"Jesus and Prayer"
Luke 11:1-13
Paul Harvey told about a three-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered she had strict instructions for the little tike: “Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask.” She put him in the child’s seat and off they went up and down the aisles. He was doing pretty good until they came to the cookie section. Seeing the chocolate chip cookies he said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any today.” They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items she had to backtrack and they ended up in the cookie aisle again. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any today. Now sit down and be quiet.”
Finally they arrived at the checkout. The little boy sensed that the end was in sight, that this might be his last chance. He stood up on the seat and shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” Everyone in the checkout lanes laughed and began to applaud. Do you think the little boy got his cookies? You bet! The other shoppers, moved by his daring, pooled their resources—and the little boy and his mother left with twenty-three boxes of chocolate chip cookies. And that’s the rest of the story!
We laugh, but prayer really ought be more than an emergency magical lamp rubbed in a crisis. The truth is that many people give up on prayer because they never understand what it is. So much that passes for prayer is irrational, superstitious, and self-centered, and is therefore unworthy of the pattern of the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples.
How do you pray and why? We’re not the first to ask. Jesus’ disciples came to Him one day and said, “Lord, teach us. Teach us to pray!” Notice something here. When did the disciples ask for this? When did they make this request? Was it after Jesus gave a lecture on prayer? No. Was it after Jesus led a seminar on prayer? No. Was it after Jesus preached a powerful sermon on prayer? Nope, none of these. Look back to the first verse of this chapter: “Once when Jesus had been out praying, His disciples came to Him as He finished.” What the disciples saw in Jesus Himself was the power of prayer. They saw how important prayer was to Him. They saw in Him the example of how to have a prayer life. Harry Emerson Fosdick stressed it in his book, The Secret of Victorious Living: “Note that this awakened interest in prayer came not at all from new arguments about it, but from a new exhibition of its power. Here, before their very eyes, they saw a personality in whom prayer was vital and influential! The more they lived with Him, the more they saw that they could never explain Him or understand Him unless they understood His praying.”
The disciples were sometimes slow to catch on, but at this point they were quickly and precisely on target. They saw in Jesus the answer to this question: How do we pray and why do we pray? And they learned from Him what the elements are that lead to a meaningful prayer life. And so can we.
First, Jesus prayed regularly—and so can we. Jesus developed the habit of praying, and that several times a day. This kept Him in an ever-present, intimate relationship with His father. Indeed, this is one of the chief aims of prayer. Prayer links us with God—and in the right way. Prayer is actually a lot like God’s provision: It’s ongoing and daily, not all at once. We can’t store it up and then cut off communication with God. In fact, you may want to ask yourself if you’ve been running low on strength lately: How long have I been away from my Source?
Second, Jesus prayed worshipfully—and so can we. Notice the order in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. First and foremost, He praised and worshiped God: “Father, may Your name be honored.” Praising God first puts us in the right frame of mind to later tell Him about our needs. Far too often, our prayers launch right into a shopping list rather than acknowledging God for all that He is and all that He does and all that He means in our lives.
Third, Jesus prayed humbly—and so can we. God is not our buddy; He is our Father, yes; but He is also our Lord. Kneeling before the God of the universe is a privilege that requires humility. He sits enthroned in the heavens above. We depend on Him for everything from our daily food to forgiveness to protection to our next breath. And so it is that humility is fundamental to the prayer of a disciple.
Fourth, Jesus prayed persistently—and so can we. Persistence and boldness in prayer actually overcomes our insensitivity, not God’s. To pray persistently does far more to change our heart and mind than His, and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our deepest needs. For persistence in prayer helps us recognize God’s work in our lives and in the lives of others.
Some years ago, I heard a psychologist talk about the three deepest needs each one of us has as human beings. What would you imagine those to be?
The first need is to know someone who will listen to us. We all have a story to tell, a need to verbalize our feelings. We want someone who will listen to that. The second need is to have that person believe what we’re saying. We want someone who will trust our story. The third need is to be assured that that person is on our side. We don’t want to be involved with someone who will misuse or abuse our story—through gossip, for example—but someone who will stay on our side, sometimes even in spite of our story.
I found myself in agreement with that psychologist; he had indeed touched on an important aspect of our deepest need as people. I also came to the conclusion that our relationship with God through prayer meets that deep-seated need. For the promise of prayer is that for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior, God is always ready to listen to you and me. The promise of prayer is that God believes in us, that He loves and cares for us, desiring what is best for us. The promise of prayer is that God is on our side all the way. This is the promise of prayer.
It’s interesting that when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. Because God has forgiven our sins, we must forgive those who have wronged us. In fact, to remain unforgiving shows we haven’t fully understood our own need for forgiveness. And so we’re taught to pray, “Forgive us in the same way that we forgive others.”
In the novel The Great Hunger, a newcomer moves into to a farm community. He refuses all friendship with his neighbors and puts out a No Trespassing! sign. But one day a little child from the town climbs underneath his fence to pet his dog. The vicious animal leaps on her and kills her. Hostility quickly spread throughout the community. When the newcomer comes to town no one will speak to him. Clerks refuse to wait on him. Spring comes and the merchants refuse to sell him seed. Finally, the father of the girl who was killed comes over—and sows his field. This act of kindness is too much for the insufferable newcomer. “Why you of all people?” he asks. The father responds, “To keep God alive in my heart.”
