Prayer (Part 5) - "Lord, Teach Us to Pray"

We're Looking at Prayer on Wednesday Nights

We’re Breaking this Series Up into 3 Sub-Series:

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

Learning about Prayer from Jesus

“Christian Principles of Prayer”

What Do the Scriptures Teach Us about Prayer

The Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How’s of Prayer?

“Unconventional Methods of Prayer”

Discussing Unconventional…

Methods/Topics/Thoughts/Questions Concerning Prayer

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

This will Be Our Last Week on this Sub-Series

Next Week, We’ll Move on to “Christian Principles of Prayer”

For the Past 2 Weeks We’ve Been Focused…

On the Lord’s/Model/Disciples’ Prayer

Now We’re Going to Look at Some of Jesus’ Teachings on Prayer…

That Surrounded His Giving of the Model Prayer

Before Giving the Model Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount…

Jesus Taught:

Matthew 6:5–8 (NASB95)

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

This is in the Context of Jesus Teaching His Listeners…

To Not Behave Like the Hypocritical Jewish Leaders

Before this Text, He Taught Them to Not Give to the Needy to Be Seen

After this Section on Prayer, He Taught Them to Not Fast to Be Seen

In this Section on Prayer, He Teaches Them to Not Pray to Be Seen

He Begins By Telling His Listeners to Not Pray Like the Hypocrites

They Love to Pray in Ways that Bring Them Public Attention

They Wanted to Enhance the Public’s Perception of Them

They Wanted People to Think…

They were More Devout/Holy than They Really were

And, Unfortunately, that’s Exactly What They Got

Many Considered Them More Holy/Devout/Righteous…

Than the Average Religious Jew

But, Jesus Tells Us…

That’s the Only Reward They have for Behaving in Such a Way

God has No Interest in Listening to Such Prayers

The Truly Devout Person…

Should Seek Privacy When They Pray to God

That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Pray in Public

It Just Means that You shouldn’t Pray…

In Hopes that Others will Notice/Hear

Make Sure Your Heart’s Desire…

Is for Your Prayer to Only have an Audience of 1:

God

If that Means Going Somewhere Private…

Then Go Somewhere Private

That’s Probably the Best Way to Keep Your Mind Focused, Anyway

Jesus Tells Us We Also Shouldn’t Pray like the Gentiles

They Repeat the Same Words Over & Over to Get Their Gods’ Attention

The Idea was to Either:

Vocalize the Right Words that would Act as a Magical Formula…

That would Compel the Gods to Answer You

Or to Repeat Your Request or Your God’s Name So Many Times…

That They will Eventually Answer Out of Being Completely Annoyed

Like a Child with a Weak Parent:

Pester & Beg Until They Finally Give You What You Want

The Roman Stoic Philosopher Considered this Pagan Form of Prayer:

“Fatiguing the Gods”

It’s Not the Repetition that is Wrong

Jesus Often Repeated Himself When Praying to God

It’s the Meaningless Babbling that He’s Condemning

If You’re Repeating Yourself in Order to Make God Answer You…

Or to Pester Him into Answering You…

You’ve Got the Wrong Idea

Before Giving the Model Prayer…

Jesus Says that God Knows What We Need Before We Ask

This Leads to the Principle that We See in the Model Prayer:

We Don’t Pray to Inform God of Our Needs

He Knows Our Daily Physical Needs

He Knows Our Constant Need of Forgiveness

He Knows Our Need of Spiritual Protection/Rescue

Our Praying for These Things is an Expression…

Of Our Reliance Upon Him as the Only Giver of These Things

These Prayers are an Act of Worship

As His Beloved Children…

We Vocalize Our Trust in His Love & Desire to Bless Us

Prayer is Not about Showing Off Our Devotion to God

It’s Not about a Correct Technique or Formula

It’s Not about Begging/Pestering an Apathetic God into Helping Us

It’s about Stating Our Trust & Reliance…

In a Loving Father Who Knows His Children’s Every Need…

And Who Loves to Be His Children’s…

Provider, Sustainer, Justifier, Protector, & Savior

Here’s Where Studying the Scriptures can Get a Little Tricky

Jesus Just Taught Us to Not Pray like the Gentiles

We shouldn’t Pray with Meaningless Repetition

We shouldn’t Try, Like the Gentiles, to Pester God into Answering Us

But Our Next Text is of Jesus Teaching Us…

That We Need to Be Persistent in Our Prayers

And He Begins By Telling a Parable…

Of Someone Pestering Their Friend for Some Bread

Luke 11:5–13 (NASB95)

5 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; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 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.’ 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 (Lit. Shamelessness) he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “So I say to you, (Present Tense) ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who (Present Tense) asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 “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? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 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?”

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer in Matthew & Here in Luke…

Aren’t Contradictory

But, Without Careful Study…

They could Possibly Appear that Way

Before We Say Anything about this Text…

I Want to Read Another Text Where Jesus Taught on Prayer in Luke

And I Believe this Text will Add to Our Discussion of the Present Text

Luke 18:1–8 (NASB95)

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ”

6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

There’s No Doubt about it:

In Both Texts, Jesus is Teaching Persistence in Prayer

The Friend Continued to Shamelessly Ask for the Bread He Needed

The Widow Kept Coming to the Judge to Receive the Justice She Needed

And Because of Their Persistence…

They Eventually Received What They Needed

But Here’s the Major Distinction We Need to Recognize…

Between the Givers in this Story…

And God

The Friend Wanted to Be Left Alone…

Because He and His Family were Asleep

The Judge was a Wicked Man…

Who Didn’t Care about God or Anyone Besides Himself

God, on the Other Hand, is Completely Different

He Doesn’t Sleep & Can’t Be Bothered

He is Righteous & Good

He Loves to Give His Children What They Need

Jesus Says in Luke 11:9-13

Luke 11:9–13 (NASB95)

9 “So I say to you, (Present Tense) ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who (Present Tense) asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 “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? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 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?”

