Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 11 Verses 1 to 4 Lord Teach Us to Pray December 4, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AAAA

Background Scriptures:

· Psalm 93:1-2 (NASB)

1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

2 Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.

· Psalm 23:1-4 (NASB)

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Main Idea: God’s will is connected to God’s Word.

Study Aim: To understand that the greatest need a person has is forgiveness.

Create Interest:

· On the importance of prayer in the Christian life, the notable Puritan pastor Thomas Brooks wrote,

o The power of religion and godliness lives, thrives, or dies, as closet [private] prayer lives, thrives, or dies.

Godliness never rises to a higher pitch than when men keep closest to their closets.

· Private prayer is that privy [secret] key of heaven that unlocks all the treasures of glory to the soul.

The best riches and the sweetest mercies God usually gives to his people when they are in their closets upon their knees … the graces of the saints are enlivened, and cherished, and strengthened by the sweet secret influences which their souls fall under when they are in their closet-communion with God.

(The Secret Key to Heaven[Reprint; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2006], xiv, 44).[1]

· A few years ago, the Pew Forum conducted a research poll to determine how common it was for adherents of various religious groups in America to pray at least daily.

Overall, 58 percent of Americans reported being daily

prayers.

The two groups with the highest percentage of folks who claimed to do so were the Jehovah’s Witnesses (at 89 percent) and the Mormons (at 82 percent).

Why would those two groups have the highest percentage of those who claim to pray daily?

· I’m sure there are many reasons that may be proposed, but here is my theory: those two groups both teach and expect their people to pray daily (even multiple times per day).

Do we? Do we see the need to teach people to pray?

Should we expect people to pray, even incorporating some accountability into the practice?

Today’s lesson gives us insights into Jesus’ prayer practices.

It also shows how Jesus included learning to pray as a part of the training of his disciples.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· The Gospel of Luke has an emphasis upon prayer, with proportionally more references to that subject than any other Gospel.

Various people are presented in Luke as persons of prayer (examples: Luke 1:13; 2:37).

This emphasis continues in Luke’s second book, Acts, where the early Christian community is frequently presented as being engaged in prayer (see Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:31; 6:4).

· The preeminent prayer-person in the Gospel of Luke is Jesus himself.

Jesus prayed at his baptism (Luke 3:21), before the choosing of the 12 disciples (6:12), at the time of Peter’s confession (9:18–20), on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:28, 29), as a motivation for cleansing the temple (19:45, 46), and during his agony in the garden (22:41).

These just a few examples of prayer were obviously noticed by the disciples with much wonder and awe.

· The immediate context of today’s lesson on prayer is that of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, where he would be arrested, crucified, buried, and resurrected (Luke 9:51).

This fateful journey and its aftermath occupy about 60 percent of the Gospel according to Luke.[2]

Bible Study:

Luke 11:1 (NASB)

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."

· Jesus “was praying in a certain place”.

A disciple saw him and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (v. 1).

That request means prayer is not something learned automatically.

Prayer is not natural.

Effective prayer has to be taught and learned.

o There’s no shame in not knowing how to pray or feeling uncomfortable in prayer.

o There’s only shame if we don’t ask to be taught and as a result spend years of our Christian lives ineffective in prayer.[3]

· Lord, teach us to pray.

Probably they had been struck with the excellency and fervor of His prayers, and, recollecting that John had taught his disciples to pray, they asked him also to teach them.

We learn, therefore

o 1st.

That the gifts and graces of others should lead us to desire the same in our lives, as God’s will desires.

o 2d.

That the true method of praying can be learned only by our being properly taught.

Indeed, we cannot pray acceptably at all unless Godshall teach us how to pray exampled by Jesus, other Christians, and leadership of the Holy Spirit.

o 3d.

We should meditate beforehand what we are to ask of God, and to arrange our thoughts, that we may not come thoughtlessly into his presence,[4]mindful of our requests being last on the list.

· ACTS…..Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

Discuss.

Thoughts to soak on before moving on

· Prayers in the Old Testament were characterized by several elements.

o First, they were marked by adoration, love, and praise, as the passion of the heart flowed out from the lips (Pss.

7:17; 22:23, 26; 34:1).

Second, they reflected an attitude of gratefulness and thanksgiving for God’s blessings and provision (Pss.

9:1; 30:4; 33:2; 50:14, 23; Isa.

12:1; Dan.

2:23; Jon.

2:9),

o Third, they recognized God’s holiness (Ps.

22:3), acknowledging His transcendent glory.

o Fourth, they manifested a heartfelt desire to obey God (Ps.

119:5, 8, 17, 34, 88, 134), which resulted in confession of sin (Ps.

51) when there was disobedience.

o Fifth, instead of focusing exclusively on the needs of individuals, Old Testament prayers also expressed the needs of the nation as a whole (Ex.

33:13, 16; Deut.

26:15).

o Sixth, prayer in the Old Testament also involved perseverance, such as that exemplified by Moses, who interceded on behalf of the people for forty days after the incident of the golden calf (Deut.

9:18, 25).

o Seventh, prayers were offered in humility (2 Chron.

7:14; Ezra 8:21; Ps. 10:17).

§ Those same elements are in view in Jesus’ prayer, as He reestablished the divine pattern that had largely been lost in Israel.

Let’s look quickly at that comparison😊

· This rich, multifaceted template may be approached in several ways.

It unfolds the various relationships between the believer and God:

o Father and child (“Our Father”),

o Holy One and worshiper (“hallowed be Your name”),

o Ruler and subject (“Your kingdom come”),

o Master and servant (“Your will be done”),

o Savior and sinner (“forgive us our debts”), and

o Guide and pilgrim (“do not lead us into temptation”).

· It also defines the proper attitudes for prayer:

o unselfishness (“our”),

o intimacy (“Father”),

o Reverence (“hallowed be Your name”),

o loyalty (“Your kingdom come”),

o submissiveness (“Your will be done”),

o dependence (“give us this day our daily bread”),

o penitence (“forgive us our debts”),

o humility (“do not lead us into temptation”),

o and confident, triumphant joy (“Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever”).

· Notice that Jesus ignored the posture of prayer…..Why?

· Notice that no particular location that prayers must be offered, though Jesus did suggest a private place (Matt.