**********Luke 11:9-13

Lord I need you, to come through

I need some prayers answered

There’s word from the lord this morning coming from the book of Luke

Luke chapter chapter 11

And you should find these words as printed

Luke 11:9–13 (ESV)

9And 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!”

That’s enough, I want to talk for the next fleeting moments with the help of the Holy Spirit

I want to talk about

I need some prayers answered

There’s a story about a little boy

A BOY was at the supermarket with his mother, and he asked his mother, for some chocolate chip cookies.

This little boy says , Mommy, get me some chocolate chip cookies.” Mother said, Son“No, we are in a hurry. I don’t have any extra money. No chocolate chip cookies today.”

And As they continued shopping, the little boy said, “But, Mama, I want some chocolate chip cookies.” “No, no chocolate chip cookies today.”

He says, But Mama, please, why won’t you get me chocolate chip cookies?

” She said, “Boy, you are getting on my nerves. I told you , we are not getting chocolate chip cookies today.”

As She continued to shop. The boy said “Mama, I am begging you for chocolate chip cookies.” “ She says son, You are about to get in trouble, son! I told you you’re not getting chocolate chip cookies today. She said, if you ask me again, I’m going to have to punish you.” She got in the checkout line. And watch this While waiting, the little boy stood up in the cart, he put both hands together and he looked up to heaven, and said, “Jesus, my mama won’t give me any chocolate chip cookies, but You told me to pray to You about anything.

And he says lord, I am asking You to make a way for me, to get some chocolate chip cookies, because my mama is not giving me any chocolate chip cookies.” At that moment , People in the line started saying, “Why won’t she give that boy some chocolate chip cookies?”

The little boy kept on praying, “Oh, please, Jesus, give me some chocolate chip cookies.”

His mother got so embarrassed, that she went and got two packs of chocolate chip cookies. She came back, put them in the cart, and he said, “Thank You, Jesus.”

Can I tell say this , the whole point of me sharing this is to say that

Many of us this morning, are in the checkout line. You are ready to check out on God, check out on the church, or check out on their faith. But can I encourage you this morning

We must not forget to stop, look up, and call on Jesus. We must tell Him that we are depending on Him and relying on Him to come through.

Don’t check out just yet. Wait to see what God does for you in the checkout line.469 [Prayer; Prayer, Access in; Provision, God’s]

Brothers and sisters

The Bible tells us everything that we need to know, about prayer:

As matter of fact, in your Bible, in my bible it tells us , when to pray, who to pray to, who can pray, why we need to pray, the way to pray, and it even tells us, what to pray for. The Bible has everything that we need to know, about prayer

When we talk about prayer

Well What is prayer?

Prayer is talking to and listening to God. It is intimate fellowship with God. Prayer calls for faith in the Lord Jesus, and a right relationship with God.

But there is something about prayer , that we must understand , and that is

Not everyone can talk to God in prayer, because not everyone knows God through Jesus Christ the Lord.

God does not receive the prayers of those, who do not know Him.

For the bible says in John chapter 9:verse 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.”

Brothers and sisters

Those who come to God, must come to God through Jesus Christ the Lord.

For it is in John chapter 14: verses 13–14 says

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Only those who know God in a personal relationship through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, can truly pray.

Those who know God through the Lord Jesus, or those who are coming to God through the Lord Jesus, can pray.

Once we have been brought into the family of God , we have access to the father

Brothers ans sisters, we are commanded to pray,

we are commanded to make intercession for others, and we are to lift up petitions (requests) to God.

And you know, when it comes to Prayer

Prayer is not just talking to God in prayer but it is also listening to God

And you know, this important for us to take heed to, is because many times, we want to God listen to us …..But we fail to listen to God

But if we Truly want the lord to answer our request, we must be willing to follow the holy spirit,

to lead us and guide us….

And here in our text

Luke declared what is revealed about prayer and what is received by prayer.

In Luke 11, we would find where the Lord Jesus, teaches His disciples, about prayer as they requested.

In verses 2–4 He gives us the model prayer. In the model prayer, we learn Whom to pray to, how to pray, what to request.

