to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend,
lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to
set before him.
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.
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.
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.
For everyone who asks, receives.
And the one who seeks, finds.
And to the one who knocks, it will be opened.
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
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?
This is God's authoritative word.
I have never in my life met a Christian who is stagnant, stuck,
perhaps even backsliding and beset with many sins,
that spends much time in prayer.
Other pastors have made the same observation.
19th century Anglican pastor J.C. Ryle puts it this way.
What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others?
I believe the difference in 19 cases out of 20 arises from different habits about private prayer.
I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little.
And those who are eminently holy pray much.
Most believers theoretically acknowledge the importance of prayer,
but functionally we disavow its importance by the lack of prayer.
Many of us know how prayer works, but we don't quite believe that it really works.
Why should we pray?
How should we pray?
And Jesus teaches us in this passage that we should pray boldly to God
because he is our heavenly father who is gracious to answer.
And we'll look at that in two parts.
First, how we should pray in verses 1 to 4
and why we should pray in verses 5 to 13.
Chapter 11 begins with these words,
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place.
More than any other gospel writer, Luke emphasizes the importance of prayer
as we've seen over and over again throughout this book.
In this gospel, every time before something happens that's very important,
Jesus is always seen praying.
After prayer, it was after prayer that Jesus was baptized
and the Spirit descended on him, anointed him,
and the voice of God the Father spoke,
affirming him as God's beloved son.
In Luke chapter 3.
After praying all night, it says Jesus chose his 12 disciples
who will become the apostles of the church, Luke chapter 6.
After he prayed, Peter made the breakthrough confession
that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ of God.
And after prayer, Jesus was transfigured on the mountain
with the dazzling glory of his true sonship of God.
And then it's after prayer, here he says again,
Jesus was praying in a certain place.
That's a signal to us as we're reading this
that something significant is about to happen.
And what follows is Jesus' teaching of his disciples
on how to pray and why they should pray.
In Luke 10, if you recall, Jesus sent out 72 of his disciples
and they proclaimed the kingdom of God
and they healed the sick.
They returned triumphantly to Jesus saying,
even the demons are subject to us in your name.
But even these disciples who have experienced already
so much of God's power and so much of God's authority,
even after they have experienced so much ministerial success,
they see in Jesus something that they still lack.
They see in Jesus' habit of prayer
something that they still must learn.
They see that Jesus' authority, his power, his character,
his love flow from his communion with God in prayer.
And so in verse 1, they ask Jesus,
they wait till he's finished.
And when Jesus finished, one of his disciples said to him,
Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.
This is the only place in the Gospels
where the disciples make such a direct request of Jesus
to teach them something.
They have been speaking to men throughout their ministry,
but they want to now learn to speak to God as Jesus did.
And so Jesus responds to them in verse 2,
and he said to them,
when you pray, say.
So that phrase, when you pray,
means when we pray, this is how we should pray.
Jesus is setting the course,
the direction for all of our future prayers.
And that's why churches for 2,000 years
have used this prayer, the Lord's Prayer,
as a part of their worship service
and to recite it during their worship service.
And it's not wrong to use the Lord's Prayer in that way.
But I do want to say this.
We need to be careful that praying the Lord's Prayer
does not become this mindless rote activity.
In Matthew 15a, Jesus denounces the Pharisees
by quoting Isaiah,
this people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
God will not be fooled by empty lip service.
And likewise, he will not listen to prayers
that have form but no substance.
Prayers that have a lot of words but no heart,
no faith.
And by definition,
rote learning is based on repetition, right?
It's not based on comprehension necessarily.
You can repeat something by rote
without giving any thought at all
to what you are saying
and to what its meaning is.
But being able to rattle off a prayer
from memory is not enough.
We need to be able to understand it
and believe it.
And we can see that in the fact
that God's given us two different versions
of the Lord's Prayer.
One here in Luke chapter 11
and another one in Matthew 6.
There are overlaps
and the themes are very consistent and similar,
but they're not identical in their wording.
This shows us that what's critical
is not the exact words you say here,
but the themes, the subject matter,
how we are to approach God.
And so this Lord's Prayer
is not kind of a magical formula
or an incantation that you utter
word for word in order to be effective.
Jesus is not teaching us
what exactly to say every time we pray,
but he's teaching us how to pray.
This is the pattern,
a model that we are to follow.
So let's look at the prayer itself
in verses two to four.
It has a very simple structure.
It begins with an address of God,
Father,
followed by two second person declarations
that pertain to God.
Hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
And then those declarations,
those requests are then followed
by three first person plural supplications
that pertain to us as God's people.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins.
