A Pattern For Powerful Prayer Part 1

Opening Comments:

Please make your way to Luke 11:1-13 in your copy of God’s word. If you’re using on of our church Bibles, you can find your place on page number 816. This is the word of the Lord, Let’s read it together.

Luke 11:1–13 ESV

1 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!”

Prayer:

Lord, in the passage we have just read from your word the disciples ask a question of you that perhaps all of us have asked at some point in time or at least perhaps we should have: “Lord, teach us to pray.” That is the prayer of our hearts this morning. “Lord, teach us to pray” and beyond that, “Lord, help us to pray” because if we’re honest with you this morning, none of us approach you in prayer as often or in the manner in which you tell us all the time. Let your word instruct us this morning. Amen.

Introduction:

The passage we have just read together is one of the most informative in all of the Bible that deals with the subject of prayer. Prayer is perhaps the most forsaken of all christian disciplines. It’s the one thing christian are commanded to do without ceasing but one we almost never do.

According to Pew Research Center in a 2014 poll on the frequent of prayer among christians:

At least daily 40% 60% 17,074

Weekly 50% 50% 4,187

Monthly 60% 40% 1,249

Seldom/never 67% 33% 2,276

Don't know 50% 50% 262

From these numbers it is clear that we don’t pray as we should, and it may very well be that we don’t pray because we don’t know how to pray.

Jesus, was himself a man of prayer. Already in Luke we’ve seen Jesus in prayer at:

His baptism (Lu. 3:21).

His temptation (Lu. 5:16).

He continued all night in prayer (Lu. 6:12).

He was alone praying (Lu. 9:18).

He went up into a mountain to pray (Lu. 9:28).

He was now praying in a certain place (Lu. 11:1).

While Jesus was praying, something about his prayer must have caught the attention of one of his disciples and made him think, “I’d like to know how to pray like that.”

So, he approaches Jesus and asks

Luke 11:1 (ESV)

…“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

Apparently John the Baptist, had taught his followers how to pray in a certain way. This was a customary thing for Jewish religious leaders and followers to have their own customary and distinctive way of praying. Evidently, John had his own style and recommended prayers, though none of those seem to be preserved today.

Notice here, as Jesus begins to instruct them he says:

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

And he said to them, “When you pray,…

Literally “whenever you are praying”- the “you” there is plural” which indicates that these are instructions for corporate christian prayer. It assumes that those who pray in this manner are already believers.

Jesus then goes on to give his disciples a Pattern of Powerful Prayer (v.2-4)

We need to understand that Jesus was not instructing his disciples to pray the exact words of this prayer, though that has certainly been a Christian practice in the church throughout all of its history and there is nothing at all wrong with that; Instead what he is doing is giving them a pattern or a model for prayer.

It is a guide for what we should pray through and develop as we go.

1.) Reverence for God (v.2)

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

…“Father, hallowed be your name….

A.) Jesus instructs his disciples that when they pray they are to address God as “Father”

Pater in greek. Abba in Aramaic (the language of Jesus), Father in English. This is an intimate, familial and honorific title. It recognizes authority, but in the context of a trusting and life giving relationship.

In the Old testament God is only referred to 14 times as father and they were all in the national sense not in a familiar relational sense. The Gospel writers record Jesus addressing God this way more than 60 times.

The word Jesus would have used is the word “abba”, it meant something akin to “daddy” though thats not exactly accurate and too informal. It lacks reverence. A better way to render it would be something like “dearest father”.

This is the way we get to address the Lord of all, not as some distant being off somewhere but as our father. We have a familiar relationship with him. He is our father and we are his children.

This family relationship takes place when we are born again.

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

B.) Address God as sacred

Just because we have an intimate familial relationship with God, doesn't mean we can be too casual or flippant toward him. We don’t call him “Daddy or Daddy God”.

No, his name is to be hallowed or set apart or holy.

God is separate and above his creation.

To hallow his name is to see him for who he is matchless in reverence and awe. Holy, righteous, pure, loving, merciful, gracious and kind.

True prayer begins with a proper understanding of God .

A. W. Tozer wrote,

We must think worthily of God. It is morally imperative that we purge from our minds all ignoble concepts of the Deity and let Him be the God in our minds that He is in His universe.… That God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible. The high honor of God is first in heaven as it must yet be in earth. (The Knowledge of the Holy [New York: Harper & Row, 1961], 42)

We hallow the name of God when we worship him for who he has revealed himself to be.

He is:

Elohim, the plural name of the triune God, describes Him as the Creator (Gen. 1:1);

El-elyon (God Most High) as the sovereign ruler of the universe (Gen. 14:22);

I AM. The eternally existing one (Ex. 3:13–14; cf. John 8:58);

Jehovah-jireh (The Lord Will Provide) as the one who meets the needs of His children (Gen. 22:14);

Jehovah-nissi (The Lord is My Banner) as the King under whom His people march (Ex. 17:15);

Jehovah-ropheka (The Lord your healer) as the one who cares for their physical needs (Ex. 15:26).

