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March 15, 2015
*Intro* – (Read Luke 11:9-13).
In our study of vv.
5-13 we have seen that altho He never really is reluctant, sometimes God appears to be reluctant.
When answers to prayer are delayed God seems apathetic or on vacation.
Our natural reaction is to give up – get disillusioned.
Jesus instructs differently.
In the face of silence He advises two things – Persist and Expect.
Don’t give up.
Last week we saw how we persist (vv.
5-9).
Today how to expect (9-13).
The key is how we view God.
If we view God, as many have been taught, as a Magic Dispenser Machine, we are doomed to disappointment because that is not who He is.
Many have isolated the ask, seek, and knock portion of this passage and said, “See, there you have it.
Just ask, and God’s obligated to deliver.”
If it doesn’t happen, inevitably you will be told it’s your fault – not enough faith.
God was willing; you didn’t believe.
This is the God as Santa Claus approach to prayer.
But that approach does irreparable damage to vv. 8-9.
It rips them out of the context leaving jagged edges of misinterpretation.
Ask, seek and knock (the “how”) of prayer, are defined by vv.1-4 which show the “what” of prayer to be God-centered, need (as opposed to desire) driven and spiritually prioritized.
Ask, seek and knock explain how to pray THAT kind of prayer – not my Christmas wish list.
This is not depicting God as the Magic Genie in the sky granting carte blanc wishes.
Expectant prayer views God not as sugar daddy, but as Father.
Jesus’ model prayer addresses Him as “Father” in v. 2. Further vv.
11-13 use the concept of Father to illustrate how this all works.
Seeing God as Father is key to this passage.
A good father loves to do for his kids.
But we know that all requests must be filtered through the father’s GREATER wisdom, right?
A loving father often does not give exactly what is requested.
He sees danger the child does not see.
And he sees opportunity the child does not see.
[repeat].
Thus when a 2-year-old asks for a butcher knife, Dad says No. And when a 16-year-old wants to marry the first guy who pays attention, Mom and Dad say, “Wait.”
Parents see danger where the child does not and they see opportunity where the child does not.
That simple premise will greatly inform expectations in our prayer life, Beloved.
We’re not petitioning a magician, but a Father.
Tim Keller says it beautifully: “Your father gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows.”
There is a truth to live by!
But while we pay lip service to God as Father, we don’t really believe it.
Not really.
We doubt; we waver; we worry; we insist on our own way; and consequently we live messy lives; we don’t trust or obey.
So how can we change?
Faced with seeming reluctance, what do we do?
*I.
Expect An Answer*
V. 10: “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Great verse, right?
Wonderful verse.
But we know it has qualifiers.
David says in Psa 119:67, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
Unconfessed sin stops prayer in its tracks.
And Jas 4:3 says if we ask wrongly “to spend it on your passions” the Lord will not hear.
Our prayers must align with Jesus’ example which confesses sin and is God-centered rather than me-centered.
But if our heart is pure then, we can pray expectantly.
V. 9 urges us to pray persistently and v. 10 tells why.
Because an answer is coming.
In fact, note v. 9 commands – ask, seek, knock – all present tense, indicating continuous action.
It’s not ask once and sit back and wait for an answer, it’s keep on asking.
The lesson teaches a lifestyle of dependence.
But look at v. 10.
Two out of three promises are also present tense.
“For everyone who [always] asks, receives (present tense, is now receiving), and the one who seeks, finds (pres), and to the one who knocks it will be opened (future).”
This is a lifestyle, a process, not a one-time event.
In some ways, prayer is like an iceberg.
What you see above water is only about 10% of the whole thing, right?
Prayer is like that.
We pray; nothing happens.
Sometimes not for years, but when the answer comes we see how little pieces were coming together the whole time to make the answer.
Patty and I have found it helpful when we are praying about certain things to thank the Lord for what He is already doing with regard to that request that we just don’t see yet.
That’s praying expectantly in the face of seeming silence.
Why don’t we expect answers?
Sometimes because we feel we don’t deserve them.
Well, guess what, we don’t!
If answered prayed went by who deserved it, it wouldn’t happen.
At our best, God owes us nothing.
But Heb 4:15, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.”
Why can we do that?
Because we deserve it?
No – because of Heb 4:14: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
Jesus represents us to the Father who doesn’t answer because we deserve it but because He deserves it!
We expect in Him.
A 17-year-old girl was seeking her first job.
She asked her uncle if he’d be a reference.
He agreed.
A few days later she called and asked if he could meet her at the restaurant.
“Why?”
He asked.
“The manager wants me to come in for an interview, and she told me to bring my references!”
So that was a bit of overkill, but she had the right idea.
Bring your references.
That’s the only reason we can come bold to God’s throne.
Not because of what we’ve done, but because of what He’s done!
We come with great expectations because His blood compels an answer.
So come bold.
Come expecting an answer.
*II.
Expect a Good Answer*
So, expect an answer, but here’s the kicker!
The answer may not look like you think.
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