In this, The disciples were to recognize the greatness of God, submit to His authority, request for daily needs to be met, our sins to be forgiven, and for guidance and protection from the devil.

In verses 5–8 Jesus gives an illustration about being persistent in prayer—the man comes to his friend and requests persistently and he, is granted his request.

Brothers and sisters

Christians should pray diligently and expectantly in faith and trust in God. And here, Jesus is teaching, that God is not a reluctant Giver, but He is a ready Giver.

But he wants us to cooperate with His willingness.

—————-

And here in our text, Jesus shares with us some insight about prayer

And He gives us some helpful tips on how we can get our prayers answered

Th first thing we must understand is that ,

If we truly want our prayers answered

We must first,

I. we must follow the instructions, that he gives us

we must follow the plans for praying

What are the instructions

when we look at our text

Look what Jesus says

Jesus says “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Here, The disciples wanted to know about prayer, so the Lord did not withhold instruction on prayer.

He did not keep it , a secret

The lord is not holding out… on us.

Jesus emphasizes who this instruction is coming from.

The teaching, is not coming from a religious ruler, a trained teacher, or a religious Pharisee, but from the Son of God.

And He gives us instructions on every- area of life, so that we:

◾ can know Him,

◾ worship Him,

◾ come to Him,

◾ rely on Him,

◾ serve Him,

◾ and bring others to Him.

————

And here, Jesus gives the instructions and

He says that, we are commanded to “ask, seek, and knock.” And when we look at All three of these words

These words are imperatives.

They are not words for debate or discussion.

These words are commands from our Lord. We are commanded to ask, seek, and knock.

And If we are not doing that in prayer, then we are disobedient to God , in prayer.

he said ASK this word tells us to be humble, as one making a request to a Superior. In essence, We do not make demands of God or command God, but we humbly ask of God.

HE ALSO SAID Seek:seek is an action word and it gives the idea of not just asking for help for our need, but getting up and looking around for the help.

Knock: this word includes the ideas of asking and not giving up.

Brothers and sisters

The plan of God, is a command from God for us, to pray by asking, seeking, and knocking.

“In other words, we OUGHT not just come to God, only in midnight emergencies,

but we are to keep in constant communion, with our Father.”

And so here, not only do we see the instructions on prayer

But then , we also see

B. The power of praying. (9)

Look what the lord says here

He says

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you: seek, and you will find: knock, and it will be opened to you.”

And here , Jesus tells His disciples about the power of prayer. When we obey the commands of God in any area, we are blessed by it

God wants our obedience to Him;

He wants us, to obey Him in prayer. For there is power, in prayer.

By why is it, if theres power in prayer,

Why is it that so many people neglect the power of prayer

And I say this , because If we believe that there is power in prayer , why do we neglect Wednesday night prayer meeting?

If we believe that there is power in prayer, why is it so hard to get a prayer ministry going and growing?

And you know why is it, that when it’s time to pray

so many of us , we make all kinds of excuses , why we don’t pray

But can I tell ya

there is Power in prayer

Let me ask you a question

Has God shown His power in any prayers in your life?

And you know, That should encourage us, to pray all the more. Can I tell ya

And you know the problem with many of us is that we put prayer as a last resort

But prayer, should not be our last resort, but it should be our first response.

For the bible says in Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”

Brothers and sisters

There is power in prayer!

The Bible teaches us that God answers prayer,

But personal experience, also reminds us, that there’s power and God answers prayer!

I’ll never forget , theres a lady by the name of princella out of New Jersey Shes a 72 year old woman now ,

but every year , she host a power of prayer conference

She always love to host this event every year , because she says, that she knows the power of prayer

And so every year she opens up with her testimony, and she says that when she was 29 years old, she was on vacation on the island and a tornado hit where she was vacationing.

She said that the Tornado was so bad that it picked up the house that they were staying in, causing her body to be knocked 20 feet in the air landing in between two palm trees

She says, that for 3 whole days she laid in between that tree, no food and water

She says that, her family just knew I was dead

They couldn’t get a hold of her

But she says that, while she was between the two trees

she messed around and had enough strength to pray

And she start praying to God, that if the lord, brought her out of hat she was in

told the lord, lord I’m weak , but if you Can just hear my prayers, IlL never stop telling my testimony

And you know, I believe that there’s many of you in this room, that know, that there’s power in prayer

My brothers and sisters , there’s power in prayer

And here Jesus tells us that when we ask, that it will be given to us, when we seek we shall find, and when we knock the door will be opened to us.

