This is How You Should Pray

This is How You Should Pray

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Lk 11:1-13; Matt 6:9-13

Introduction: (What?)

Luke presents a shorter version of what is widely known as “The Lord’s Prayer” than Matthew. Also, in Luke the prayer comes in response to a specific request by the disciples whereas Matthew included it as a part of the Sermon on the Mount. In both instances it was not intended to be parroted, as is often the case today. (However, as we will see later, there is benefit in reciting it when it is done with reverence and thought.) Rather Jesus gave it as a pattern for prayer. In Luke Jesus also gives a parable and its meaning regarding the prayer.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The Model

Lk 11:1-4 “He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.””

In Luke’s Gospel Jesus was responding to a specific request from His disciples. They had noticed how important personal prayer was to Jesus, and they had observed (at least two had first hand experience) John the Baptist teaching his followers to pray. Notice they did not ask “teach us HOW to pray, but rather teach us TO pray. Up until this time the only training any of the disciples had experienced was what they may have observed in the synagogue. That was usually a rote prayer recited from the Tanach (Jewish Bible). Their observation of Jesus’ prayer life told them that there must be more to prayer than just reciting scripture. Jesus told them “Always start with God and His kingdom.” Most of us learned the Lord’s Prayer from the KJV which contains at least one word that we parrot without understanding. That word is “hallowed” and we usually pronounce it in in two syllables…hallow and ed. The word “hallow” is a Saxon word which means to “consecrate or set aside from the common”. It also entails reverence. Jesus told them to handle the Name of God with reverence, not flippancy. Many of us have ways that we begin our prayers. I usually start with “Father” or “Lord”. You may have picked up a phrase you like and are comfortable with. One that I hear often is “Father-God”, another is “Dear Heavenly Father”. The Aramaic word “Abba” meaning “Papa” is also used in prayer and is used by Jesus when He prayed to be delivered from the cup of suffering. Paul then used this name both in Romans and Galatians to indicate the warm relationship between the believer and God. Whatever word or phrase we use should be used with reverence and with thought. I heard somewhere that the only reason God has a name is so that we can call on Him in prayer.

After reverencing the name of God (in this case “Father”) Jesus told them to ask that God’s kingdom would come (on earth). That is in keeping of the purpose of God…to have His Kingdom on the earth which He created for Himself. John gives us a glimpse in the book of Revelation of what God’s Kingdom looks like and how it operates. Rev 21:3-4 “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne. ‘Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous thins have passed away.’” One day that will be true on earth. This part of the prayer is asking for that day to come…soon.

Then Jesus instructed them to make requests for their own needs. Asking for “daily bread” means more than asking for a loaf of bread. It means all of our daily needs. This shows our dependency on God for those needs. We usually consider that we can meet most of our own needs through work. However, we must realize that even the ability and opportunity to work and thus provide for ourselves and our families is a gift from God.

Then Jesus told them to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Notice that this forgiveness is conditional. It assumes that they are forgiving those who have wronged them in some way… “for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us.” As we will see in a moment, Matthew added emphasis to the conditional aspect of forgiveness.

The last personal request is “And do not bring us into temptation.” At first reading you might think “God doesn’t lead people into temptation.” However, He did lead (forcefully) Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. God did not do the tempting, but He put Jesus into a position to be tempted. I think that Jesus was acknowledging that they, who had not yet received the Holy Spirit, would not be able to handle temptation and therefore should ask to be delivered from it.

Now, let’s turn to Matthew 6 and notice some of the differences.

Matt 6:9-13 ““Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 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 do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

This passage begins with the word “therefore” which means we should look back to see what Jesus had just said prior. He had been warning them about emulating hypocrites who mainly prayed to impress the people around them. He warned them against “babbling” like the Gentiles (idol-worshippers). Beyond that this model for prayer is almost the same as in Luke’s Gospel. First the vertical relationship is emphasized and then the horizontal relationships. We can’t be right with man until we are right with God. Matthew then gives greater emphasis to our forgiving others in Matt 6:14 ““For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.”

The final petition is the same in both gospels. “And do not bring us into temptation.” Matthew adds “but deliver us from the evil one.” However in James 1:13 “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.” While God does not directly tempt anyone, He does allow temptation (trials) in the life of a believer in order to perfect their faith. James 1:2-4 “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

However, He does not allow the trial or temptation to overcome us. I Cor 10:13 “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” Jesus’ words in Matthew indicate that while God allows temptations it is the devil who brings them and from whom we should ask to be delivered.

2. The Moral

Lk 11:5-8 “He also 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 of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” The moral of this story is that persistence pays off. When we get to chapter 18 of Luke we will find Jesus telling another story of persistence in prayer. The take away for us is “don’t stop short”. If what you asked for has not come and God has not said “Stop!” keep praying. We find this kind of shameless praying in the story of the Gentile woman who came to Jesus in Mark 7:24-29 “He got up and departed from there to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. Instead, immediately after hearing about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she was asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she replied to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”” First Jesus ignored her. Then He rebuked her even equating her with a dog. But finally, because she hung in there He granted her request. I wonder how many times we stop praying just before God is about to answer.

3. The Meaning

Lk 11:9-13 ““So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 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?””

The literal translation is “ask, and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking and knock and keep on knocking.” Don’t stop praying until God grants your request or says “Not now” or “Stop!”. The reality is that while He may not give you what you asked He may well give you something better. He, like the father mentioned above, will not give you things that are bad for you even if you keep begging. And His greatest gift is the Holy Spirit who comes to indwell those who surrender to Him.

Application: (What difference with this make in my life?)

I mentioned earlier that the Lord’s Prayer was not intended to be just recited. However there is power in the thoughtful reciting of this prayer in public settings. Kenneth Bailey, author of “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” tells this story. He was lecturing in a church in Riga (formerly behind the Iron Curtain) and asked one of the young women in the group how she came to faith. This is her story. “At funerals we were allowed to recite the Lord’s Prayer. As a young child I heard those strange words and had no idea who we were talking to, what the words meant, where they came from or why we were reciting them. When freedom came at last, I had the opportunity to search for their meaning. When you are in total darkness, the tiniest point of light is very bright. For me the Lord’s Prayer was that point of light. By the time I found its meaning, I was a Christian.”