For we ourselves forgive everyone
who is indebted to us
and lead us not into temptation.
Notice that there isn't a single I
in this prayer.
This doesn't mean that we are not allowed
to pray for ourselves as individuals,
but it does highlight the importance
of praying to God as a community.
Even when we pray alone in our prayer closets,
we speak to God as members of the family of God.
Whenever we address God as Father,
we also remember the fact
that by virtue of our union with God,
union with Christ,
and adoption into God the Father's family,
we are united also to our brothers
and sisters in Christ.
So our prayers are always,
have a communal nature.
And that's the first feature of this prayer.
We have to address God as Father.
A Father is, of course, an authority figure.
So there should be an appropriate reverence for God
as we approach Him in prayer.
But a Father, the word is also an endearing term.
It's a relational term.
So there's a sense of intimacy
that comes with this as well.
And this, of course, implies that
if you do not have God as your Father,
then you can't pray to Him
and address Him as your Father.
Because in a general sense,
yes, it's true that all people,
Christians and non-Christians,
are offspring of God.
In the sense that we've all been created by Him.
So Paul uses it,
talks about it in that sense in Acts 17,
when he's addressing non-Christians,
he says, we are indeed His offspring.
But there is a special sense
in which only Christians,
those who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord,
are the children of God.
And that's the sense in which we address God
in our prayers as Father.
That's why it says
in John 1, verses 12-13,
but to all who did receive Him,
who believed in His name,
that's Jesus' name,
He gave the right to become children of God,
who were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of God.
Only those who believe in Jesus Christ
for salvation
are given the right to become
the children of God.
Scripture speaks repeatedly of the fact
that God does not hear the prayers
of the wicked.
Isaiah 59, 1-2,
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened
that He cannot save,
or His ear dulled that He cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you
so that He does not hear.
It's our sins that separate us from God
so that He does not hear.
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ,
you do not have this access to God the Father,
because you have been separated from Him
by your sins.
But there is one prayer
that you still yet can pray,
and that's the prayer
that God will always hear and answer,
and that's the prayer
of your repentance of sin
and your faith in Jesus Christ.
It's the prayer for surrender to God
and your dependence on God for salvation.
In the Gospel of Luke,
we see two prominent examples of prayers
that are uttered by unbelievers,
those who do not believe in Jesus yet.
In Luke 18,
the tax collector,
who is keenly aware of his own sinfulness
and unworthiness before God,
he says,
Standing far off,
he would not even lift his eyes to heaven
because he did not feel worthy,
but he beat his breast saying,
God, be merciful to me,
a sinner.
And Jesus says,
I tell you,
the man went down to his house justified.
He heard that prayer of
someone who did not know God yet.
Similarly, in Luke 23, 42,
the thief who is being crucified
next to Jesus on the cross
for his crimes,
says to Jesus,
Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
That's the prayer of surrender,
dependence on Jesus for salvation.
And Jesus replies,
Truly I say to you,
today you will be with me in paradise.
If you come to Jesus like that,
with that prayer of surrender and dependence,
he will not turn you away.
That's the prayer I urge all of you
who do not yet know Jesus Christ to pray,
even today.
It's an invitation.
Then when you pray that prayer,
give your life to God,
and you give a credible profession of faith
that you truly are a follower of Christ,
that's when you are baptized
into the body of Christ
and become a member of a local church.
And when that happens to you,
you're born again,
the Spirit of God indwells you,
and you can truly say to God,
my Father,
our Father in heaven.
And for those of you already
call God your Father,
this doesn't mean that we can never pray
directly to God the Son
or to God the Holy Spirit.
We see examples of people
in the New Testament
praying to the Lord Jesus directly
in Acts 1, 24, 759.
And even though there's no recorded prayers
addressed directly to the Holy Spirit,
we do see examples of prayer
addressed to the Holy Spirit
throughout church history.
But there is a pattern,
a dominant biblical pattern.
And we see that again and again
throughout Scripture.
And you can see this in John 16.
In that day you will ask nothing of me.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whatever you ask of the Father
in my name,
He will give it to you.
Until now,
you have asked nothing in my name.
Ask and you will receive
that your joy may be full.
So we are to pray to God the Father
in the name of Jesus Christ the Son.
To pray in the name of Jesus
means to approach God through Jesus
by the virtue of our union
with Christ through faith.
We pray through Jesus
because He's our Savior,
because He's our mediator,
because He's our intercessor.
And that means Jesus is standing before God
and graciously gives,
He gives to those who repent of their sins
and trust in His name
this basis to approach God the Father
through Him.
And that's why we end most of our prayers
with the phrase,
in Jesus' name we pray.
