Teach Us to Pray
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When I was a brand new pastor, I was excited to attend the first prayer meeting with some of the people of the church. The prayer meeting was held at noon at a home, and some of those attending were on their lunch break, and others were retired. I came to the prayer meeting ready with some scripture to read, and was excited to share and pray together with the saints. However, it wasn’t long before rather than looking forward to this prayer time, I started to sort of dread it.
Now, these were people who probably would have said they knew how to pray, but it was less of a prayer meeting and more of a gossip session. When each person arrived at the prayer meeting, they were handed a piece of paper and a pen to write down all of the prayer requests. In the small town, it was almost like a contest to know something someone else didn’t know. When this happened, the one in the know clearly felt a superiority over the others. So for at least 45 minutes, the prayer requests were shared. A guy at the hardware store cut his finger off. Someone was going to rehab. Some had medical details to share. and so it went.
Well, maybe after 45 minutes, the actual praying would start. And sometimes, the ones who had to get back to work had to leave by then, so they were not even there during the prayer! I was amazed at this. But sadly, for many, this is the pattern of their prayer meetings. I decided if I ever led a prayer meeting, it would be different. Thankfully, I had great leaders in our district, and I learned some better ways to lead a prayer meeting.
I think we could all agree that we need more prayer. I’ve never heard any believer confess to having the significant problem of spending too much time in prayer. Yet many people feel they don’t know how to pray. And this was the case with the followers of Jesus as well, because they asked him to teach them how to pray. This was likely because he set the example of prayer, and his ministry had power that resulted from that prayer.
So as we get back to our study of Luke, we are now entering chapter 11, where Jesus speaks on prayer. Of course, we know this as the Lord’s Prayer, but it may be that it should have been titled the Disciple’s Prayer, since Jesus taught it for the purpose of teaching his disciples to pray. Let’s look at Luke 11.1-4
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.”
And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Some of you grew up reciting the Lord’s prayer, and may have noticed that this one is much abbreviated compared to the one from Matthew that is usually recited. It is likely that Jesus taught along these lines on different occasions, and he may not have intended it as a recitation as much as a pattern for how we ought to pray.
In our Sunday morning prayer time, we use the acronym ACTS. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (requests). In the Lord’s Prayer, we find these elements, although Thanksgiving is implicit in the prayer more than explicit.
So let’s go back to the start of this passage and see how, in this case, Jesus has been asked about prayer.
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.”
The disciple who asks this is aware that John (the Baptist) taught his disciples to pray, and other rabbis taught their disciples to pray, so it was natural for this disciple to ask Jesus to teach them to pray. It was a bold request, but not a surprising one. Matthew Henry said “Lord, teach us to pray, is itself a good prayer, and a very needful one, for it is a hard thing to pray well and it is Jesus Christ only that can teach us, by his word and Spirit, how to pray.
What surprises many is the simplicity with which Jesus answered. We know Jesus prayed often lengthy prayers, such as in John17. But he offers this simple outline instead of something with more words. Another rabbi might have told his disciple that to learn to pray, one must study the Psalms, and this certainly would not be a bad place to focus on, because certainly we see some very excellent examples of a devout prayer life in the Psalms.
The most important teachings of Jesus are not complex concepts that require a master’s degree to understand. The most important things do not require years of study to finally comprehend it. The most important lessons Jesus taught were actually quite simple, and this prayer is an example of this. Again, I don’t think Jesus is saying you must repeat this like the pledge of Allegiance, but as an example of the important elements of prayer. So he answers, and this morning, we are only going to focus on the first two lines of the prayer. The first line alone has inspired many volumes of writing and teaching.
And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Father:
Abba (an endearing term; Kent Henry: Abba meant something like “Daddy”—but with a more reverent touch than we use it. The best rendering is “Dearest Father.”
God is referred to as Father only 14 times in OT
Even then, it is not in the personal sense,
referred to the nation, not individuals.
