Prayer

Introduction

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke 11:1-13

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Background

As we continue this sermon series called Closer, I cant express to you how excited and hopeful I am for this church

I see the Lord doing a work here and he is doing the work through you

So I am grateful for each and every one of you, I am grateful for God’s calling, I am grateful for his purpose for us

That he would bring us together to continue to do his work

And so, as we seek to do his work and to reach and disciple others, we also want to continue to grow closer to HIm

We are continuing our 21 days of prayer and fasting where we are praying for a personal need or growth area as well as praying for our community, for the lost, and for our 2024 church vision

And as Christians we need to know and understand that prayer is our communication with God

And that ultimately, prayer is for us but is used to glorify God

But even though it is for us and to his glory, we often dont do it

Reasons for Not Praying/ Why do we struggle with prayer?

Lack of faith (We wonder if our prayers make a difference)

Pride (We dont really need God, until we need him)

Distraction (Prayer is an afterthought)

Laziness (Not disciplined) It takes effort, intention

Fear (fear of answered prayer)

Which of these would you identify with? Maybe theres another reason

No matter your struggle, God has already provided the remedy

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

Luke 11:1-13 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” 5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 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’? 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. 9 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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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 the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated

Prayer

Lords Prayer

When we did our series in Matthew, we went over the Lords Prayer

We talked about the simplicity of it but we also talked about the practicality of it

The Lords Prayer is not what we are to pray but we do pray like it

We talked about ACTS - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

When we pray, we use Adoration - we adore and praise God,

We us Confession - where we confess our sins to Him

And then supplication - we make our requests known to Him

Today, we are going to focus more so on supplication where we make our request known to him

Exegesis and Eisegesis

And as we begin to look at verses 5-13, I want to submit two big words to you that you may be unfamiliar with

Exegesis and the other is Eisegesis

Exegesis (to lead out of) means that when we look at a text of scripture in its original context

We want to find the original meaning of the text and be lead from it

We look at who wrote it, who did they write it to, why did they write it, what were the circumstances in which they wrote it, and what are other texts that we can use to support that we have the right interpretation

Eisegesis (to lead into) would sometimes look at the cotnext but would give more weight to subjective thoughts, ideas, and presuppositions

It means that I take my current preconceived thoughts and ideas and let them lead me into the text

Now, why do I bring this up? Because verses 5-13 has eisegetically interpreted in many ways that are false

And unfortunately, those false interpretations have caused people to believe different things about prayer that are untrue and unfortunately also cause them to view God in ways that aren’t true

And if we are seeking to be closer to God, I pray that we are striving to have close and true beliefs about prayer and God’s character

Exegetical Analysis of Passage

If we look at our text tody, it comes from the gospel of Luke who is a historian

Luke is attributed to writing the gospel of Luke and Acts and both books are addressed to the same person

Both Luke and Acts have a strong emphasis on prayer - here is what my study Bible says

The importance of prayer is stressed in both the gospel and Acts. Luke records that Jesus prayed before crucial occasions of His ministry. Nine of Jesus’ prayers are included in the gospel (seven of them found only in Luke), along with parables on prayer found only in Luke. The emphasis on prayer continues in Acts, which is Luke’s portrait of the church’s life in the apostolic age

So in this book we are in, prayer is important and here in chapter 11 he records an account of Jesus is teaching on prayer

It is Jesus who is speaking (RED WORDS IN THE BIBLE)

And Jesus is speaking to his disciples

More so, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray because of their request to teach them how to pray

It is at this point that Jesus had already exhibited prayer in his own life

And what we find in verse 5, after Lukes brief Lord’s Prayer - is that Jesus is further expounding on prayer

So we have Jesus - teaching believers - about prayer

This is important as we move forward

Cultural Context (Neighbor)

In the time in which Jesus lived, hospitality was a huge deal

In some cultures, hospitality still is a huge deal

But for many of us in our americanized way of living - it can be hard to fully grasp the picture that Jesus is giving

That in that time when a guest was over, the host is responsibile for feeding and accomodating the guest at all cost

Because to fail to do so would bring great shame

So much shame that at midnight when the hosts friend arrived and had nothing to serve him, he runs next door and wakes up the neighbor to ask for bread

And the neighbor being disturbed yells out go away! Do you not know what time it is!? Just because we are friends, doesnt mean that I will get up and serve your request

However, there is something else that motivates the neighbor to get up and give the bread anyway

Maybe he doesnt want it to get around town that he denied his neighbor food in a time of need, maybe its persistence of the neighbor, maybe its the shamelesness of the neighbor,

But what is abunduntly clear is that the neighbor still fulfilled the request apart from love

Often times when this passage is taught - it is taught with an emphasis of the neighbor in need

It is taught that the persistence of the neighbor is what compelled the neighbor to give the bread

That if he had not kept pleading and begging, then the neighbor might not have given him what he needed

And so likewise we should be persistent in our prayer to God - and God will answer

And I do agree that we need to be persistent in prayer

But I do have trouble with that for 2 reasons:

