to be bothered.
SO WHAT ARE WE SEEING HERE?
We’re seeing the unspoken fears of a man being realized.
Let’s say that
• Tonight you wake up in the middle of the night and you want a glass of milk, but you realize that you are out of milk and it’s 2 in the morning.
Are you going to call your neighbor and ask them if they have any milk?
Of course not, you don’t want to bother them.
But what if it’s 2 in the morning and your child is sick and you need some ibuprofen or stomach medicine or something like that.
You might call, but will you feel bad about it?
Yes.
In fact, I’ll bet you’d say, “I’m so sorry to bother you but do you have any medicine I can borrow for my child?” And then you’d probably apologize again.
Point being, you’d feel bad about interrupting their night.
You would only do it if you were desperate.
But it would sure feel good if the person you woke up said, “Oh, it’s no problem, come on over, that’s what friends are for.”
That’s the response you’d hope for.
That’s not the response that this man received.
He basically got told to go away, leave me alone, and let us sleep.
Every fear he must have initially felt
About going and asking this friend just became a reality,
And human nature would say, don’t come to him anymore.
This man was NOT a good friend.
This man was NOT a generous friend.
BUT DESPITE THE AWKWARDNESS, WHAT DID THE MAN DO?
(He persisted)
(8) “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”
This is not a nice man, and he’s NOT motivated by simple kindness,
But he WAS motivated by persistence.
And incidentally I think the translation “persistence” is a little incomplete.
The Greek word is ANAIDEIA (a-nie-die-a)
The base word AIDOS means “shame”.
If you put the “A” in front of it carries a negative connotation
And thus the word literally means
“No Shame” or “shamelessness” or “audacity” or “boldness”
We would say this man “Had a lot of nerve”
To go waking up his friend at midnight to ask for bread.
It wasn’t just that he kept asking,
But that he did so EVEN THOUGH it was evident
That his friend didn’t want to help him.
It was unrelenting, shameless, humiliating commitment.
• He wasn’t worried about what it would do to his reputation.
• He wasn’t worried about what it would do to the friendship.
• He wasn’t worried if he was about to be talked about on social media
• He was there with a request and he was shameless about it.
That is to say: HE COULD NOT BE TURNED AWAY
And, we see that his shameless approach PAID OFF,
EVEN WHEN it was used on an unfriendly and ungenerous man.
DO YOU SEE THAT?
Well Jesus takes that story and makes an APPLICATION.
(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.”
And the implication is clear.
• “Ask”, even if you feel hesitant to do so
• “Seek”, even if the answer is not immediately evident
• “Knock” if you have to knock until you get your answer
And that perhaps carries that previous story a little further.
• The man may have started by asking, but was turned down.
• Then he may have asked longer (seeking)
• Then he may have just started knocking until the friend finally answered.
Jesus is just making a simple analogy (not even a spiritual one yet).
It is one that James made too:
James 4:2b “…You do not have because you do not ask.”
• Jesus says if you ask “it will be given to you”
• Jesus says if you seek “you will find”
• Jesus says if you knock “it will be opened”
And just to make sure that you understand the certainty here,
HE STATES IT AGAIN.
(10) “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”
So the first point we here Jesus making here is simple
And that is that you should ask with persistence.
• You should be bold.
• You should be unashamed.
• You should in fact be shameless or audacious.
• Timidity in asking will do you no good.
That’s the simple point we see there from Jesus.
But thus far there is nothing spiritual about the point.
As far as we can see, it’s just a human analogy
About how to get bread from your friend.
If you want bread from your friend at midnight
Then you’d better pound on his door
Until he finally gets up and gives you what you want.
But Jesus isn’t finished.
A Pattern to Follow A Parable to Consider
#3 A PRINCIPLE TO APPLY
Luke 11:11-13
Now before Jesus drives to the spiritual truth,
He first gives one more analogy.
We see again the word “suppose”
It is another hypothetical situation.
“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?”
It’s just another hypothetical situation
And one that is purposely exaggerated.
• We understand that Fathers are the stewards of their households.
• They were the ones who made sure their families had food when needed.
• And here we have a son who is hungry and so he does what he is accustomed to doing.
He asks his father “for a fish”
Or in another analogy he asked “for an egg”
It’s a situation that has played out in the lives of every father many times over.
And Jesus asks,
When that happens which fathers will instead
give their sons a “snake” or “a scorpion”?
And you know the answer.
NO ONE WILL DO THAT.
We might say, “Go ask your mother”,
But we’re not going to give them something deadly.
Fathers love their sons and take care of them.
• They don’t give them snakes instead of fish
• Or scorpions instead of eggs
• Or as Matthew adds, rocks instead of bread.
Now this parable is different from the first
Because it says NOTHING about the persistence of the son.
For all we know here the son was timid and bashful.
