Ask. Seek. Knock.

Intro: Teach us to Pray

Illustration: “Certified YouTube Mechanic”

As we look at the text, the disciple asked an important question and we need to understand how it was asked

Literally he said: “Lord, teach us to be praying.” He did not say, “Teach us how to pray,” though that may be implied.

One can only learn to pray by praying. Reading good books on prayer will help. But just as one could read a book on how to drive a car and yet be unable to drive, so one might study a dozen books on prayer and not know how to pray.

In Luke, Jesus’ instruction and teaching on prayer is in the midst of conflict.

Jesus and the disciples were under the constant critical eye of the Pharisees.

There is the conflict of the disciples in 9:46 regarding who is the greatest.

In 9:51, we find the Samaritans not welcoming him

It was customary in Jewish rabbinic culture for rabbis to teach short prayers to their disciples. John the Baptist must have done the same.

I can’t help but think there might have been a little more behind their request.

illustration of asking my dad or grandpa how to do ____.

The disciples saw Jesus do this often and I’m sure desired the same connectedness to the Father.

Importance of addressing God as Father

It was unusual for Jews to refer to God as Father. Such an address would seem too personal and familiar.

Jesus had this connection with God and desired the same for his disciples and for us.

Prayer is the privilege of having an intimate relationship with God.

Prayer acknowledges and cultivates that relationship.

Prayer is encouraged when you understand that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17, italics added).

God chooses to call us His children, which gives us the privilege to call Him our Father.

This passage gives us three important aspects of prayer - The content, persistence, and the faithfulness of God

Model For Prayer (The Content)

Luke 11:2–4 NIVUK84

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ”

Praise (“hallowed be your name”)

This prayer model that Jesus gives us begins with praise

Praising God first puts us in the right frame of mind to tell God about our needs.

Has your idea of your “needs” changed as you begin to praise and express thankfulness to God?

The will of God be carried out (“your kingdom come”)

When we pray for the coming of the kingdom, we are identifying with the message of Jesus.

Our daily prayer should include inviting God to set up His rule in our lives and in our world. Your kingdom come (Luke 11:2) is the desire of every sincere Christian.

We work pretty hard in our feeble attempts to control ourselves and the things around us - establishing our own little kingdoms.

But the condition of our world shows us the disaster caused by the kingdoms that rival the kingdom of God.

We should instead pray that the rule of God will come and be realized in our lives and our world.

3. Provision (“Give us each day our daily bread”)

The Greek word translated daily is epiousion. Its meaning is uncertain. There has been found just one occurrence of it in secular Greek.

Scholars call attention to several interpretations which have been offered: (1) “necessary for existence”; (2) “for today”; (3) “for the following day.”

How we can read this verse with the emphasis that appears to be intended: “Continue to give us day by day.”

God’s provision is daily, not all at once. We cannot store it up and then cut off communication with God.

This “day by day” relying and coming to the Father reminds me of the Israelites in the desert.

a. What was God wanting the Israelites to learn about him in the desert? He wanted them to learn to trust him daily for their needs.

b. How does this look for us today?

Have you noticed that our reliance on God suffers when we have abundance?

But yet, how do we tend to pray or come to God? If we are honest it is often in times of desperation - when nothing else has worked.

When we are all out of our own strength or resources...

The call here is not to be self-satisfied.

If you are running low on strength, ask yourself—how long have I been away from the Source?

Something else that comes to mind as we are asking God for our daily needs…probably our greatest need is His mercy and forgiveness.

4. Forgiveness (“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”)

We may think we can earn our daily bread by working hard, but there is no work we can do that will earn forgiveness. For that, we must throw ourselves on the mercy and grace of God.

When we ask for forgiveness of our sins to God, it is an expression of faith that He will do so. The evidence of our faith is shown when we forgive others.

Us to God

Us with others

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God.

God has forgiven our sins; we must now forgive those who have wronged us.