Persistence in Prayer Leads to the Receiving of Blessings

When God’s Children Ask for the Things that They Need…

God Doesn’t Respond with Things They Don’t Need

Especially Not Things that would Harm Them

God is a Good Father Who Enjoys Giving Good Gifts to His Children

But that Doesn’t Negate the Need to Be Persistent

The Same is Shown to Be True in Luke 18:6-8

Luke 18:6–8 (NASB95)

6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Wicked Judge Gave the Widow What She Needed…

But Only After Enduring Her Annoying Persistence for So Long

But God Does Not Find the Persistence of His Children Annoying

And He Doesn’t Delay in Blessing Us…

Simply Because He Doesn’t Want to

He Doesn’t Finally Give Us What We Ask for…

Simply Because He’s Fed Up with Us Pestering Him

Jesus Teaches Us to Pray for Our Hearts Desires Night & Day…

And He Says God is (Literally) Patient with Us

He will Give Us What We Need Quickly

I Think Looking at These 2 Texts Brings Out an Important Lesson for Us:

We Need to Be Persistent in Prayer

We May Not Receive an Immediate Answer…

But that Shouldn’t Deter Us from Continuing to Ask

God is Eager to Give Us What We Need

But He Wants Us to Be Persistent in Asking for it

Why?

Maybe it’s Because:

If We’re Not Persistent in Asking for Something

We Must Not Really Want it

OR

We Must Not Really Believe God can Provide it

Persistence in Prayer Proves 2 Things:

That We Deeply Desire What We’re Asking for

That We Trust God can Provide What We’re Asking for

The Last Thing Jesus Says is Something to Think About:

“However, When the Son of Man Comes, Will He Find (the/that) Faith on the Earth?”

When Jesus Returns…

He’ll Be Looking for Faith like the Persistent Widow

People Who’ve Not Stopped Praying & Not Stopped Trusting

So, Be Persistent in Your Requests to God

He Wants to Give You What You Need…

(Specifically Justice - The Making of All Things Right)…

Believe that He Can/Will

That Leads Directly to Our Next Text:

Mark 11:20–24 (NASB95)

20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 23 “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

The Key Principle from this Teaching on Prayer…

Is Stated Plainly in Verse 22:

“Have Faith in God”

When You Pray, Believe that God will Answer

That’s One of the Simplest Principles of Prayer to Teach…

But One of the Hardest Ones to Practice

It Takes a Lot of Faith

Faith that God is Listening

Faith that God is Able to Answer

Faith that God is Willing to Answer

This Type of Faith is Difficult for Most of Us

But it’s a Faith that God Desires in His Children

And it’s the Faith that will Lead to Answered Prayers

Let’s Look at One More Teaching from Jesus on Prayer

It Comes from Luke, Right After the Widow & Wicked Judge Text:

Luke 18:9–14 (NASB95)

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

What We Learn from Jesus about Prayer Here?

A Principle that has Come Up in Our Study Already:

Trust in God & Not Trust in Self

And that’s Only Possible Through Humility

The Pharisee Who Believe He was Righteous…

Because He Got Everything Right…

Found No Justification from God

It’s Not about Getting Everything Right in Order to Receive Salvation

It’s about Humility…

And Relying on the One Who Generously Gives Salvation

Invitation

In the Auditorium Class…

We’re Doing a Series on Prayer

We’re Breaking it Up into 3 Sub-Series:

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

Christian Principles of Prayer

Unconventional Methods of Prayer

We’ve Brought that 1st Sub-Series to a Close Tonight

But I Want to Look at One Last Prayer that Jesus Prayed

It’s One of the Shortest Prayers You’ll Find in Scripture…

But I Believe it May Just Be My Favorite

It is Powerful & There’s a Powerful Principle We can Learn from it

It was Not Long Before Jesus would Be Betrayed & Killed

He Knew His Hour had Come, and He Said:

John 12:27–28 (NASB95)

27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Jesus was Troubled in His Soul

He was Shaken Up to His Very Core

He Asks, “Should I Ask God to Save Me from My Coming Sacrificial Death?”

Jesus Dreaded His Coming Suffering & Death

But then He Quickly Answers His Own Question:

“I Can’t Do that!”

“That’s the Very Purpose for Why I Came!”

Then He Immediately Breaks into Prayer

A Short, But Incredibly Powerful Prayer…

Considering the Context:

“Father, Glorify Your Name”

He Pushed Away His Own Natural Desires

The Desire to Not Experience Suffering & Pain

The Natural Desire/Instinct to Protect One’s Life

He Pushes that Away…

And Asks God to Bring Glory to Himself

Our King/Savior/Master Shows Us By His Example…

Exactly the Mindset We Ought to have…

And, Therefore, the Prayers We Ought to Pray:

“Whatever the Means & Whatever the Outcome…”

“Father, Glorify Your Name”

None of Us Know What Direction Our Lives are Going to Go

But May that Always Be Our Mindset & Always Our Prayer:

“Through Me…”

“Through My Circumstances…”

“Through My Pleasures…”

“Through My Suffering…”

“Through Whatever Life May Bring…”

“Father, Glorify Yourself Through Me”

Prayer Challenge:

This Week, Add this Short But Powerful Request to Your Prayers:

“Father, Glorify Your Name”

And Then Prepare Your Heart…

To Be Willing to Follow Through with that Request

Whatever Situations Come Your Way…

Good, Bad, or Indifferent…

Use Them to Bring God Glory

Use Them to Exalt/Honor/Glorify God