To acknowledge the fact
that we do not approach God
on our own terms,
on our own merit,
but on the merits of Jesus,
with the standing of Jesus.
That doesn't mean you have to say the phrase
every time.
You can pray in the name of Jesus
without saying,
in Jesus' name we pray.
In fact, there's no prayer
recorded in the New Testament
that ends with,
in Jesus' name we pray.
But even when you don't say that,
you should mean that.
Because we are incapable of pleasing God
on our own merits.
We are dead in sin,
incapable of pleasing God.
And it's because Jesus,
God's beloved Son,
died for our sins
on the cross
so that all who trust in Jesus
can be counted righteous
as He was.
That's why we have access to God
as our Father,
because of Jesus,
what He has done.
That's why we pray through Jesus.
And it's the Spirit of God
that helps us,
intercedes on our behalf,
helps us as we pray.
So we pray to God the Father
through Jesus Christ
and the Spirit of God
joins us in that.
So we pray with the Holy Spirit,
in the Holy Spirit.
That's the pattern we see
throughout Scripture.
It's hard for us to really
kind of fathom
the staggering implications of this.
Because this means
when we pray,
we're not just mumbling to ourselves
these half-coer words
that you wonder
whether we'll just vanish in thin air
and we'll ever be heard by anybody.
When you pray,
you get caught up
in the very communion
and the communication
of the triune God Himself.
We are translated in our prayers
to the throne room of God,
the Father,
speaking through Jesus,
our mediator,
with the Spirit of God
by our side helping us.
And if we just got a glimpse
of what a tremendous thing
it is to pray
and what is happening
as we're praying,
it'd be difficult
to get us to stop praying.
Prayer is quite simply
communication with God
in the context of communion with God.
Communication and communion,
speaking and sharing
in the life of the triune God.
After addressing God as Father,
we are to pray,
hallowed be your name.
This is the first of two requests
that pertain directly to God.
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
And the name of God,
as I said earlier,
represents God.
It stands for who He is.
His character is all that He is.
So to pray,
hallowed be your name,
is to pray that God
would be honored as holy.
Holy means set apart
or consecrated.
We're praying that God's name,
that He will be recognized
as a person who is separate from us,
who is holy unlike us.
So that means prayer is not
about manipulating God
for our purposes.
It's not about finding
some kind of therapeutic catharsis.
Its purpose,
the purpose of prayer,
is to glorify God.
That means everything we say
in prayer,
our prayer for daily provision,
our prayer for pardon from sin,
our prayer for protection from evil,
has as its goal
to make much of God
and not make much of ourselves.
It's a common thread
that unites
all non-Christian prayers
is a way to exert control
over a deity,
to manipulate deity
for our purposes.
But Christian prayer
is not like this.
It's to submit to Him,
to say,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
The second request
of the prayer
is also about God.
It says,
your kingdom come.
The kingdom of God
is the realm of God's dominion.
It refers to God's rule
over His people.
So wherever there is
the people of God
who have submitted to His rule,
there is where
the kingdom of God is found.
And the prayer then
is for the culmination,
the fulfillment
of God's promised rule,
that God's kingdom program
would be worked out
in every corner of the earth,
that God's rule of justice
and righteousness
would be extended
over every area of life.
And we're asking
that God will do that.
God will bring up
the fulfillment
of the kingdom.
But frequently,
instead of saying,
your kingdom come,
prayers can sound more like,
let my kingdom come.
Make me successful.
Make me rich.
Make me powerful.
Make me desirable
and beautiful.
But because the purpose
of Christian prayer
is hallowed be your name,
the thesis of Christian prayer,
the main point of it is,
let your kingdom come,
is to seek God's will
to be done in our lives.
Prayer is not about
bargaining with God
to get what we want.
It's about surrendering
our wills
and conforming ourselves
to His kingdom agenda.
And so when we're praying rightly,
we are thinking
God's thoughts after Him.
We're loving the things
that He loves
and we're desiring
the things that He wills
and that's what we seek
in prayer.
That's why 1 John 5,
it says,
and this is the confidence
that we have toward Him,
that if we ask anything
according to His will,
He hears us.
And if we know
that He hears us
in whatever we ask,
we know that we have
the requests
that we have asked of Him.
when our prayers flow
from your kingdom come,
God answers all
of our requests.
A very practical
and helpful way
to practice
praying in this manner
is to pray
through the Scriptures.
I commend it
to all of you guys.
The Bible is God's
revealed will for us.
Everything we need to know
to be saved,
everything that we have
to know
to become mature Christians
are contained
here in the Scriptures.