To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven.

Think of some people who have wronged you.

Have you forgiven them?

How will God deal with you if he treats you as you treat others?

5. Strengthen us to recognize and stand against temptation and sin (“And lead us not into temptation.”)

The meaning is that Jesus’ followers are to pray that they be delivered from situations that would cause them to sin.

We tend to be easily drawn into sin. So, as Jesus followers, need to ask God for help to live righteous lives.

Beyond our concern that we have forgiveness for our sins should be an equal or greater concern that we not fall into sin through temptations, so our prayer should include the petition “and lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4).

We need the Holy Spirit to keep us sensitive to temptation’s presence.

We need God’s help in strengthening the discipline of daily prayer that will keep us strong in our fight against the schemes of the devil.

All of these elements of the Lord’s Prayer build on top of the other. No element can really stand without the foundation and connection of the others.

Be Boldly Persistent

Luke 11:5–8 NIVUK84

Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

This is one of the many parables found only in Luke. It is also one of the three parables on prayer. The other two are in 18:1–14.

In Israel’s culture of hospitality, hosts were expected to feed their guests.

The image is one of a single-room house or a dwelling where the sleeping quarters were confined to one room—usually on an elevated platform above the main floor. A quilt-like pad would be placed on the dirt floor, the whole family would lie down on it, and a big blanket would be pulled over them all.

To meet the friend’s request would cause the entire family to be disturbed.

The point of this story is that shameless boldness pays off.

In fact, the Greek word for persistence means “shamelessness.”

The lesson of this parable is obvious—the need of persistence in prayer.

The teaching is not a nagging, repetitious way of praying.

It is not a prayer of harassing God to get the answer we want.

Then Jesus makes this application: Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

This is a prayer of urgency, seriousness and boldness aligned with God’s purpose.

The three words seem to suggest degrees of intensity in prayer.

If I should ask, and seemingly not receive an answer, I should become more earnest and seek. If the answer still does not appear; then in desperation I should knock until I get results.

This is earnest, definite, desperate praying, and every Christian should face the challenge of it.

Luke 18:1-8

This teaching of daily persistence in prayer is reinforced later in Luke’s Gospel.

Luke 18:1–8 NIVUK84

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

But, as with the story of the widow and the judge in 18:1–8, it must not be understood that God is like the resistant judge in the story.

If bold persistence is rewarded even by someone who is against granting our request, how much more so will God, who cares about his children, delight in responding generously to our persistent prayers.

Persistence, or boldness, in prayer overcomes our insensitivity, not God’s.

To practice persistence does more to change our hearts and minds than his, and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our need.

Understanding the Good and Faithful Heart of God

Luke 11:9–13 NIVUK84

“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. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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!”

How do we view God?

As a good father who desires his best for his children?

Do we believe that?

Do you know what the greatest cause of an unanswered prayer is? It is one that is unasked!

God has committed himself to care for His children in ways that bring ultimate good to us and glory to Him.

This may not result in the kind of answers to our prayers that we anticipate, but when we look in the rearview mirror of life, the answers will testify to us that He has been faithful.

Jesus encourages us, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (11:9).

When we ask, seek, and knock, the gift of the Holy Spirit should be at the top of our prayer list.

God will not fail to answer that prayer!

God is good and He desires good for us. The best gift He could ever give us is the gift of himself.

Prayer is a statement about our belief in God and our view of Him. What we pray for is a statement about us and our view of what we consider most valuable.

Close with reading the prayer by phrase, pausing for people to reflect at each phrase:

Father - significance in being able to address God in this way

Hallowed be your name - the name of God set apart and worthy to be praised

Give us each day our daily bread - Coming to God, day by day. He is your supply

Forgive us our sins, - keep your account with God short. Ask for a sensitivity to sin.

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us - who do you need to forgive, or work to forgive today?

And lead us not into temptation - strengthen us to recognize and stand against temptation and sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit