Prayer: The Believer’s Lifeline Luke 11:1-13

If I walked up to you and asked what you think are the top 5 things a Christian should do to grow in their relationship with Jesus.

You would surely say things like:

Go to Church, Read your bible, Do Good etc.

And I Believe that one of those things in the top 5 category would be that you need to pray.

And that’s what we are going to focus on today.

Prayer is the lifeline for every follower of Jesus.

However, too often we ignore or neglect prayer life.

Why do you think it is?

Is it because we get too busy?

Is it because we don’t feel motivated or have the desire to pray?

Is it because you feel guilty and shameful b/c of your sin?

Is it b/c you don’t think that prayer is effective or even not necessary?

Or maybe, and this is a big one.

You don’t feel well equipped and knowledgeable about how to pray.

Maybe you feel lost when it’s time to commune with God.

I’ve got some good news for you Jesus has addressed this for us.

And that’s what we are going to look at this morning.

We are going to look at Jesus’ teaching on how to pray.

And before we get there, Let’s go to him with a word of prayer.

Luke 11:1 CSB

1 He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

Teach Us

Jesus was praying.

This shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus is in constant prayer throughout Luke’s Gospel.

This is the first point I want us to emphasize. I know I’ve said it a dozen times, but sometimes it’s that 13th time that it really sinks in.

If Jesus sought to pray and commune with the Father, than we should too.

If it was important enough for Jesus to stop, get quiet, and pray. Thank it’s important for us too.

No Less than 11 times are we told by Luke that Jesus went to pray.

Then there were about 8 instances where Jesus teaches or exhorts people to pray.

So he is leading by example and teaching the importance of prayer.

The disciples saw Jesus’ prayer life.

They were influenced by Jesus’ prayer life.

So they asked him to teach them how to pray.

John taught his disciples to pray, so Jesus should teach his also.

Here’s what’s going on.

The disciples are asking for a community prayer.

What is a community prayer.

It’s a prayer that is distinct and particular to a group of people.

One of the things that Jesus is doing is creating a new community of followers who are to demonstrate his life and his teachings to others.

The Jewish People have what’s called “The Eighteen Benedictions”

Apparently, John had a specific prayer for his disciples, too.

Now Jesus’ followers want to pray like Jesus.

So something that would mark out these disciples as his own is this request is about about.

They witness Jesus’ vibrant prayer life and they want something like that.

They want to be in communion with God in a special way.

They wanted to be distinct from the world around them.

And this prayer would be one way to do that.

This is the only time that Jesus receives a request on how to pray.

And he’s happy to obliged.

Now this prayer is often called the Lord’s prayer, but I want us to know that though the Lord gives it, a more accurate title would be “the Disciple’s Prayer.”

The prayer that Jesus gives is for those who are following after him.

So what does Jesus teach them?

Luke 11:2–4 CSB

2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.”

The Disciple’s Prayer

Jesus begins with the assumption that they are going to pray.

“Whenever you pray”

Not if you pray, but when you pray.

It’s almost as if it is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus and not pray.

We can’t follow Jesus.

Live like Jesus.

and be like Jesus if we neglect prayer.

If prayer was essential for Jesus it is even more essential for us.

Our lives should be steeped in prayer.

The first and most obvious thing that sticks out about this prayer is how similar and how different it is from Matthew’s version that we read earlier.

This has caused some issues and conversations with people in the past.

I just want to say that Jesus was a traveling preacher.

He said the same things in different ways all the time.

On top of that, he had to repeat himself a lot to the disciples.

Why? B/c they were dense.

So sometimes things may not perfectly align b/c they were at different times and in different circumstances.

To highlight this here, In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is teaching and starts teaching about prayer.

Where the circumstance here is the Disciples approach him and ask about it.

It’s not a big deal. So if you thought it was I can assure you it’s not.

They mean the same thing.

Before we dive deeper into the prayer proper I want to highlight two things real quick.

These prayers were meant to act as guidelines or signposts for how to pray.

The words don’t have to exactly match.

It’s about the attitude of the heart more than the words being spoken.

This is a model prayer. A way to pray

Think of it as a formula for prayer.

These elements are needed for a prayer that honors God.

Second, I am not saying that these prayers can’t be repeated.

I am not saying that you can’t just memorize Jesus’ prayer and pray it.

However, don’t simply rely on rote memorization.

But actually mean what you say.

Again this goes back to the heart of the matter.

If all you are doing is saying words, then you are missing the point.

So repeat these prayers often and use them as guidelines for your own prayer life.

After all they are instructions from Jesus, so they come from a trustworthy source.

Luke 11:5–8 CSB

5 He also 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 of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Parable of Prayer

Luke 11:9–10 CSB

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Luke 11:11–13 CSB

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 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?”

Good Father