And because prayer
is communication
and communion with God,
it makes sense
to hear from His Word
than to respond back
to God in prayer.
That's why we do,
that's what we do
whenever we respond
to the reading
and preaching
of God's Word
on a Sunday morning
with the corporate
prayer time.
That's why every Wednesday
during our corporate
prayer service,
we have a preaching
from God's Word
in Psalms
before we pray.
often believers
struggle in prayer
because they don't
know what to say.
They feel like
they're saying
the same old thing
over and over
and over again.
And that also
solves this issue.
If you're praying
through the Scriptures,
if you're meditating
on the Scriptures
and you take a verse
at a time,
you reflect on it,
see what God
would say to you
and for the church,
and then you respond
back to God
those things in prayer,
then you will find
that the time
will fly by the light
faster than you
are used to.
And you have
no shortage
of things to pray for.
Now praying
your kingdom come
doesn't mean
that we can't
pray for anything
for ourselves.
Because there are
things that we need
in order to love
and serve God.
So this is also
for His kingdom.
It is good and right
to pray for those things.
So the next three
petitions in the Lord's
prayer are personal
requests.
It goes from God's name
and God's kingdom
to give us,
forgive us,
lead us.
And the content
of our personal
request to God
has three parts.
It's provision,
pardon,
and protection.
And all our personal
needs are accounted
for in these three
petitions.
The first personal
request is in verse
three.
Give us each day
our daily bread.
It's God who
sustains us,
so we must come
to God for both
physical and
spiritual provision.
And a petition
that says,
give us each day
our daily bread
assumes that
each day
we are daily
walking with God.
That our companionship
with Him
is not something
that we turn to
just in times of
crises,
but it's something
that we engage
in every single day.
And this prayer
for daily bread
has in view
God's provision
of manna
in the wilderness
for Israel.
Exodus 16
tells us that
when Israel
was going through
the wilderness
to their promised land,
they had no food
to eat,
but God rained
manna,
which is a type
of bread
described as a
fine flaky
like thing,
like coriander
seed,
white wafers
made with honey.
He rained it
from heaven.
And he said
that he did
this daily
with the dew
of the morning.
And the Israelites
were instructed
to collect
a very specific
amount depending
on how many
members they had
in their families.
And they recommended
not to save
any of it
for the next day.
And they recommended
not to collect
more than they need.
And the uncollected
manna on the ground
melted when the sun
grew hot during the day.
And the manna
that they tried
to save for the next day
rotted with worms.
The point of it all
was that God
wanted Israel
to live
daily by faith
in daily dependence
on God
for his provision.
He's not going
to give us
a year's supply
of spiritual blessings
and food
so that you can live
without him
for that next year.
He wants us
to come to him
daily in dependence
on him.
And that's what
Jesus teaches as well.
He teaches this
in Matthew 6
31-34
Therefore do not
be anxious
saying
what shall we eat
or what shall we drink
or what shall we eat
what shall we wear
for the Gentiles
seek after these things
and your heavenly Father
knows that you need
them all
but seek first
the kingdom of God
and his righteousness
and all these things
will be added to you.
Therefore
do not be anxious
about tomorrow
for tomorrow
will be anxious
for itself.
Sufficient
for the day
is its own trouble.
Each day
has enough trouble
of its own.
So God calls us
to depend on him
daily for those troubles
and when we do
he's promised
to provide us
and sustain us
prove true.
Sometimes
we despair
of the troubles
and sufferings
that fill our lives
because we're worrying
about tomorrow.
Because we think
to ourselves
I can't keep going
like this
for another day
another week
another month
another year.
I don't know
how I'm going
to get food
on the table
for my family
for the next month.
I don't know
how I'm going
to last
this entire winter
with my depression.
I don't know
how I'm going
to make it through
the demanding
early years
of my children.
I don't know
how I can get
through this illness.
I don't know
how I'm going
to keep living
with my difficult
spouse.
But God
is not asking
us to worry
about tomorrow
or the next
week
or the month
or the next year.
He tells us
to worry about
today.
Look to God
for your help
and ask for
his sustaining
grace for today
and you will find
that there is
sufficient grace
for you.
Lamentations 3
22-23
The steadfast love
of the Lord
never ceases.
His mercies
never come
to an end.
They are new
every morning.
Great is your
faithfulness.
As people
who work hard
to provide
for ourselves
and for our families
we can forget
to depend on God
for daily bread.
But we need
to recognize
that our daily
provision comes
from God
even if we
work really hard
to get them.
The intellect
that we have
the abilities
that we have
the opportunities
that we have
the jobs
that we have
the health
that we have
that enable us
to work
where do you
think they came
from?
