Following His Steps in Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Most Christians would say prayer is important, but many quietly struggle with it.

We often feel too busy, too distracted, too overwhelmed, or too discouraged to pray the way we want to.

Yet when we look at Jesus, prayer was not something He squeezed into His life.

It was the center of His life.

The disciples watched Him pray early in the morning.

They watched Him pray late at night.

They watched Him pray before choosing the disciples.

They watched Him pray before miracles.

And the more they watched Him pray, the more they realized, “We don’t pray like that.”

They never said, “Lord, teach us to preach,” or, “Lord, teach us to do miracles.”

They said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

They were not asking for a technique.

They were asking to enter the heart of Jesus’ relationship with the Father.

E. M. Bounds said, “Prayer makes a godly man and puts within him the mind of Christ.”

If we want to follow His steps, we must learn to follow Him into the place of prayer.

In Luke 11, Jesus gives us a pattern to follow, a persistence to practice, and a promise to believe.

I. The Pattern of Prayer

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

This model prayer is not something to recite mechanically.

It is a roadmap for our hearts.

It teaches us what to value and how to approach God.

A. A God-Centered Priority in Prayer

Jesus begins with the words, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”

Prayer begins with worship, not worry.

Before our needs come into view, God’s greatness comes into view.

He is our Father, which speaks of nearness and love.

He is holy, which speaks of majesty and power.

When we start prayer with worship, our anxieties begin to lose their grip.

Charles Spurgeon once told of a night when he was overwhelmed with ministry pressures.

He said he felt crushed under a weight he could not name.

Instead of beginning with his fears, he began worshipping God.

He later said, “I looked at God, and the whole creation seemed to me to be but a bubble.”

The fears that felt enormous suddenly became small.

Worship will always shrink worry.

I have sat with people in my office whose minds were racing and whose hearts were trembling.

When they shifted from rehearsing their fears to praising their Father, something changed.

Not always the situation, but always their spirit.

Worship restores perspective.

B. A God-Directed Purpose in Prayer

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy kingdom come.”

Here, we yield our agendas to God’s agenda.

We lay down our plans and ask God to align our hearts with His.

Matthew 6:33 reminds us that when the kingdom is first, everything else falls into place.

Matthew 6:33 KJV

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

A kingdom-first Christian prays, “Lord, I want what You want, even if it means You must change what I want.”

This prayer brings spiritual order to a chaotic heart.

Think of a believer deciding whether to take a new job.

One prayer says, “Lord, make this work out.”

The other says, “Lord, if this does not advance Your kingdom in my life, close the door.”

The first prayer seeks convenience.

The second prayer seeks the kingdom.

C. A Grace-Dependent Provision in Prayer

Jesus says, “Give us day by day our daily bread.”

This teaches dependence, not demand.

God supplies our needs in daily portions to cultivate daily trust.

Exodus 16:4 KJV

4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

God gave manna each morning because God wanted Israel to return to Him each day.

Many Christians want God to supply a year’s worth of strength at once.

But God wants us to walk with Him daily.

A Christian woman was battling cancer.

She once said, “God hasn’t given me grace for next month, but He gives me enough for today.”

She said, “It comes every morning like manna.”

What a great truth!

Her testimony echoes Jesus’ teaching.

God gives bread for today.

He will give bread tomorrow when tomorrow becomes today.

D. A Sin-Confessing Posture in Prayer

Jesus says, “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.”

Prayer cannot flourish where sin is hidden or bitterness is nurtured.

1 John 1:9 promises cleansing and restoration through confession.

1 John 1:9 KJV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Unconfessed sin creates distance from God.

Unforgiveness creates darkness in the heart.

In every ministry I’ve served, bitterness has quietly choked more spiritual lives than almost any other issue.

I have seen hearts thaw and burdens lift when someone honestly forgives.

Forgiveness is not excusing what happened.

It is releasing what is poisoning the soul.

E. A Protection-Seeking Passion in Prayer

Jesus tells us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

This is the prayer of humility.

It says, “Lord, I am weak, and I need You.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 promises a way of escape from every temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Prayer helps us see that escape.

A prayerless Christian is vulnerable.

A praying Christian is guarded.

Many falls into sin begin with these words: “I’ll be fine.”

But the believer who prays, “Lord, protect my steps today,” experiences God’s shield in a way that prideful self-confidence never will.

Jesus has given us a pattern to follow.

But knowing how to pray is only half the battle.

The other half is sticking with it.

So Jesus moves from the content of prayer to the commitment of prayer.

II. The Persistence of Prayer

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Jesus tells a midnight story to show how persistence works in real prayer.

A man knocks at his friend’s house at midnight asking for bread.

The timing is inconvenient.

The door is shut.

The children are asleep.

But the man keeps knocking.

Not because his friend is generous, but because persistence moves him.

Jesus is not saying God is like the irritated neighbor.

