Prayer

Prayer Prayer Scriptures Luke 11:1–13 Romans 8:26-27 Opening Questions: Who should pray? _________________________________ Why pray? _________________________________ The Disciples Request... Luke 11:1–2 NIV 1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Prayer is not something for the spiritual elite, only for those for whom it comes naturally… The passage doesn’t start with “If you Pray” or “For those of you who pray...” Question: Do you have anything that you are good at, that you enjoy, that took a while to master? _______________________________________________ I often here folk worried that their concerns aren’t significant enough to bother God… We can act as though praying for anything less than world peace, than an end to global poverty, is somehow selfish, somehow unimportant.... Father Jesus words to the disciples remind us that God is both: • “Father”… The invitation to pray reminds us that God isn’t distant an uninterested… The disciples are to refer to God in a similar way to how Eve refers to me… God cares for you and for me as his children. • Hallowed… Holy, transcendent… Prayer is a conversation that takes place within this relationship, it is shaped by it… Your child speaking to you, you speaking to a parent… Celebrating, grieving, expressing frustration, this communication might use language, but it isn’t only valid if it has the right format or structure… The way you hear all of these things, the way they are offered, is all shaped by the pre-existing relationship. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:26 PM July 7, 2020. 1 Romans 8:26–27 NIV 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Prayer doesn’t need to sound poetic (As we understand that today), or even religious… Just look at the book of Psalms… These are essentially the prayers of God’s people from the Old Testament time. They contain plenty of worship, joy and celebration, but also grief, anger, despair and vengeance… There are some that would make you all really uncomfortable if we shared them on a Sunday... Discipline: Praying the Psalms. If you don’t know what to pray, pick one Psalm per day and read that. Think about what the writer is saying, what it says about God and their relationship. Does it speak to some experience in your life? Music: There is an Australian group called the “Sons of Korah” who do musical arrangements of the Psalms. You can hear samples of their content at https:// sonsofkorah.com/#music and find them on Spotify, YouTube, etc. Your Kingdom Come… Jesus reminds his disciples that they are to long for the Kingdom of God here and now. They are reminded that following Jesus isn’t just about what happens after you die, but involves longing to see our world transformed, renewed, healed, so that we would see God’s justice, righteousness and love here and now. They are reminded that God’s story as it unfolds throughout scripture isn’t just something that they watch, but something they are to be part of. Sharing this prayer reminds us of our role in seeking to embody something of God’s Kingdom in our lives and in our community here… Luke 11:3 NIV 3 Give us each day our daily bread. Jesus reminds his disciples that they are to be dependent on God’s provision and grace. This reminds us that all we have is from God and should lead us away from placing our Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:26 PM July 7, 2020. 2 trust, our faith, our hope, elsewhere. When we read passages like this we are also reminded that while God seeks to bless and provide for his people, God is not a cosmic vending machine of wealth and riches. This concept of provision depends on being satisfied with what we need for today, and having faith and trust for tomorrow, seeking God’s Kingdom, not our own... Question: What does it look like for you to depend on God for your daily needs? __________________________________ Luke 11:4 NIV 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ” Jesus reminds his disciples that forgiveness and grace isn’t just an optional extra but a core part of who they are to be… It isn’t that through forgiving others, we somehow earn or qualify for God’s grace, but rather we are to demonstrate forgiveness based on the grace and forgiveness that has been shown to us. Perhaps the most powerful witness we can offer to the grace we know through Jesus is showing that same costly forgiveness to others. Question: Can you remember a time when giving or receiving sacrificial forgiveness made a difference? ______________________________________________________ Lead us not into Temptation... Jesus reminds the disciples they will face temptations, challenges and trials. They are not expected to face these on their own, but to seek God’s support and power to do so... Amen... Not a magic word, just our affirmation and response… “So Be it”… :) Pray with Persistence Luke 11:9–13 NIV 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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:26 PM July 7, 2020. 3 son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” God who loves us calls us to prayer… Perhaps more persistently than we would be comfortable with. Give Us, Forgive Us, Lead Us, Save Us… With Persistence... Prayer is not just an individual discipline, but something that we share together as God’s people. Our relationship with God, our times of celebration, hope, grief and loss, all of these things are to be shared together, offered to God together. They form part of our worship, part of our shared journey of following Jesus. Prayer reminds us of who we are as God’s children. Reminds us that God is active in the world if we have the eyes to see it. Reminds us that the task of forgiveness, grace and reconciliation is ours too... May our hearts and minds be shaped and reshaped as we follow Jesus, to pray with persistence for the things of God’s Kingdom and the things we need along the way as we share in embodying it here and now. If you want to go deeper, or study this with others... Group Resource: Before Amen by Max Lucado, 4x 20minute sessions: https:// www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/401786 Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:26 PM July 7, 2020. 4