They all came
from God.
God.
So each day
we go to work
we should
thank God
for his
daily provision.
But more
than just
physical provision
is in view
here.
Because in
John 6
Jesus says
I am
the bread
of life.
The true
bread
that the bread
that Moses
brought down
from heaven
pointed to.
The fulfillment
of it all.
Jesus is the
ultimate
spiritual
bread
of life.
He is the
one who
gives spiritual
nourishment
to us.
Daily we
should seek
life,
peace,
and joy,
and rest
that come
from only
Christ
to live
in this
world.
Daily we
need his
strength to
subdue our
sinful flesh.
Daily we
need Jesus
to cry out
for him
for his
spiritual
provision.
Maybe
some of you
have been
hungry for
a while.
Are you
relying on
the experience
of God's
grace
yesterday
or a
year ago
or when
you first
came to
faith
to sustain
you now?
God has
new
grace,
new
mercies
sufficient
for you
today.
So the
first
three
petitions
of the
Lord's
prayer
that we've
just seen
hallowed
be your
name,
your
kingdom
come,
give us
each
day our
daily
bread.
They
mirror the
three
temptations
that Jesus
faced in
the wilderness
in Luke
4 in
reverse
order.
The devil
tempted
Jesus to
throw himself
down from
the pinnacle
of the
temple in
an attempt
to force
God's hand
and make
him demonstrate
his care
for Jesus.
But Jesus
responded,
you shall
not put the
Lord your
God to
the test.
Instead of
trying to
manipulate God
and use
him to
make much
of
ourselves,
see how
loved I
am,
see how
great I
am.
Jesus
refused to
test God
because
in the
temple,
that is the
place where
God's name
should be
hallowed.
His name
should be
honored as
holy.
The devil
also tempted
Jesus by
showing him
all the
kingdoms of
the world
in a
moment's
time and
saying to
him,
to you,
I will
give all
this authority
and glory
for it has
been delivered
to me and
I will
give it
to whom
I will.
If you
then will
worship
me,
it will
all be
yours.
But
Jesus
resisted
the devil
saying,
you shall
worship
the Lord
your God
and him
only shall
you serve.
Instead of
seeking the
glory and
authority of
the kingdoms
for ourselves
apart from
God,
we are to
pray,
let your
kingdom come
God.
And
lastly,
the devil
tempted Jesus
while he
was hungry
saying,
if you
are the
son of
God,
command
this stone
to become
bread.
But
Jesus
resisted
and reaffirmed
his allegiance
to God,
depended on
him to
live by
every word
that proceeds
from the
mouth of
God,
to depend
on his
provision.
So these
three temptations
that Jesus
faced represent
the kinds of
temptations that
we will face
as his
followers on a
daily basis
until the
day we
die.
God
and these
are the
devil's
main
strategies
to get
us to
reject,
to renounce
God,
our allegiance
to God
and to
live for
ourselves
and to
go after
the idols
of this
world.
But in
our passage,
Jesus is
giving us
a tool
with which
we can
fight this
spiritual
battle to
counteract the
schemes of
the enemy
and that's
by praying,
Father,
hallowed be
your name,
your kingdom
come,
give us
each day
our daily
bread.
And the
fourth petition
and the
second personal
request,
it flows from
these first
three because
as sinful
people who
are not yet
perfected in
the image of
Christ,
we will fail
to follow
God,
we will fail
to hallow
God's name,
we will fail
to seek first
his kingdom,
we will fail
to depend on
him for daily
bread.
So it should
be the habit
of the
Christian life
to seek
God's
forgiveness.
Verse 4
says,
and forgive
us our
sins,
for we
ourselves
forgive
everyone
who is
indebted
to us.
This verse
reveals that
the primary
debt that
Luke has
in mind
is not
financial debt
but it's
spiritual debt,
it's the
debt of
sin.
We are to
ask God
for forgiveness
for our
sins.
And the
reason why
we can
approach
God
and seek
his
forgiveness,
the reason
that he
gives here
is that
we
ourselves
forgive
everyone
who is
indebted
to us.
Earlier
in Luke
chapter 6
verse 31,
Jesus
commanded us,
as you
wish that
others
would do
to you,
do so
to them.
And then
he explained
this in
verses 37
to 38,
judge not
and you
will not
be judged,
condemn not
and you
will not
be condemned,
forgive and
you will be
forgiven,
give and
it will be
given to
you.
The implied
subject of
all of these
passive verbs
is God.
So if we
do not judge
others wrongly,
God will not
judge us.
If we forgive
them, God
will also
forgive us.