Remember - the neighbor is in desperate need and the neigbor gives apart from love

1. God answers prayer out of Love and for his glory

And it is clear that the neighbor answered the request for a reason apart from love

2. If the teaching is about persistence then in our most desperate need at the most depserate hour we are being taught that we have to plead and persist with God in order for him to meet the need

And what we know is that God does not work in that way - God meets the needs of his people and is there for them in the most desperate times in the darkest of hours

But what if we shifted the focus away from the neighbor in need and looked at the neighbor who gave

And what happens when we apply it to the context

Well when Jesus is teaching to pray it is clear that the prayer is addressed to God the Father

It is clear that the prayer is to glorify the Father

It is to trust the Father

It is to be made right to the Father

It is to request from the Father

And if we look at the ending of this text verses 11-13 it talks about the Father giving good gifts

So right here in verses 5-10 are not about the person in need but is about God the Father

And if you look closely in verse 5, Jesus is describing this scenario in a way that makes his question rhetoricle

The people listening to Jesus would empathize with the man in need and would say they would give the bread at first request

And so what we have here is a contrast - If the neighbor reluctantly met the need apart from love, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN MEET YOUR NEED WITH LOVE!?!

So much so that you dont need to plead with him - Rather

And then Jesus says this 9 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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Jesus - talking to believers - and teaching them about prayer says

Believer - in your darkest hour and in your time of need ask and you will be given

Believer - in your darkest hour and in your time of need seek and you will find

Believer - in your darkest hour and in your time of need Knock and the door will be opened

If a man will reluctantly give to his neighbor what he needs how much more do you think your God will meet your need!?

Will he not meet and fulfill your need?!

God is faithful!

Need/Want Illustration

When I was growing up, I learned the word need and often I would use it incorrectly

When I went to school I didnt say that I needed school clothes

I needed the namebrand school sclothes

When I played baseball I didnt need a glove and bat

I needed the Nokona genuine leather glove and the Louisville Slugger TPX EXO bat

And if I am being honest I am still trying to convince my wife that I need an XBOX X

But as most of you know that as parents, there is a separation between needs and wants

BUT - Lets look at the ending here

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!”

Father/Sons/Daughters

For the believer, God is our Father

And what Father doesnt want to give good gifts to their children?

Jesus is telling us that God does more than meet our needs - Meeting our needs is the bare minimum he does for his children

But then he blesses them and gives them more than what they need

And to be clear God the Father has already given the greatest good gift to us which is Jesus

(GOSPEL MESSAGE)

And when we are reconciled to God the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us and leads us

And while the disciples may not have had a full understanding of this, What Jesus is telling them is that you asked how to pray - I have modeled it for you, and when the time comes the Spirit will guide you!

And for us, looking backwards - If we are to ask the same question - Jesus has modled how we can pray and we have the Holy Spirit within us guiding us!

Romans 8:26–27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

God the Father gives the gift of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can draw closer to him

Our Father meets our needs, and he blesses us

So why don’t we pray?

Why dont we want to talk to him!?

For some, you might say well I’ve been praying for a friend to be saved and he hasnt answered that prayer

For some, you might say well he hasnt answered very many of my prayers

For some, you you might say well he hasnt answered prayer in the way that I like

Do you believe that God loves you and that God knows best!?

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we surrender our life to Him

Lord, my life is yours - you can take my life because I have hope of eternity with you

But many times we may not recognize the gravity of what it means to follow Jesus

Because when we surrender our life to Christ that means that we should also be surrendered in our prayers!

Again I ask, do you believe that God loves you and that God knows best!?

Love

To believe that God loves you is to believe that he sees you

To believe that God loves you is to believe that he will provide for your needs

And to bleieve that God loves you is to believe that he will bless you

Knows Bes’t

To believe that God knows best is believe that his timing is best

To believe that God knows best is to believe that he knows your own needs better than you do

To believe that God knows best is to believe that he knows what is best for you

Tim Keller - “God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knows.”

Mark Hallock - The outcome of our prayers have more to do with what God wants to do in you rather than what you want

I want to encourage you that often times God is preparing us for his answer

He will meet our needs, he will bless us, and many times its not the way we want it nor is it exactly what we want

But thats why we must remember that our Father is good, and he gives good gifts, and he gives what you truly need

And as you build and work on your prayer life - as you believe that he loves you and knows best

You will find the outcome of your prayers working in you:

If you truly believe this then it will help you to build:

a stronger faith (We wonder if our prayers make a difference)

humility (We dont really need God, until we need him)

Priority (Prayer is an afterthought)

Discipline (Not disciplined) It takes effort, intention

Courage and bold (fear of answered prayer)

Joy

And I pray that you would ultimately find that prayer is a joy and not a burden

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

God purifies our desires (right thing for the wrong reason) (wrong thing for the wrong reason)

God prepares us for his answer

God develops our life and character

God blesses us with a more intimate relationship with himself

Application :

Prioritize prayer in your walk with the Lord

Prayer Meeting

Prayer and Worship