God was Israel’s father, but not referred to as Abraham’s father.
The Jews were so focused on the sovereignty and transcendence of God that they were careful never to repeat his covenant name and invented the word Jehovah (a combination of two separate names of God) to use instead. The distance from God was well guarded.
But when Jesus came on the scene, he addressed God only as “Father.” All his prayers address God as Father. The Gospels record his using Father more than sixty times in reference to God. So striking is this that some scholars maintain that this word Father dramatically captures the difference between the Old and New Testaments. No one had ever in the entire history of Israel spoken and prayed like Jesus. No one!
Hallowed be your name
The Holiness of God
This prayer, and all prayer, should be the true desires of our heart, because it is his heart’s desire.
We should know his name is holy, and declare it to be so.
We should want to see his name lifted higher, revered more, honored.
We should truly want to see him honored in our speech, thoughts, and actions
We do not want his name reviled or misused.
We want to be loyal subjects to our king, and not tolerate any disrespect towards him from ourselves or from others. (Should there be blasphemy laws? God will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain)
Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth “Your Name”
Luther, in his Greater Catechism, asked: “How is it [God’s Name] hallowed amongst us?” Answer: “When our life and doctrine are truly Christian.”
Your Kingdom Come
The New Bible Commentary 10:25–11:13 The Characteristics of Disciples
Your kingdom come. May God’s rule in peace and righteousness swiftly come into effect. This is a prayer for God to act by hastening the coming of the day of the Lord. Only after these petitions are the needs of the petitioner mentioned.
Again, these prayers should be the real cry of our heart.
We want his perfect kingdom to come
In his perfect kingdom, we will be perfect as well! Sinless
We want HIM to reign forever with justice
We want HIS total victory over evil.
And this is what Paul said those who are in Christ desire: Rom8.22-25
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
So we ask for it, we plead with God to bring about his perfection.
Yet, Jesus said the kingdom is here
Already, not yet
We rejoice in Christ’s victory, and look forward to the day when His Kingdom has come fully
Sproul:
A Walk with God: Luke 55. The Priorities of Prayer (Luke 11:2b–4)
God already reigns in heaven, his kingship is manifest to the angels and to those who are there, but the prayer of Jesus is that the reign of God would be recognized, embraced and obeyed on this planet, in the same degree that it exists in heaven. Christ’s last mandate to his church before he departed this world was ‘You shall be my witnesses.’ We are to bear witness to the kingship of Christ, that people in this world would bow before him. For the world, in the final analysis, is not a democracy, but a kingdom. God owns the earth, and reigns over it. He has appointed Jesus as the king of the earth. His kingdom has been established, but the world still exists in rebellion against the appointed king. As Jesus said, ‘Pray that that kingdom will be as manifest on the earth, as it is in heaven.’
The pledge of Allegiance.
In school, we recited it daily, but did we ever contemplate it? Did we ever think deeply about what we were saying, what we were pledging to?
I pledge Allegiance (What is allegiance?)
To the flag (Think of all the meaning in the flag)
what does it meant o pledge to a flag (It represents one’s country)
of the USA
and to the republic (What is a republic?) Many need a civics class so they can understand this concept
One nation, under God (Which God?)
with liberty and justice for all (What does this mean)
The pledge could be exposited line by line, and maybe some would have a greater appreciation if they knew what it stands for.
But the Lord’s Prayer is often recited with as little thought as most give to saying the pledge.
A man asked me why we never say the Lord’s Prayer. But he didn’t know what it really meant. He wanted the tradition of it, but did not want to really pray it.
My goal is that we reexamine our prayer lives, individually, as well as corporately.
The Lord’s Prayer, or the Disciple’s prayer, is a corporate prayer.
Jesus did not teach: “give me my daily bread” “Forgive me my sins” “lead me not…”
Rather “Give us our…” Forgive us our… Lead us not…