This is
not because
our doing
good works
in like
forgiving
others
becomes the
basis for
salvation.
Rather,
these good
works that
we do,
us forgiving
other people
is the
evidence of
our salvation
because salvation
is a gift
from God.
We're saved
by God's
grace through
faith in
Jesus Christ
but those
who are
saved by
Jesus Christ
do good
works.
And part
of that good
works is how
we extend
forgiveness to
others.
That's why
in Ephesians
4,
32,
it says
we are
committed to
forgive one
another as
God in
Christ forgave
you.
It's because
God has
already forgiven
us that we
are to forgive
one another.
God's forgiveness
is the basis
for our
forgiveness.
And for that
reason, if we
don't forgive
other people,
God will
judge us as
unforgiven
people.
We will not
receive his
ultimate forgiveness
on the day of
judgment.
So we
can only
pray to
God,
forgive us
our sins
if we are
also honestly
willing to
extend the
same forgiveness
that we expect
of God to
others.
Unforgiveness
is a grave
sin.
It imprisons
us to anger
and bitterness
and resentment.
It cannibalizes
our joy.
It spells our
ultimate doom.
God's
sin.
Because only
those who
forgive will
be finally
forgiven.
And the
final petition
in Luke's
version of
the Lord's
prayer is
for protection,
spiritual
protection.
Lead us
not into
temptation.
The prayer
for pardon
from sin
flows naturally
into this
prayer for
protection so
that we might
be kept
from further
sins.
This doesn't
mean that
God's the
one that
leads us
to temptation.
James 1.13
says clearly
that God
tempts no
one.
But because
it is in
his power
to fortify
us and
guide us
away from
sin,
we should
pray to
him in
this way.
It's an
admission of
our own
weakness.
We're
acknowledging
that apart
from God's
powerful
intervention
on our
behalf,
we are
powerless to
withstand the
temptations
that come
our way.
Christians
are not
self-confident
and self-righteous
people,
but people
who are
humbly
dependent
on God
in prayer.
This is
how we
should pray.
Then in
verses 5
to 13,
Jesus teaches
us why
we should
pray.
And Jesus
sets out
this hypothetical
scenario in
verses 5
to 7.
Which of
you who
has a
friend will
go to
him at
midnight and
say to
him,
friend,
lend me
three loaves,
for a
friend of
mine has
arrived on
a journey,
and I
have nothing
to set
before him.
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.
Hospitality,
as we've
been seeing,
was prized
very highly
in the
ancient
world,
and it
was this
man's
obligation,
even if
his guest
arrived really
late at
night,
midnight,
like in
this case,
to still
set out
food for
two
unideal
options.
The first
option was
to say,
hey,
sorry,
don't have
food,
just wait
till tomorrow
and be a
bad host.
That's the
first option.
The second
option is
to be a
rude neighbor
and go to
a neighbor
and be like,
hey,
I don't have
food and I
have a guest,
please give me
some food.
So you
either got to
be a rude
neighbor or
a bad
host,
so not good
options on
either side.
And so he
goes,
he opts for
the second
option,
he opts to
be a rude
neighbor,
so he goes
over to his
neighbor and
says,
hey,
man,
I'm in a
real pickle
here.
I have a
buddy in
town,
but I
don't have
any food
to serve
him.
Please
just give
me three
loaves.
I'll make
sure to pay
you back.
Look at the
words of
you.
He says,
lend me
three loaves.
It's like
a technical
business
transaction.
He wants
to pay
him back.
And then
Jesus then
asks,
do you
think this
friend will
reply?
Do not
bother me.
The door
is not
shut and
my children
are with
me in
bed.
I
cannot
get up
and give
you
anything.
Do you
think that
this person
will respond
that way?
So this
seems to
be a
typical
ancient
house
where the
whole
family
sleeps
on
one
mat.
So he
has
children
with him
in bed.
And the
doors shut
and the
doors in
this context
would have
had a
wooden
or iron
bar placed
through these
rings on
the door
panels.
So it
would have
created a
lot of
creaking
wood
noise as
well as
clanking
metal
noise.
And if
you know
about
children and
sleeping,
no
children
want
to
sleep.
It's a
struggle to
put them
to bed
sometimes.
He's
lying with
his
children
in bed
and rude
knock on
the door
at
midnight.
You can
imagine
the tension.
This guy's
understandably
upset.
But do
you think
this man,
this friend
had the
audacity,
the
shamelessness
to come
disturb
their
peaceful
night,
and do
you think
this friend
will refuse
this
shameless
man?
And Jesus
gives the
answer in
verse 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.
Isn't that
true?
