Prayer | Luke 11:1-13

INTRODUCTION:

Prayer isn't persuading a reluctant God to care; it's about trusting a loving Father who already does.

Luke 11:1 “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.””

Jesus was praying and there was something so appealing about it, so the disciples were like - teach us how to do that!

Could you imagine hearing 2 people of the Trinity talking?

Luke 11:2 “2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.”

Father - personal. Not pretentious.

hallowed be your name - Holy, or your name is different and higher than anything else.

Your Kingdom come - These spiritual disciples flips everything on its head - fasting, solitude.etc…

Luke 11:3 “3 Give us each day our daily bread,”

Now we ask God, but notice, this isn’t the first ask, The first ask was for your kingdom coming. It was spiritual.

Then physical. It’s ok to ask for your needs. But this is needs, not wants.

Daily - not yearly. It is a small daily dependance on God

Luke 11:4 “4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.””

Forgive us our sins - We have already been forgiven, but it is good for us to go back to him.

Forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.

Luke 11:5–6 “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’;”

HAHA - great friend.

This man understood a couple things - that he didn’t have something and he knew his friend had it.

Luke 11:7–8 “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.”

yet because of his impudence he will rise - Because you kept going to him.

If you prayed once, you might not get an answer, but if you keep prayer. God is saying don’t give me REST!

Luke 11:9–10 “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.”

So if you don’t have something, its because you haven’t saught, knocked, and asked for it.

All in present tense - keep asking! There is nothing to small for God to not care about and nothing to big that he can’t handle.

Be the child, be humble enough to be a child that goes to your Dad and asks for help.

Luke 11:11–13 “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!””

For all the parents, you know how much you love your child. You know no matter how much they fail, you still love them. Every good parent loves giving their kids good gifts.

Now God is infinity better than you!

CONCLUSION:

the only person that has the audicity to approach a king in the middle of the night for a cup of water is his small child.

"Prayer isn't another discipline to master; it's a relationship to enjoy."

"If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, needed to pray, how much more do we?" "Prayer begins with a Father before it begins with a request."

"Christian prayer doesn't start with our problems—it starts with God's character."

"The greatest privilege in prayer isn't that God hears your requests; it's that you can call Him Father."

"Prayer is less about getting God's attention and more about enjoying His presence."

"Everything that follows in prayer depends on the first word: Father."

"The first request of prayer isn't 'Help me'; it's 'Honor Your name.'"

Prayer is about making his Kingdom great, not Him making our Kingdom great.

"God gives enough grace for today because He wants us close tomorrow."

"Forgiven people become forgiving people."

"If persistence works on a sleepy neighbor, how much more with a loving Father?"