| Full Text Sermon | Notes on the Text | Alternate Sermon Ideas | Prayers & Readings | Sunday July 26, 1998 ~ Luke 11:1-13 How To Pray Through The Ceiling "The family that prays together stays together." A recent study reports that the majority of of elementary school children will live in at least three different families before finishing eighth grade. (Family of origin and families with step-parents) You might conclude that either -- praying together doesn't mean staying together, or that there is not a whole lot of "praying together" going on these days! "Prayer changes things." Scott O'Grady believes that. Scott and his family and friends went through a time when they were really trusting that prayer could change things. (Scott O’Grady is the young Air Force pilot who was shot down over Bosnia and spent six terrifying days trying to avoid capture.) After he was rescued in a daring mission, he was very quick to give the credit to God and said to the people at his first news conference, "I could feel your prayers!" Scott and his family were grateful for prayer that seemed to get results. But there are others like the unemployed young man who prayed for months that he would find a job in his field and no job was forthcoming. Or there is a couple who prayed for a child and spent countless thousands of dollars trying to conceive a child and there was no child. And have any of us not seen the face of a mother on television pleading for the return of a kidnapped child? Your prayers more than likely joined with hers... "Please God, let this child be safe!" There are times in all of our lives when we wonder through the heartbreak and the tears if our prayers are making it past the ceiling. We pray and plead and beg and cry out for an answer. Our hearts join the heart of the Psalmist who cries out, "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping...[6:6] or... My tears have been my food day and night... [42:3]" You have had those times -- have you not? Times when like the Psalmist, you cry out to God. And in those times, you come to discover that there is prayer and then there is prayer. In other words, there is casual prayer of the, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." or, "Come Lord Jesus be our guest..." variety and then there is heart wrenching prayer of the, "Please let our son Scott be rescued in Bosnia," variety. A casual approach to prayer is reflected in the story of children who were discussing prayer with their pastor during a children's sermon. "I asked the children if they said their prayers at night," the pastor reported. "One young lad said, 'No, that’s my mother’s job.' Another little girl said, 'Yes, I do ... every single night.' -- 'And do you ever say a prayer in the morning' the pastor asked? Looking a little surprised, she answered, 'No, of course not! I’m not afraid in the morning!' Still another child who was asked if he had said his evening prayers the night before answered, 'No, I didn’t want anything last night!'" Then there is the prayer that you really want to pray and find so hard to come up with. Rev. John Powell, (of "Why Am I Afraid To Tell You Who I Am? - fame) spoke to a gathering of local church people and very candidly told them about the night his father died and the anguish he was experiencing, "Here I was a priest and I didn't know how to pray for my own father!" Can you relate? Even though you have times when you pray and perhaps even lead prayer time at church -- do you ever have times when you feel a sense of -- "I wish I could "really" pray!" Jesus' disciples had a time when they wanted to learn how to pray. It isn't that they didn't know about daily prayers and the prayers all Jewish children learn at synagogue. At this point in Jesus' ministry, the disciples likely had connected the prayer life of their Master with the power of the Master's ministry. On this occasion, it seems they came upon Jesus in one of his usual prayer times at one of his usual places and say in effect, "Lord, teach us to pray... we know about prayers and reciting prayers, but teach us to really pray." Jesus' response translates into an amazing formula which weaves together seemingly unrelated strands in today's scripture. Priorities in prayer + Persistence in prayer = Power in prayer! *** I. Priorities in Prayer The very first thing Jesus teaches his disciples is to "put first things first." "The first thing you must do is to line up your priorities." The Lord's prayer is a "mind set", by praying these words, we set our minds on the proper course. 1. First and foremost, God is your Father. The central fact of your existence is your relationship with God. 2. Secondly, God is holy. Worship God and God only. Begin your prayer (and your day, your week, your work, your relationships) by giving God the praise due his name. 3. Thirdly, ask God to be in charge! "Your kingdom come", means, "God be the Ruler" (In my life, in my marriage, in my social life) Once you have properly centered your life in God -- (priority number one), you can move on to the essentials of your living. 4. Don't get lost in worry about the future or materialistic things. Ask God for what you need. (Daily bread) Not necessarily for what you want. Every time you say, "I need", check to see if "I want" is actually closer to the case. And ask God to supply your needs trust him with the future. [Note Philippians 4:19-20 "And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."] 5. Don't get tripped up by the past. (Forgive us our sin) This points to the guilt and difficulty that can plague us when past failures and foibles harass our minds. This petition is rooted in the very beginning of the prayer. "Our Father" ... in other words, as a father forgives, so we also might expect forgiveness because of our relationship with God in Christ. AND we extend that same forgiving relationship to others because our mutual relationship to the Father, puts us in familial relationship with each other. Forgiveness is the key to freedom in living! 