I mean,
he's already
disturbed them
and bothered
them and
probably
woken up
his
children.
This friend
will get up
and give
the man
the bread
he needs
out of
sheer
disbelief,
probably
scowling at
him,
shaking his
head and
thrusting the
bread to
him.
Here,
take it.
Now leave
me alone.
We're so
familiar with
the concept
of prayer,
so familiar
with the
Lord's
prayer that
the audacity
of it all
doesn't shock
us like it
should.
Because all
the petitions
in the Lord's
prayer,
if you look
at them,
they're all
imperatives,
they're
commands.
Jesus'
prayer is
not full
of ifs
and woulds
and mights.
Rather,
they are
bold,
direct,
hallowed
be your
name,
your kingdom
come,
give us
each day
our daily
bread,
forgive us
our sins,
lead us
not into
temptation.
These are
bold,
bracing
prayers.
And that's
how God
wants us
to pray
to Him.
Isaiah
62
says,
you who
put the
Lord in
remembrance,
those who
put the
Lord in
remembrance
are those
who pray
to God
and bring
to God
to remember
the things
that He
promised
Him.
God,
remember
you said
this to
us?
Remember
you promised
this to
us?
We're
asking
you.
We're
bringing
to your
remembrance.
He
says,
you who
put the
Lord in
remembrance,
take no
rest and
give God
no rest
until He
establishes
Jerusalem and
makes it a
praise in
the earth.
This is how
God's Word
teaches us
to pray.
Give God
no rest.
Prevail
upon Him.
Remind
Him of
the promises
contained in
His Word.
Approach
Him in
prayer with
shameless
audacity.
go to
Him
frequently
and at
all
times
and
don't
let
Him
off
the
hook.
Persevere
in your
prayers
until He
grants it
to you.
That's how
the saints
have prayed
in ages
past.
Jacob,
he says
in Genesis
30,
he wrestled
with God
all throughout
the night
saying to
God,
I will
not let
you go
unless you
bless me.
Colossians
4,
12,
Paul says
this,
Epaphras,
who is
one of
you,
a servant
of Christ
Jesus,
greets
you,
always
struggling
on your
behalf
in His
prayers
that you
may stand
mature
and fully
assured
in all
the will
of God.
The word
struggle
is the
word,
same word
that is
used to
describe a
wrestling
contest,
an
athletic
contest.
Do you
wrestle with
God in
your prayers?
Do you
wrestle with
God on
behalf of
your brothers
and sisters
that they
might stand
mature before
God?
Well,
how I
wish
all of
us,
if I
had
people
who
were
wrestling
on my
behalf
this way,
there are
people
wrestling
for you
in
prayer.
Hannah
and I
wrestle
for you
in
prayer.
Our
elders,
our
leadership
team,
we
wrestle
for you
in
prayer.
Do you
wrestle
for one
another
in
prayer?
There's
no
victory,
there's
no
blessing,
there's
no
progress,
no
growth,
no
sanctification,
some of
that falls
on us.
when you
see a
brother or
sister
struggling
with the
besetting
sin,
do you
wrestle
with
God?
God,
you
promised,
you
promised
that you
give
him
power
to be
victorious.
Why
aren't
you
giving
it
to
him?
God,
you
promised
that you
will
help
her
when
she
is
anxious.
Why
don't
you
help
her,
God?
Do you
wrestle
with
God?
prayer
is the
stuff
of
battle
and
it's
in
the
struggle
of
prayer
that
kingdoms
of
darkness
fall.
It's
in
the
struggle
of
prayer
that
spiritual
victories
are
won
and
no
wonder
of
course
it's
hard
to
pray
because
our
enemies
oppose
it
with
all
their
might.
But
you
don't
skip
it
just
because
it's
hard.
We
must
pray.
Our
monthly
three
days
of
prayer
and
fasting
begins
tomorrow.
It
concludes
with
our
weekly
prayer
service
on
Wednesdays.
Those
are
ways
you
can
get
involved
to
pray.
You
can
find
a
prayer
guide
on
our
website
tomorrow.
Prioritize
those
things.
Come
to
pray
before
the
service.
Join
the
prophecy
team
to
pray
at
9.
15
a.m.
Pray
in
your
own
private
prayer
closets.
Find
accountability
and pray
shamelessly,
boldly,
and
frequently,
and
persistently,
and you
will see
life and
fruit
come from
that.
Even
this
friend
gave
the
villager
the
three
loaves
of
bread
so
that
he
wouldn't
be
bothered
anymore.
How
much
more
than
will
God
who
is
our
gracious
loving
father
give
us
what
we
pray
for.