The power of God is magnified in that,

He is the only One, that can give us answers to prayer—He is the only One, that can cause us to find the answers—and He is the only One , that can open the doors in answer to prayer.

And so The Lord Jesus gives us instruction on prayer.

But We also learn in verse ten:II. The Lord’s inspiration for prayer. (10)

A. For We are to be persistent in prayer. (10)

Look at the text

the text says that “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Can I tell ya

The Lord not only commands us to pray, but He tells us how to pray. He expects us to be persistent in prayer

when we look in Luke 11:8 , we would find in the book od Luke about being persistent

it says, “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

The Lord is teaching about being persistent in prayer. Are we persistent in prayer?

He says that, we are to be persistent

“Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.”

That means the Lord commands us not only to pray, but He commands us to be persistent in prayer.

Have you ever prayed about something and became discouraged and quit?

Have you ever prayed for a while and nothing happened and you gave up?

“Who of God’s saints has not had the experience of praying day by day, for weeks, months, or even years with no kind of an answer we would want? God’s delays are not denials.

can I tell ya

He is teaching us something in the delay.”

note: I’ve learned that, all because God has not answered you when you want to him to answer, does not mean that it’s over

God wants to see how persistence your are.

For you know, for some folks, when their prayers have not been answered that very moment, we tend to give up on God, but let me tell ya we have to be persistence

persistence says , lord I don’t know how you gone do it , but lord I’m gone keep praying

Brothers and sisters, we have to rely on God

I know that, It can be frustrating at times if we do not rely on the Lord and keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.

God is in Sovereign control and we must trust in Him. The Lord Jesus calls for our persistence in prayer! How persistent are we in prayer as a church? How persistent are we in prayer as Christians?

Jesus says, “everyone who asks … he who seeks … him who knocks.” The Bible tells us to be persistent in praying.

And I don’t know who I’m talking to

But

→ Don’t give up and don’t give out praying.

→ Don’t lose faith and don’t lose focus.

→ Don’t grow cold and don’t grow calloused in praying.

→ Don’t become apathetic and don’t become inactive in prayer.

We have inspiration for praying. God commands it of us and God answers prayer!

———

And so now, We’ve learned that we are to be persistent in prayer. We also see:

B. We have promises about prayer. (10)

Here is the promise

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened,”

And here Jesus promises that God will answer prayer! And you know what I’ve learned about God

God does not waste our time in prayer, but He wants our obedience and our hearts in prayer.

He wants us to come to Him , as to a loving Father, by needy children.

When we have a need, we are to bring that need to God in prayer.

Our problem many times, is that,

we try and fix problems on our own

But We are not to seek to fix the problem on our own or meet the need on our own. Can I tell ya why

Self-sufficiency is sin!

We are not to come to God, just when we need something, but we are to come to God because we love Him and want to spend time with Him.

God does indeed answer prayer! And If you are saved this morning, it is because God answered your request, to forgive you of your sins, and to give you a home in heaven, to give you eternal life!

God has and does answer prayer. Jesus is not promoting a “name it and claim it” theology! He is not our servant, but we are His slaves that come to a loving Master!

And we dont want to get this twisted ,

Prayer does not get man’s will done on earth, but it gets God’s will done from heaven.

God uses believing prayer and God works through believing prayer

Well How does God answer prayer—

Im glad you ask, we must make sure that there is nothing between us and the Lord, between us and another believer.

We make sure our life is not bringing reproach on the Lord before unbelievers.

For it says in Psalm 66:18–20 it says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. 19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!”

In essence ,

Sometimes God answers prayers with yes; sometimes with no; sometimes with wait. Someone has put it well:

→ If the request is wrong God says, “No.”

→ If the timing is wrong, God says, “Slow.”

→ If you are wrong, God says, “Grow.”

→ But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, “Go!”

