2007-02-25 - How to Pray - Luke 11 1-13

Message: How to Pray Newport Baptist Church

Scr: Luke 11:1-13 Date: 2007-02-25

Intro: A number of years ago, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks did a popular series of comedy sketches called the "2000-Year-Old Man." These sketches developed into several hilarious albums. The premise has Carl Reiner interviewing Mel Brooks playing the 2000-year-old man and inquiring concerning life way back when. At one point, Reiner asks the old man, "Did you always believe in God?"

· Brooks replies, "No. We had a guy in our village named Phil, and for a time we worshiped him."

· Reiner wonders, "You worshiped a guy named Phil? Why?" "Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands!"

· The interviewer asks, "Did you have prayers?"

· Brooks answers, "Yes, would you like to hear one? -- 'O Phil, please don't be mean, and hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.' "

· Reiner: "So when did you start worshiping God?"

· "Well, one day a big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, "There's somethin' bigger than Phil!"

question: How many of you would like a guarantee that God would answer your prayers?

Informal poll this morning

How many of you pray at every meal (in public too?)
How many of you pray other than at mealtimes
How many of you pray more than once a day
How many of you pray when bad things happen
How many of you pray when good things happen?
How many of you find it hard to pray?

“God is great and God is good, let us thank him for our food Amen.”

Explanation – There was a tradition among disciples to pray as their master prayed. So the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”

· The fact that Jesus had to pray while He was ministering here on earth is proof that we need to pray. Jesus prayed all the time!

· Jesus prayed at His baptism (3:21), before He chose the Twelve (6:12), at the Transfiguration (9:28), before He was arrested (22:40–44), on the cross (23:46), and at other times. The Twelve soon learned the importance of prayer.

· “The Lord’s Prayer” should probably be called “The Disciples’ Prayer,” because it contains things that did not pertain to the Lord Jesus.

· This is a “pattern prayer” that helps us organize our prayer burdens so that they are aligned with the will of God.

· Note that the pronouns referring to believers are all plural, for this is a “family prayer.”

· We may pray in solitude (Matt. 6:6), but we do not pray alone, for we are a part of “the whole family” (Eph. 3:14–15).

· According to the outline Jesus gives us, when we pray, we must put God’s concerns first (v. 2) before we come with our requests (vv. 3–4).

TS –

Jesus taught them two things. First, The language of prayer. How should we pray? Second, The lessons from prayer. What is required and what will happen.

teaching a three-year old the Lord's Prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

The very fact that Jesus taught them how to pray suggests that there are wrong ways to pray. Jesus wants us to connect with our Father and so he teaches us the language of prayer.

1. The language of prayer (11:1–4): In Luke’s account, Jesus lists four elements in prayer.

a. Worship (11:2): “May your name be honored.”

(1) Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary, Bill Moyers, was saying grace at a staff lunch, and the President shouted, “Speak up, Bill! I can’t hear a thing!” Moyers quietly replied, “I wasn’t addressing you, Mr. President.” It is good to remind ourselves that when we pray, we talk to God.

(2) Your Kingdom Come

1. Already – in Jesus Christ

2. Not Yet – will be fulfilled when Jesus returns

(3) Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

1. Responsibilities – Play illustrates this – it begins with me!

a. Honour God’s kingdom

b. Do God’s will, NOT mine.

c. God’s will always aligns with his word!

2. Then requests!

b. Requests (11:3) : “Give us our food day by day.”

(1) Three kinds of requests

1. physical

2. moral

3. direction

c. Confession (11:4a): “Forgive us our sins.”

(1) We must also forgive!

d. Dependence (11:4b): “Don’t let us yield to temptation.”

(1) Blaming God for our choices.

(2) He’ll give you the wisdom to avoid it, but he won’t make you use it.

Language of Prayer is: worship, requests, confession and dependence. Worship God, make known your requests, confess your sins and acknowledge your need of him for daily life.

Jesus wanted his disciples to know this, know it deeply. So what lessons can we learn from prayer?

A young man is playing golf with a pastor. At a short hole the pastor asks, "What are you going to use on this hole son?"

The young man says, "An eight iron, How about you?"

The pastor says, "I'm going to hit a soft seven and pray."

The young man hits his eight iron and puts the ball on the green. The pastor tops his 7 iron and dribbles the ball out a few yards.

The young man says, "I don't know about you father, but in my church when we pray, we keep our head down."

Simply praying isn’t enough, Prayer changes things. Prayer changes us. But we must open ourselves up to those changes. Prayer connects us with an infinite God and as it does we will inevitably end up changed. – Play – God’s attitude – now we are getting somewhere

2. The lessons from prayer (11:5–13)

a. Requirements (11:5–8): Successful prayer demands persistence. We need to ask, seek, and knock in prayer.

(1) God is not the grouchy friend that doesn’t want to help. He is the opposite!

1. When God’s people pray, his reputation is at stake – we should be shameless in calling on him so that he can glorify his name.

(2) That’s how the world learns that God can be trusted – through his answers to our prayers.

1. (5:9-10 )Ask – keep on asking, seek, Knock.

2. Message version – 9&10 - 9 “Here’s what I’m saying:

3. Ask and you’ll get; Seek and you’ll find; Knock and the door will open. “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in.

(3) Ill – ever prayed and God answered the prayer – God I need a job… afterwards, “boy I sure worked hard to find a job!”

1. Prayer is not an attempt to change God’s mind (Thy will be done!) but to get ourselves to the place where he can trust us with the answer!

b. Results (11:11–13): Prayer is ALWAYS ANSWERED

(1) Even sinful earthly fathers give good gifts to their children when they ask (11:11–12).

1. My kids will tell you two things. I’m definitely not perfect. In fact, I’m a sinful, earthly father. They’ll also tell you that I give good gifts.

(2) How much more will the heavenly Father give to his children when they ask (11:13) !

1. True prayer is based on sonship and not friendship. This is not a parable teaching “persistence in prayer” (although that is an important factor) but the willingness of God to care for His own. If a weary, stubborn neighbor finally helps his friend, how much more will a loving Heavenly Father (who never sleeps) meet the needs of His own children! Yes, we should “keep on asking, seeking, and knocking,” not to break down God’s resistance but to reveal to Him our great concern that His will be done. It has well been said, “The purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in heaven but to get God’s will done on earth.”

Conclusion – Friends. Some of you have prayed over the years and been amazed. Some have been disappointed, disillusioned, frustrated. Some didn’t even know how to start.

I want to tell you something today. God always answers prayer. Three answers. Yes. No. Wait. All of them are a gift from God to his children.

Jesus understood the power of prayer, but he also knew that his disciples needed to know the right way to pray.

I don’t think the order matters, but the Language of Prayer is: worship, requests, confession and dependence. The only requirement is that we ask, God’s promise is that he will answer.

Close with Lord’s Prayer together.

Prayer –