Pentecost 10 (5)
Notes
Transcript
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. 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.’ ” 5 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, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 “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.’ 8 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. 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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your 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!”
You may or may not be familiar with “Genie in the Bottle” jokes. In most cases someone finds a bottle, rubs it , and out comes a genie offering them three wishes. The wisher hardly ever gets exactly what they want as the genie is malevolent and uses a literal interpretation of the wish to bring evil or misfortune on the wisher. Most of those jokes are inappropriate for polite society but this one illustrates the point.
A husband and wife in their sixties were coming up on their 40th wedding anniversary. Knowing his wife loved antiques, he bought a beautiful old brass oil lamp for her. When she unwrapped it, a genie appeared. He thanked them and gave each of them one wish. The wife wished for an all expenses paid, first class, around the world cruise with her husband. Shazam! Instantly she was presented with tickets for the entire journey, plus expensive side trips, dinners, shopping, etc. The husband, however, wished he had a female companion who was 30 years younger. Shazam! Instantly he turned 93 years old.
I seriously doubt that the people in Jesus’ day had “Genie in the bottle” jokes but it does seem as though there were some who were suspicious about God’s willingness or ability to grant the requests of his children. I say this because of the assurances that Jesus’ makes in Luke 11 when he teaches his disciples about prayer. From Jesus’ teachings we can be reassured that our God is a Giver of Good Gifts to His Children and that he grants them as he answers our prayers.
Prayer has always been a very important part of a believer’s relationship with God. We believe that God has spoken to us (Hebrews 1).
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
We also believe that God hears and answers our communication toward him.
1 Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
Examples of people praying.
Abraham for Abimelech.
Isaac for a wife — Rebekah.
Jacob for rescue from Esau.
Moses to remove plagues
Hannah for a son.
Psalms is a book of prayers.
237 references to prayer in the NIV.
Therefore, it may seem odd that Jesus’ disciples are asking Jesus to teach them how to pray since prayer has been such an integral part of a believer’s relationship with God for thousands of years. (Research).
Luke Jesus Teaches His Disciples About Prayer / 11:1–13 / 134
11:1 Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Once again, Jesus had been out praying. Luke has presented several instances where Jesus was praying, making it clear that prayer was a regular part of his life (3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28–29; 18:1; 22:41, 44). Something about Jesus’ prayer life prompted one of his disciples to approach him as he finished. This disciple wanted Jesus to teach them to pray, just as John taught his disciples. It was common for religious leaders to teach their followers how to pray. Being taught how to pray meant that the followers had a certain solidarity with their teacher and that their prayers were expressing the teacher’s basic teachings. The disciples had been learning from and experiencing so much with Jesus. To be able to pray as their Master prayed would give them assurance of expressing themselves correctly to God. The following verses focus on three aspects of prayer: its content (11:2–4), believers’ persistence (11:5–10), and God’s faithfulness (11:11–13).
In response, Jesus taught the most well known and beloved of prayers that is still used today.
Address our prayers to the true God. (All other prayers are in fact a form of idolatry since prayer is an act of worship).
Be heavy on the spiritual things that really matter and light on material possessions and temporal circumstances.
Jesus then continues with several aspects of prayer that are note worthy.
Be Bold in Your Prayers (The Parable of the Persistent Widow)
5 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, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 “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.’ 8 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.
I think this is something we are instinctive about but that at times we get away from it. Illustration: Have you ever had a child (your own, a grand child, or one under your care) who asks for something and you initial response is “No”? What did the child do? That child probably did not give up and you gave in because of their persistence.
I benefitted from such persistence just the other day. For some reason I suddenly found myself a caretaker for a very cute and friendly kitten. That kitten was persistent in seeking affection and food so I gave in. But we aren’t really cat people. So I took Smokey to the neighbors and asked them if they wanted her. The neighbor at first said “No”. But trusting in the value of persistence, I was able to pester her into adding another cat to her collection on the farm. (I think this is kind of the same way my little sister once got a pony from my dad.)
Well, Jesus isn’t teaching us to be pests, but he does emphasize the power of persistence. The difference is that God is more willing to give than we are to ask and he grants our prayers out of purer motives. You may also recall the parable of the Persistent Widow which Jesus taught.
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
The next verse in our text offers hope and a promise for those who keep on praying. The tense in these verses emphasizes repetitive action.
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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
A similar statement would be “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try and try again.” That statement emphasizes one’s own abilities. Jesus’ statement emphasizes God’s willingness to answer and that we should not become discouraged if we don’t receive his answer immediately.
Trust that Your Prayers will be Answered.
One important reason we pray to God is that we believe that there is a God who hears our prayers and that he does indeed give attention to his children and does answer. Otherwise, prayer would be quite useless. Although some studies show a certain amount of benefit to our brain from praying, the real power of prayer is that it taps into the source of help who is God.
First, engaging in 12 minutes of personal reflection and prayer each day makes a profound impact on our brain. It strengthens a unique neural circuit that specifically enhances our social awareness and empathy and helps us love our neighbor by developing a heightened sense of compassion and subduing negative emotions.
Jesus doesn’t teach us to prayer so our brains are enhanced, he teaches us to prayer because our heavenly Father loves to answer prayer. And he does it in ways that are for our good.
God is not like a mythical malevolent genie. He gives good gifts.
Jesus does not use the example of a genie giving out literal gifts that harm the wisher, he uses an example of how people who care for others will answer their requests with things for their good.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your 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!”
Some of the things we asked for as children were not in our best interest. Hopefully, our parents recognized that and gave us what we needed instead. Not all of our prayers to God are for our best — they may be selfish, ignore the needs of others, or attempts to avoid lessons that are being taught. But we can be confident that God’s answers are best for us.
God gives the Holy Spirit.
In these words, Jesus revealed the heart of God the Father. God is not selfish, begrudging, or stingy; his followers don’t have to beg or grovel when they come with their requests. He is a loving Father who understands, cares, comforts, and willingly gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Because the Holy Spirit is God’s highest gift and he will not refuse giving him to those who ask, believers can trust in God’s provision for all their lesser needs as well. How much better the perfect heavenly Father treats his children! The most important gift he could ever give is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–4), whom he promised to give all believers after his death, resurrection, and return to heaven (John 15:26).
Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997). Luke (p. 293). Tyndale House Publishers.