He is saying God is far better.

A. A Bold Persistence That Does Not Quit

Jesus uses the word “importunity,” meaning shameless persistence.

This is the prayer that refuses to give up in discouragement.

In Luke 18:1 Jesus teaches a parable to teach them something particular…

Luke 18:1 KJV

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Most Christians faint long before God stops working.

When Hudson Taylor was beginning the China Inland Mission, funds were low, workers were discouraged, and obstacles seemed endless.

One night he prayed until sunrise.

He said, “I could not stop until I believed God would not fail His work.”

The next day, unexpected funds arrived.

Taylor wrote, “God always gives the best gifts to those who leave the choice with Him.”

Persistence is not pestering God.

It is trusting God.

B. A Confident Practice of Asking, Seeking, and Knocking

Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock.

Each word grows stronger.

Asking is speaking.

Seeking is acting.

Knocking is continuing.

James 4:2 says,

James 4:2 KJV

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Sometimes we lack simply because we never asked.

The door stays closed because we never knocked.

A believing couple once prayed for their prodigal son for nearly fifteen years.

They prayed through rebellion, anger, jail time, and silence.

One day the son showed up at church and walked the aisle with tears in his eyes.

Someone asked the parents, “What changed his heart?”

They said, “God used our prayers.”

Long obedience in prayer brings long-term miracles.

C. A Clear Promise of Response

Jesus says everyone who asks receives.

Everyone who seeks finds.

Everyone who knocks will find the door opened.

God never ignores His children.

1 John 5:14 KJV

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

In other words: God hears the prayers aligned with His will.

Sometimes God’s greatest mercies come disguised as “No” or “Wait.”

There are prayers I begged God to answer in certain ways.

Now, years later, I thank God He said no.

He was protecting me from what I could not see.

Persistence makes sense only if the One we pray to is good.

So Jesus finishes with a picture of the Father’s heart.

III. The Promise of the Father

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Jesus goes to the familiar world of parenting.

Even flawed parents know how to give good gifts.

If that’s true of sinful human fathers, how much more is it true of our perfect Heavenly Father?

A. A Father Better Than Earthly Parents

Jesus says no father gives a stone instead of bread or a serpent instead of a fish.

Even sinful parents know how to give good things.

Hebrews 12:9 teaches us that God’s fatherly care is perfect.

Hebrews 12:9 KJV

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

D. L. Moody once spoke of giving his daughter a gift.

She tore into the wrapping, squealed with joy, and ran off without saying thank you.

Moody smiled and said, “It hurt a little, but it didn’t change my love.”

If flawed parents love like that, imagine the perfect love of God.

He does not wait for perfect words before He listens.

He delights in His children even when they forget to say thank you.

B. A Father Who Gives What Is Truly Good

Sometimes we ask for things that feel urgent and necessary.

But God sees further than we do.

We ask for what seems like bread, but God sees it is actually a stone.

We ask for what looks like a harmless fish, but God knows it would strike us like a serpent.

Romans 8:28 KJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God refuses to give us anything that would harm our walk with Him.

A young man prayed desperately for a relationship to work out.

He believed she was “the one.”

When it ended, he was crushed.

Years later he said, “I thank God He didn’t let me marry into disaster.”

God’s “no” is often a deeper “yes” we do not yet understand.

C. A Father Who Gives the Greatest Gift—The Holy Spirit

Jesus says the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask.

The greatest answer to prayer is not a changed circumstance but a changed heart.

Galatians 5:22–23 shows the result in our lives when the Holy Spirit is present and working!

Galatians 5:22–23 KJV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We ask God to fix problems.

God often answers by forming Christ within us.

I have sat with people who asked God to remove their trials.

Instead, God gave them peace, patience, courage, and even joy in the midst of the trial.

God gave them Himself.

That was the greater gift.

Conclusion

When the disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray,” they were asking Jesus to teach them how to live.

Jesus gave them a pattern so they would know what to pray.

He gave them a call to persistence so they would know how long to pray.

He gave them a promise of the Father so they would know whom they were praying to.

Maybe tonight your prayer life feels weary.

Maybe discouragement has caused you to stop asking.

Maybe doubt has muted your seeking.

Maybe delay has caused you to stop knocking.

Jesus invites you again.

Not to a ritual.

Not to a formula.

But to a relationship.

A Father who says, “Ask.”

A Father who says, “Seek.”

A Father who says, “Knock.”

A Father who gives what is best even when we do not understand it.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more.”

If we want to follow His steps, we must follow Him into the place of prayer.

So I challenge you this week.

Set aside a daily time to pray through this pattern.

Begin with God’s greatness.

Surrender to His kingdom.

Depend on His provision.

Confess your sins.

Seek His protection.

Then ask.

Then seek.

Then knock.

Because you do not pray to a distant Judge.

You pray to a loving Father.

And that changes everything.