This is the manuscript of the third sermon in a series on prayer, as we continue in the Holy Spirit directed season of corporate prayer for Christ Church.
Luke 11:1 NIV One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Scripture:
Acts 4:24-31 NIV When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your 11word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Text
Luke 11:1 NIV One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Introduction
A couple of weeks ago I said that breathing was necessary and so is prayer. But unlike breathing we treat prayer as if it is only needed in emergencies and I used as my example the glass covered box on the wall that says, "break in case of emergency."
Let me give you an example of something being necessary for life but not natural. I’ll use as my example a premature baby. Quite often premature babies can’t breathe on their own. They have to stay in the hospital, sometimes for a few weeks hooked up to a machine in order to learn how to breathe.
Breathing, the very thing necessary to sustain life, doesn’t come naturally to them. It is the same with us and prayer.
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing” but just because something is necessary for life doesn’t mean it comes naturally to us.
Look back through the Bible at instances of people who needed prayer, and just how easy it was for them to avoid it. How about Adam and Eve?
Genesis 2:16-17 NIV And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
As we know they disobeyed but they didn’t instantly die physically, but they did die spiritually, because things were not the same between them and God. Of course, we also know that they would eventually physically die too.
After sparing them from instant physical death, our gracious God came and initiated a conversation with them.
Genesis 3:9-13 NIV But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
At this point, they could have admitted their weakness and asked God for his help. They did neither. Instead, they attempted to redirect God’s judgment to someone a little more “deserving.” Adam on to Eve and Eve to the serpent.
Cain had a face-to-face conversation with God after being caught red-handed for the murder of his brother, but he neither admitted it or appealed for mercy.
Genesis 4:9 NIV Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
On the night of Jesus’ arrest the disciples found that, it’s much easier to sleep than to offer supplication to God.
Mark 14:37-41 NIV Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
We who need prayer the most often find out that it’s unnatural for most folks.
Teach Us to Pray
One of the most recognizable dialogues in Scripture is when the disciples ask Jesus how to pray.
Our text for today Luke 11:1 says.
Luke 11:1 NIV One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
What makes this request so remarkable isn’t the fact that they’re asking Jesus to teach them something. After all, Jesus was God and they constantly referred to him as Rabbi and Teacher.
This request stands out because this is the only record in Scripture where the disciples actually ask Jesus to teach them something. “Lord, teach us to pray”
When it comes to Jesus’ mighty acts and miracles, the disciples marveled at how he could calm the winds and waves. They stood in awe as Jesus heals the blind, casts out demons, and makes the lame walk.
Peter didn't ask how Jesus walks on water. He makes a request, and just gets out the boat and walks. It was a short walk but a walk nevertheless and He didn’t ask how to do it.
Matthew 14:28-30 NIV “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
When Jesus sends out the seventy-two in Luke 10, he doesn’t give step-by-step instructions on how to treat leprosy or cast out demons. He just tells them to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom. They took Jesus’ commission in stride and went with it, and they come back rejoicing that it actually worked.
Luke 10:1-4, NIVAfter this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
Even when they were unable to cast the demon from the young boy, in Mark 9, the disciples don’t say to Jesus, “Teach us how to do that.” Instead, they say, “Why couldn’t we?”
Mark 9:28-29 NIV After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
However, when it comes to prayer, the disciples say to Jesus, “Teach us”. They were saying, “We need to learn how to pray.
Here’s our problem today: prayerlessness is spiritual suicide. So, I’m suggesting that we pray more and Jesus graciously teaches us how to pray.
When we pray, we are usually asking God for something. It may be healing, resources, wisdom, or guidance, or peace. These are all good things to ask God for, but we may not be asking in a manner that gets the best results.
It’s like a child who learns about how good ice cream is. When they learn how good it is and a young child wants ice cream, they demand ice cream by just shouting “I want ice cream! Ice cream”! Now a good parent will teach the child how to ask for what they want. They will say to the child say “ice cream please”. That’s the right process.
In teaching us to pray Jesus doesn’t address the process He addresses the priorities.
So, when Jesus teaches us to pray, He starts with the words “Our Father”. That’s significant because remember we have entered into a season of corporate prayer here at Christ Church and we here at Christ Church are family. God is not just my Father, but “Our Father.” We’re all children of God and siblings to each other.
Prayer was never meant to be a merely personal exercise with personal benefits, but a discipline that reminds us how we’re personally responsible for others. This means that every time we pray, we should actively reject an individualistic mindset. We’re not just individuals in relationship with God, but we are part of a community of people, and we all have the same access to God.
Here is something that I noticed when working on sermons for this series on prayer. In His Sermon on the Mount when Jesus was talking about morality, He used singular pronouns.
Matthew 5:29-30 NIV If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
But when talking to this same crowd about prayer, all of His pronouns are plural.
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’
Interesting, isn’t it?
Jesus died as the substitute for our sin to justify us so that he might adopt us into his family.
Jesus starts the prayer model by identifying who we are praying to so that we;
Understand His Power
Jesus starts with “Our Father in heaven”. We are in a family relationship with each other and with someone at the top. When biblical authors speak of heaven, not only are they referring to a place or location, but they are also referencing a statement of power.
When we say that Barack Obama was in the White House, we mean more than the address. We mean that he held the highest office in the land. He had power. This is what the biblical authors mean by saying that our Father is in heaven.