My brothers and sisters

It is God, that gives to those who ask, it is God that causes the seeker to find, and it is God that opens the doors that have been closed. That ought to inspire us to pray and to pray with persistence.

The Bible tells us about the Lord’s instruction on prayer, the Lord’s inspiration for prayer,

But then lastly we note:

III. The Lord’s illustrations about prayer. (11–13)

A. The human father’s good gifts. (11–12)

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”

In these verses Jesus gives us a contrast between a human father and the heavenly Father. He reiterates His point on God’s willingness to give! And here Jesus uses an illustration about human fathers. This is a practical illustration to emphasize His point of God’s greatness and His goodness and His giving.

And you know,

All of us know, who are parents,

know that Children ask for things from time to time . They ask because, we are their care givers

And we all know that , If children, cannot go to us who are parents, who can they go to? So The realty is, Children trust their parents, to take care of them, provide for them, watch over them, and love and care for them.

Can I say this , It takes a sorry, lowlife, scum of the earth parent not to want to provide for, protect, bless, and be good to their children.

And so, The disciples knew that it was wrong for a parent to not give good gifts to their children. And I know , There are times as a parents, that we have to say “no.”

There are things that our children will ask for, that they do not need, or that could hurt them, or that will not be good for them. We get that But The point here thatJesus is making, is that the child asked for something, that is a necessity. Bread to eat, fish to eat, and eggs to eat are given for nourishment.

My kids love snacks and yo know, sometimes We have to say no

Those things are not good for them at anytime, but especially before bedtime.

But Jesus is not teaching that, we should give our children any and everything that they asked for when they ask for it! But His emphasis is on a parent’s providing for their children good gifts that are needed.

◾ No parent that is good would give their children a stone to eat when they ask for bread.

◾ No parent that is good would give their children a snake when they asked for a fish.

◾ No parent that is good would give their children a scorpion when they asked for an egg.

But what Jesus is saying here, Jesus emphasizes the human father’s good gifts. A good human father will give his children what they need and be a blessing to them and not a burden to them.

In the Lord’s illustrations the human fathers good gift

But then he talks about

B. The heavenly Father’s great gift. (13)

For the text say

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!”

Notice Jesus is not talking to thieves, drunkards, murderers, adulterers, blasphemers, but to His disciples. He is talking about prayer—only those who know God through Jesus Christ, can pray! He tells His disciples, that they being evil

And what Jesus means when he says this is that , he disciples were like all of mankind that suffered from man’s fall into sin.

We all have inherited the sinful nature.

We are all prone to evil tendencies.

Mankind in the natural state, is not righteous before God. Though we are under the curse of sin and are prone to evil thoughts and evil actions, we can do good deeds at times.

But Jesus tells us , that even in our fallen state, we do know how to gift good gifts to our children.

“We, sinful shortcomings and all, go to great lengths to give good gifts to our children.

As a matter of fact

We moderns work extra hours and scrimp and save so we can give nice gifts to our children at birthdays and holidays.

But look what Jesus says

How much more, is this true of our perfect Father in heaven! He has never given any of His children anything .but the best.”

Then the Lord makes a contrast between the human father’s good gifts and the heavenly Father’s great gift. can I tell ya

No one can out give God! He is the Great Giver! “

God is the Great Giver! John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

maybe

There’s a another story told about another little boy

one day he came to his mother.

And He said, “Mama, I want a peanut butter sandwich.”

The Mother said ok, she made him a peanut butter sandwich, but then he looked at it and smiled.

He said, “Mama, I asked you for a peanut butter sandwich and you put jelly on it too!”

You know what mercy is? Mercy is when God not only gives you what you asked for, but He adds a little extra on it too. He gives you more than you deserve.631

close

We can call upon the Lord in prayer because we have believed the gospel and been saved! Christians can and should pray! We need to bring our needs to God; we need to make intercession before God; we need to lift up our request to God. How is our prayer life?

Are we praying as we should? Are we asking, seeking, and knocking? Do we give up on praying? Do we have answers to our prayers? What are we asking from God in prayer? What are we seeking from God in prayer? What are we knocking on His door about? Are we persistent in prayer? Do we have power in prayer? Do we believe the promises about prayer?