6. "Lead us not into temptation" has been misunderstood as though God might set us up for "entrapment" if we are not careful to ask otherwise. [James 1:1-15 makes it clear that God does not "entice us to sin] The phrase here means, "Lord, keep us from the kind of trial that would lead us away from our relationship with You!" Once we line up the priorities of our living we move on to: II. Persistence in prayer The short story Jesus tells usually has a few people raising their eyebrows. One woman, after hearing this scripture said, "In other words, if I 'bug' God about something, I will get my answer?" Actually not! The meaning is rather, "Even poor mortals who feel put out will answer a request because of persistence.... How much more will God (who is your Father) graciously fulfill your requests." The persistence here is not he persistence of "bugging" someone -- but the persistence of staying in relationship with God as Father. Verse 9 is an example of how the language of the New Testament is sometimes important to understanding what is being said. If we were to translate the action meaning of what Jesus is saying here, it would come out something like this: "So I say to you: Ask and keep on asking and it will constantly be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will keep on finding; knock and keep on knocking and the door will always be opening for you..." In other words be persistent. Keep praying and your life will become more receptive to God's will, God's way and God's gifts! III. Power in Prayer The examples Jesus gives in verses 11-13 of our scripture are a bit bizarre. There is a name for what Jesus is doing here -- it is called Jewish hyperbole -- saying something extreme to make a point. The point here is, "A human parent knows how to treat a child with kindness... well, how much more do you suppose God is going to treat His children with kindness!" This takes us back once again to the very beginning of the prayer. ("Our Father") Now-- the key to today's message is contained in the last phrase of our text: "... how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Do you see once again how the whole issue of prayer revolves around the idea of God as Father? The point comes home to us once again that our faith is more about a relationship than it is a religion! But... what does the Holy Spirit have to do with prayer? This is actually a whole other message, but in brief... one of the principal ministries of the Holy Spirit is the work of helping God's children to pray. This is an amazing truth that is assumed in these last words of Jesus about prayer. Listen to the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:26: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." Power in prayer comes from the fact that we have a partner in prayer. Namely, the Spirit of God who is helping us to pray from within. These three principles work together. We can not have the power of prayer without the priorities of prayer and the priorities of prayer lead very naturally to the persistence of prayer. Working together, these principles will empower our prayers to move "past the ceiling!" [Apply It] 1. Pray the Lord's Prayer this week and think specifically about the priorities of your life and how they line up. 2. Persistence in prayer, regularity of prayer and discipline in prayer all work together. How would you rate yourself in "persistence" in prayer? 3. When you feel that sense of having to "really" pray, you are talking about power in prayer. Jesus' words make it clear that God's gift to us is the gift of His spirit within us helping us to pray. Did you know that? [*** Okay folks, this message and these principles offer a great opportunity to invite folks into a practical study of prayer!] v.1 Luke once again shows Jesus at prayer. (cf. 6:12; 9:28) He teaches by example. Instead of "You {disciples} need to pray more" he entices them with his own example until the want the vitality in prayer their Master has. v.2 Father = "pater" In this elemental teaching on prayer, Jesus expresses the unique relationship with God we have in the faith he reveals. Some feel that Jesus likely used the Aramaic term "abba" "dear Father" in every prayer he spoke to God. "Abba" would naturally be translated into the Greek "pater" <father>. (cf. J. Jeremias: The Lord's Prayer [Fortress, 1964]) The intimacy with God Jesus reveals is connected immediately to the holiness of God. "Your name is Holy" is a basic ascription of worship throughout biblical literature. v.3 There is a difference in the way Luke and Matthew express the "daily bread" theme. Luke's order translates to "keep on giving us our daily bread" Matthew's aorist tense is more; "give us our bread today." The term "epiousios" (translated "daily") is used in Luke in a way that communicates the idea of trusting God day by day ... give us sufficient food day by day. (And so also sufficient, trust, faith, direction...) v.4 "Lead us not into temptation" -- "eis peirasmon" Likely "testing" rather than "temptation". There is a coming great "peirasmos" that will severely test all who endure it. This eschatalogical testing may be referenced here. vv.5-8 This parable is unique to Luke. In a Palestinian home, getting the whole family down for the night, bolting the door and windows was no small task. The point of the parable is not that God can be pestered into answering prayer. It is more... if a friend can finally be moved into action by persistence, how much more will God give to his children? vv.11-13 Matthew's parallel passage uses the general term "good gifts" while Luke uses "The Holy Spirit". Luke specifically points to the promise of the Spirit. (Acts 2:33; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4) The Man Who Won Concessions From God ~ Genesis 18:20-32 You might use the Gospel lesson on prayer and then move to the Genesis text and this amazing interaction between God and Abraham. The dynamics are wonderful. God is going to "investigate" whether Sodom and Gomorrah is as evil as is reported. If the report is true, certain judgment will follow and the cities will be utterly swept away. Abraham is then standing before the Lord. (He has family ties in Sodom!) The interesting thing is that this whole account is done in such anthropomorphic terms. An omnipotent, omniscient God obviously does not need to "go down and see" whether something is true or not. The whole story goes to the issue of the dynamics of prayer and intercession. As in the gospel lesson, there is persistence in prayer and a recognition of the holiness of God. There is also persistence, persuasion and pleading. This is a powerful example of the ministry of intercessory prayer. Notice how Abraham approaches a Holy God: "I who am but dust and ashes," ""Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak," "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord," "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more." Yet Abraham is bold to ask concessions of the Lord. He wins a 500% concession in his pleading for the "righteous" (if there are any) of Sodom. Lessons? 1. The Lord is exceedingly merciful and forgiving, 2. Intercessory prayer is exceedingly effective, and 3. The Lord is exceedingly Holy! A Call To Worship (From Psalm 138) Leader: We
gather to give thanks to You, O Lord, A Prayer of Dedication No gift we bring, O Lord of all, can express the gratitude in our hearts. Because of your love, we have hope, joy, love, forgiveness and life everlasting. What tongue has the power to worthily praise your name? What gift can begin to compare with Your gifts to us? Therefore we stand silent before You as gratitude flows from our heart to You. [Wait for a time of silence] Amen. A Responsive Benediction L: Receive
the Lord Jesus Christ.
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