The focus of this story is not on the persistence of the request
But on the goodness of the giver.
And in this case the giver is certainly good enough
To give what was asked for.
So let’s clarify the two parables.
In the first we have A BAD GIVER WHO GIVES BECAUSE OF PERSISTENCE.
In the second we have A GOOD GIVER WHO GIVES BECAUSE OF GOODNESS.
But in both cases the one who asked received what they asked for.
Do you see that?
• If you’ve got a GOOD host you’ll receive just because the host is good.
• If you’ve got an EVIL host you’ll receive simply out of persistence.
But in both cases you will still receive what you ask for.
Those are the parables.
AND THEN COMES THE POINT (really to both parables)
(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?”
So let’s make it clear.
• If evil men will give good gifts due to persistence.
• And good men will give good gifts even without persistence.
THEN WHAT WILL A GOOD GOD DO
IN RESPONSE TO A PESISTENT PRAYER?
Do you see that?
In that first story we have an evil friend.
He’s not generous, he doesn’t care, he tries to send his friend away.
And obviously God is not like that man.
But if even that man can be persuaded through persistence
How much easier is it to persuade God?
And in the second story.
If fathers give good gifts, how much more our heavenly father?
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts…”
And I remind you that we are.
If God says we are evil, then we are evil.
We are evil and we still know how to answer the requests of our children.
“HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
So the first point of Jesus here is clear.
Persistent prayer to a good Father is a WIN-WIN
Now THERE IS MORE there that I’m sure you picked up on.
In Matthew’s gospel the verse is recorded like this:
Matthew 7:9-11 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Matthew just talks about asking for good things
And our Father giving “what is good”.
But in Luke’s gospel there is a very noticeable change.
“How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Well that’s quite different isn’t it?
I like the response of John MacArthur here:
“[In Matthew’s gospel] He spoke of the Father giving what is good; here He expanded that and spoke of God’s giving the Spirit, who is the source of all goodness and blessing, to live within every believer.
To those who ask for a gift, He gives the giver; to those who ask for an effect, He gives the cause; to those who ask for a product He gives the source; to those seeking comfort He gives the comforter (Acts 9:31); to those seeking power He gives the source of power (Acts 1:8); to those seeking help He gives the helper (John 14:26); to those seeking truth He gives the Spirit of truth (John 16:13); to those seeking “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23) He gives the producer of all those things. The indwelling Holy spirit (Romans 8:9, 11:1; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:14) is the source of every good thing in the Christian’s life (Eph. 3:20)
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 11-17; Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 2013] pg. 57)
In Matthew’s gospel Jesus says God gives “what is good”
In Luke’s gospel it is recorded as “the Holy Spirit”
Obviously then the Holy Spirit
Is the source of all good things in the life a believer.
And in stating it this way we are reminded that
Prayer is not about seeking things but seeking God.
But when we seek God, He gives us all good things.
Does that make sense?
That is all added information that is beyond what the disciples asked for.
• They just wanted to know how to pray.
• He told them that but then included these other stories and this other point.
WHY?
These stories remind us of one very important truth.
WE SHOULD NOT HESITATE TO GO TO GOD IN PRAYER.
He is a good Father, who responds to our requests.
He is a generous Father who gives far more than just the gift, He gives the source.
WE CAN GO BEFORE HIM UNASHAMED.
WE CAN GO TO HIM IN CONFIDENCE.
To the Jew, God was unapproachable.
• He dwelled behind a veil
• He dwelled in unapproachable light
• You didn’t touch the Ark of the Covenant
• You didn’t offer strange fire on His altar
• And you sure didn’t go to Him beating on His door in persistence that He grant your requests.
But in one sermon Jesus completely shifted our theology on God.
• He is approachable.
• He is good.
• He delights in giving good gifts.
• He answers our prayers.
• We can go before Him unashamed.
God is not a deceptive father or a cruel father or a grumpy neighbor.
• God is a good Father.
• He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
• No good thing does He withhold.
• He is generous and good.
James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
Psalms 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”
Psalms 84:11-12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
And this great and generous God hears our prayers.
And perhaps this was the real and most distinct difference
In the prayer life of Jesus.
Jesus knew the Father better than any of them.
• Jesus knew He could approach His Father and ask for a fish without getting a snake.
• Jesus knew He could approach His Father and ask for an egg without getting a scorpion.
• Jesus knew He could approach His Father at midnight or any other time of inconvenience.
And this was the lesson He left with the disciples.
In your prayer life you need to know that
You can unashamedly approach your Father
And know that He will always give what is good to His children.
So regarding your prayer life this morning we just END WITH ONE BASIC QUESTION of understanding.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD GOD IS?
Do you understand that He answers prayer?
THEN PRAY TO HIM.
• Go to Him with no shame.
• Go to Him with persistent boldness.
• Thanks to Christ we go to Him as our Father.