He is Jehovah-shalom (The Lord is Peace [Judg. 6:24]);

Jehovah-roi (the Lord our Shepherd [Ps. 23:1]);

Jehovahtsidkenu (The Lord our Righteousness [Jer. 23:6]);

Jehovah-sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts [1 Sam. 1:3]);

Jehovah-meqaddeskem (the Lord who sanctifies you [Ex. 31:13]),

and, supremely, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:6) who is God incarnate who perfectly reveals Him (John 1:18; 14:9).

The names given to Jesus in the Bible reveal God’s nature to us as well:

The Amen (Rev. 3:14; cf. 2 Cor. 1:20),

the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 22:13),

the Advocate (1 John 2:1),

the Apostle (Heb. 3:1),

the Author and Perfecter of faith (Heb. 12:2),

the Beginning (source, origin) of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14),

the Branch (Jer. 23:5),

the Bread of Life (John 6:35),

the Author of salvation (Heb. 2:10),

the Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20),

the Consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25),

the Counselor (Isa. 9:6),

the Sunrise from on high (Luke 1:78),

the Deliverer (Rom. 11:26),

the Door of the sheep (John 10:7),

God blessed forever (Rom. 9:5),

Eternal Father (Isa. 9:6),

the Faithful witness (Rev. 1:5),

the First and the Last (Rev. 1:17),

the Firstborn (preeminent one) from the dead (Rev. 1:5) and over all creation (Col. 1:15),

the Forerunner (Heb. 6:20),

the Good Shepherd (John 10:11),

the Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14),

the Guardian of souls (1 Peter 2:25),

the Head of the church (Col. 1:18),

the Holy One of God (John 6:69),

I AM (John 8:58),

Immanuel (Isa. 7:14),

the King of Israel (John 1:49; cf. Zech. 9:9),

King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15),

the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45),

the Lamb of God (John 1:29),

the Light of the world (John 8:12),

the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5),

Lord (John 13:13),

the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8),

the Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5),

the Messenger of the covenant (Mal. 3:1),

the Messiah (John 1:41),

the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6),

the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16),

the Only Begotten (unique one) from the Father (John 1:14),

our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7),

the Prince of life (Acts 3:15),

the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6),

the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25),

the Righteous One (Acts 7:52),

the Rock (1 Cor. 10:4),

the Root and Descendant of David (Rev. 22:16),

the Root of Jesse (Isa. 11:10),

the Ruler in Israel (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6),

the Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5),

Savior (Luke 2:11; Titus 1:4),

Servant (Isa. 42:1),

Shiloh (Gen. 49:10),

Son of the Blessed One (Mark 14:61),

Son of David (Matt. 12:23; 21:9),

Son of God (Luke 1:35),

Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32),

the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2),

the True God (1 John 5:20),

the True Vine (John 15:1),

the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6),

the Word (John 1:1, 14),

the Word of God (Rev. 19:13),

and the Word of Life (1 John 1:1).

Our prayers must address God for all that he is in every way!

We hallow his name with our lips in private and in public. Verbally reverencing his name as holy.

But we also hallow his name by our actions as we live lives that show we honor him.

Read Ephesians 5.

2.) Request for the coming kingdom(v.2)

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

…Your kingdom come.

The verb “come” here is used isn such a way that it denotes a decisive time in the future when the kingdom of God will come once and for all.

However, while the kingdom of God is future, it is also a present reality.

As a present reality God’s kingdom presents itself in the Person of Christ and his rule and reign of authority in the lives of believers.

This kingdom is entered through faith in Christ

John 3:3 ESV

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

and is made up of all those in every age who have professed Christ.

It is a present reality but it will take its full form in the millennial kingdom that is future. When Christ sets up his earthly kingdom to rule and reign. It’s the government of Christ that is to come for a thousand years.

The prophet Daniel in the Old Testament predicted this coming kingdom:

Daniel 2:44 ESV

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Daniel 7:18 ESV

18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

Daniel 7:22 ESV

22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Daniel 7:27 ESV

27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

John saw this kingdom in his revelation vision and wrote

Revelation 20:4–6 ESV

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

That kingdom only gives way to the creation of a new heaven and a new earth untouched by sin, where we will be with Christ for all eternity.

1 Corinthians 15:24 ESV

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

2 Peter 3:10–13 ESV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Revelation 21:1 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

It is at this moment on the new earth where

Revelation 21:4–5 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

How often do we pray for God’s Kingdom to come?

For the Gospel to go out like a tsunami and gather in the great throng in heaven from every tribe, nation and tongue?

How long do we pray for him to make an end of the evil and sin of this world and to set up his eternal kingdom?

Conclusion:

These are just the first two aspects of Jesus model prayer to his disciples and yet they are so rich.

Talk about the prayer of salvation for the lost

Talk about acknowledging God for who he is

Talk about God’s coming kingdom

Invite people to extended prayer.