Psalms 115:3-8 NIV Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
When we pray, we are holding on to God’s omnipotence. He is in control. No one can stop his plans. Our Father in heaven is capable! His agenda always wins.
God Is as Compassionate as He Is Capable
These first four words, "Our Father in heaven” invite us to pray because they teach us that God is as compassionate as he is capable. He can do anything. And because Jesus’ sacrificial death makes Christians a part of his family, we know he listens and is inclined to respond favorably to what we ask.
What does it say in
Luke 11:11-13 NIV “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
We have the ear of the most powerful being in and over the universe. He sees all, knows all, directs all. There’s no court of appeals that can undo the decisions he makes.
So how should the knowledge of God’s power and compassion impact our praying?
First, it should make us bold. A. W. Tozer puts it this way: “Prayer unites God and the praying man in one and says, God is omnipotent, and the praying man is omnipotent (for the time being), because he is in touch with omnipotence.” Jesus wants us to know that this type of power is at your disposal in prayer.
Second, knowing that we have the ear and the favor of the most powerful being in the universe should make us humble.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 NIV says Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
God is not here to simply grant wishes. He’s not here to fund evil. We exist for him, not the other way around. In prayer we want to emphasize God’s glory and His presence before His provision.
In Matthew 6:9-10 Jesus helps us understand where our requests should start.
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
After establishing that God is our Father who is as compassionate as he is capable, Jesus reminds us that God’s power aims to advance his agenda, not ours. Jesus shows us that Christian prayer begins with longing for God’s presence before his provision.
All of the requests at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer are toward God
Take a look again:
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV … “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
This removes us from the center of the picture. It reminds us that the most important things about prayer are not what God gives us by way of his possessions, but what God gives by way of his presence. Throughout the Bible, the people who gain peace and security in this life are the people who long for God’s presence more than his possessions. Jesus teaches us this in his first three petitions.
First Petition: God’s Honor
“Hallowed be your name” could better be translated, “I pray that your name will be honored.”
To pray “hallowed be your name” means being concerned more with the advancement of God’s reputation in the world than your own. It’s praying that God himself would protect his name from being defamed and obscured, so that people don’t accept a wrong picture of him or reject a distorted picture of him. God’s name is holy. Nothing can change that reality. We’re simply asking him to work in the world so that his name would be treated as holy.
We want the world to see the glory of God as revealed in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 NIV And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
This request “hallowed be your name" sets the tone for the rest of the prayer.
Second Petition is for God’s Kingdom to Come
Matthew 6:10 NIV your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
"Your kingdom come", is our prayer for the success of the gospel in the world. We know the gospel has changed us, so we plead for God’s kingdom to be extended through the gospel going out to the world. We want a world where God’s rule is recognized and adored.
The Third Petition is for God's Will to Be Done
Matthew 6:10 NIV ….your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Praying “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” unifies us because it helps us long for his kingdom. It keeps us from backbiting, from jockeying for position, from longing to establish our own personal little kingdoms.
This further develops the second request which is for God’s kingdom to come. We want to see God reign here on earth in the same way he already reigns in heaven. We don’t want people to submit reluctantly to God’s rule. We want them to joyfully submit because they’re convinced, he is good.
Establishing God’s kingdom on earth means displacing lesser kingdoms, which is what churches do through their ministries. Local churches, like us here at Christ Church, are outposts of God’s kingdom. So praying that his will would be done means praying that God would continue to establish his will through local churches like us here at Christ Church.
God’s agenda is far better than ours. We like to do our own thing but Jesus is teaching us that God's presence comes before His provision.
When we pray and live in light of these first three petitions,
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV …hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
It strengthens our witness. It shows the world how ineffective its kingdoms are.
God Is Not a Genie
By praying for God’s priorities to settle in our hearts, we reject the false notion that God is a genie. The genie has one job: to advance the agenda of the one to whom he’s bound.
When we pray as Jesus taught, we’re reminded that God’s presence and person is precious—far more precious than his provision. God sets the agenda, and His agenda is best for us. So, as we pray this way together, he forms us into a community of people who confess that our dependence is on him. We need God always, and our joy comes from Jesus’s presence first and foremost, regardless of what we get in terms of material provision.
The Lord’s Prayer is supernatural.
Sure, anyone can parrot the words of the Lord’s Prayer, but only those who have been internally changed truly desire what it asks for. The words are not a magical incantation. Saying them out loud isn’t the goal. Parroting words does no good. Jesus isn’t creating parrots but pray-ers.
Jesus sets the priority and agenda for our prayers. As we come together and pray in line with the Lord’s Prayer, we’re reminded of this shared desire: for the King of kings to come and rule. It helps us to stop jockeying for position, but instead to plead for God to take his rightful position in our church and the world. It recalibrates our compasses and synchronizes our watches, so that we’re all headed in the same direction. It brings unity. It reminds us that no matter our circumstance—rich or poor, old or young, married or single, majority or minority—we all need the same thing: God’s precious presence.
We’ll finish Jesus’ lesson on how we should pray next week.
O Lord, my Heavenly Father, we praise your holy name. We pray for your will to be done in our lives and in this world, for your way to rule here on earth as it does in heaven. We realize that we are not in control, Lord, you are, even though that’s often hard for us to admit and accept. We release what comes next into your hands, Lord, because we trust you fully. We want to step into whatever path you lay before us, even when it looks different from what we thought we wanted. We know you have bigger plans for us, so we submit to your will. We will trust and obey you with an eager and joyful heart. Father, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name Amen.
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