That's
Jesus'
logic
in
verses
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.
For
everyone
who
asks
receives
and the
one
who
seeks
finds
and to
the
one
who
knocks
it
will
be
opened.
So
simple
isn't
it?
Ask
and it
will
be
given
to
you.
But we
like to
qualify
that,
complicate
that,
and nuance
that until
it virtually
nullifies
the amazing
promise that
it contains.
Yes,
it does
presume that
we are
praying for
what is
good.
Because in
the following
verses,
Jesus explicitly
says,
I will not
give you
what is
not good.
We might
think something
is good
for us.
It might
actually be
bad for
us.
That's
true.
But this
promise
still
stands.
Ask
and it
will
be
given
to
you.
Jesus
continues
in
verses
11-13,
What
father
among
you,
if his
son
asks
for
a
fish,
will
instead
of
a
fish
give
him
a
serpent?
Or
if
he
asks
for
an
egg,
will
give
him
a
scorpion?
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?
There
are
several
important
contrasts
that
Jesus
is
making
here.
First,
he
contrasts
the
father
among
us,
earthly
parents,
from
the
heavenly
father.
And
Jesus'
assessment
of
earthly
fathers
is
not
at
all
flattering.
He
says,
if
you,
then
who
are
evil,
know
how
to
give
good
gifts
to
your
children,
Sean,
you're
an
evil
parent,
but you
still
know how
to give
good
gifts
to your
children,
and that's
true.
I give
them a lot
of good
gifts.
You
think I,
as your
heavenly
father,
will not
give you
good
gifts
that you
ask
for?
This is
referring to
the
spiritual
blessings,
because
earlier in
Luke 10
19,
Jesus
gave
his
disciples
the
authority
to tread
upon
serpents
and scorpions
and over
all the
power of
the enemy.
So the
serpents
and scorpions
are both
venomous
beasts
that
symbolize,
represent
the
poisonous
power
of the
enemies
of God.
And
they're
being
contrasted
here
with the
good
gifts
which
is
summed
up
in
the
Holy
Spirit.
He's
not
going to
give
you
bad
things.
Maybe
you think
that God's
handing you
over to
the devil.
He is
never
going to
hand you
over to
the devil.
He's
never
going to
make you
subject to
his
power
influence
when you
ask him
for good
things.
He's
not
going to
leave
you
alone
and
abandon
you
to
suffer
under
his
death
grip.
He's
going
to
give
you
good
gifts.
He's
our
good
and
gracious
Father.
And
the
Spirit
of God
is the
sum of
all of
his
blessings.
Our
union
with
Christ
comes
through
the
Spirit.
Our
adoption
into
his
family
comes
through
the
Spirit.
The
joy
and
comfort
peace
and
rest
we
experience
in
Jesus
they
come
through
the
Holy
Spirit.
He
will
give
you
the
Holy
Spirit
make
you
a
child
of
God.
And
all
of
these
privileges
are
ours
because
of what
Jesus
has
done
for
us.
we
were
not
worthy
to
be
his
children.
We
failed.
We
brought
shame
to our
heavenly
father.
But
because
he
loved
us
and
he
wanted
to
bring
us
and
restore
us
to
his
family
restore
us
as
his
heirs
God
sent
his
beloved
son
the
perfectly
obedient
son
and
he
took
our
shame.
He
died
for
our
sins
but
he
was
worthy
and
because
Jesus
was
worthy
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
because
he
was
righteous
death
could
not
hold
him
down
and
he
was
raised
and
those
who
trust
in
Jesus
are
united
to
him
so
that
those
who
call
Jesus
Lord
can
call
his
father
our
father
that's
what
enables
us
to
pray
I
went
to
a
birthday
party
recently
for
a
toddler
and
whenever
you go
to
something
like
that
it's
crazy
there's
a lot
of
crying
wailing
there's
a lot
of
giggling
and laughing
a lot
of
screaming
a lot
of
scolding
but
what's
amazing
is
the
parents
in
this
cacophony
of
noise
they
hear
their
child
cry
and
they
know
right
away
it's
their
child
out
of
the
dozens
they
hear
their
child
cry
and they
know
when
their
children
cry
this
has
been
demonstrated
over the
years
people
have
studied
it
it's
true
why
because
they
are
familiar
with
the
voice
of
their
children
because
they're
attentive
to
the
voice
of
their
children
and
our
heavenly
father
is
attentive
to
your
voice
our
heavenly
father
is
familiar
with
your
voice
when
you
pray
he
hears
and
he
promised
ask
and
it
will
be
given
to
you
so
seek
God
in
prayer
through
Jesus