Jesus’ emphasizes forgiveness in prayer because the experience of forgiveness is vital to our spiritual health. It’s the way we keep God alive in our hearts. But there’s more. The petition says, “Forgive us as we forgive others.” In other words, we’re asking God to forgive us in proportion to our forgiving others, and so we become our own judge and jury. And how do we get the strength to forgive? By remembering that God forgives us for our sins against Him. Maybe now would be a good time for you to think of some people who’ve wronged you. Have you forgiven them? And how will God deal with you if He treats you as you are treating them?
So it is that the essence of Jesus’ teaching on prayer is to bring us into a right relationship with God—that if you ask, you’ll get; that if you seek, you’ll find; that if you knock, the door will open. It’s kind of like my dad has told me time and time again: “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”
We are to come our heavenly Father knowing that His arms are open wide for us. Like the fathers Jesus described in this passage, I’ve been blessed to have an earthly father who loves me. I know what it means to be able to walk into his room, his office, or wherever he is, and know that if I have an urgent need, he has a listening ear and a compassionate heart that’s open to my pain. The great lesson of a good earthly father is that it gives us a glimpse of our heavenly Father. I know what it is to receive fish or eggs when I ask for them, just as I also now know what it is to receive physical and mental and emotional and spiritual strength for my life from my heavenly Father. I hope you know that too. I hope you know that we can come regularly, worshipfully, humbly, and persistently before the throne of grace because we have a heavenly Father who cares. We can seek His face because He really is there--waiting to hear us, waiting to embrace us, waiting to forgive us, waiting to meet our needs. He is waiting to draw us deeper and closer into an eternally fulfilling relationship with Himself.
May we pray together today the prayer taught by our Lord Jesus: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Luke 11:1-13
Paul Harvey told about a three-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered she had strict instructions for the little tike: “Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask.” She put him in the child’s seat and off they went up and down the aisles. He was doing pretty good until they came to the cookie section. Seeing the chocolate chip cookies he said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any today.” They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items she had to backtrack and they ended up in the cookie aisle again. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any today. Now sit down and be quiet.”
Finally they arrived at the checkout. The little boy sensed that the end was in sight, that this might be his last chance. He stood up on the seat and shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” Everyone in the checkout lanes laughed and began to applaud. Do you think the little boy got his cookies? You bet! The other shoppers, moved by his daring, pooled their resources—and the little boy and his mother left with twenty-three boxes of chocolate chip cookies. And that’s the rest of the story!
We laugh, but prayer really ought be more than an emergency magical lamp rubbed in a crisis. The truth is that many people give up on prayer because they never understand what it is. So much that passes for prayer is irrational, superstitious, and self-centered, and is therefore unworthy of the pattern of the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples.
How do you pray and why? We’re not the first to ask. Jesus’ disciples came to Him one day and said, “Lord, teach us. Teach us to pray!” Notice something here. When did the disciples ask for this? When did they make this request? Was it after Jesus gave a lecture on prayer? No. Was it after Jesus led a seminar on prayer? No. Was it after Jesus preached a powerful sermon on prayer? Nope, none of these. Look back to the first verse of this chapter: “Once when Jesus had been out praying, His disciples came to Him as He finished.” What the disciples saw in Jesus Himself was the power of prayer. They saw how important prayer was to Him. They saw in Him the example of how to have a prayer life. Harry Emerson Fosdick stressed it in his book, The Secret of Victorious Living: “Note that this awakened interest in prayer came not at all from new arguments about it, but from a new exhibition of its power. Here, before their very eyes, they saw a personality in whom prayer was vital and influential! The more they lived with Him, the more they saw that they could never explain Him or understand Him unless they understood His praying.”
The disciples were sometimes slow to catch on, but at this point they were quickly and precisely on target. They saw in Jesus the answer to this question: How do we pray and why do we pray? And they learned from Him what the elements are that lead to a meaningful prayer life. And so can we.
First, Jesus prayed regularly—and so can we. Jesus developed the habit of praying, and that several times a day. This kept Him in an ever-present, intimate relationship with His father. Indeed, this is one of the chief aims of prayer. Prayer links us with God—and in the right way. Prayer is actually a lot like God’s provision: It’s ongoing and daily, not all at once. We can’t store it up and then cut off communication with God. In fact, you may want to ask yourself if you’ve been running low on strength lately: How long have I been away from my Source?
Second, Jesus prayed worshipfully—and so can we. Notice the order in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. First and foremost, He praised and worshiped God: “Father, may Your name be honored.” Praising God first puts us in the right frame of mind to later tell Him about our needs. Far too often, our prayers launch right into a shopping list rather than acknowledging God for all that He is and all that He does and all that He means in our lives.
Third, Jesus prayed humbly—and so can we. God is not our buddy; He is our Father, yes; but He is also our Lord. Kneeling before the God of the universe is a privilege that requires humility. He sits enthroned in the heavens above. We depend on Him for everything from our daily food to forgiveness to protection to our next breath. And so it is that humility is fundamental to the prayer of a disciple.
Fourth, Jesus prayed persistently—and so can we. Persistence and boldness in prayer actually overcomes our insensitivity, not God’s. To pray persistently does far more to change our heart and mind than His, and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our deepest needs. For persistence in prayer helps us recognize God’s work in our lives and in the lives of others.
Some years ago, I heard a psychologist talk about the three deepest needs each one of us has as human beings. What would you imagine those to be?
The first need is to know someone who will listen to us. We all have a story to tell, a need to verbalize our feelings. We want someone who will listen to that. The second need is to have that person believe what we’re saying. We want someone who will trust our story. The third need is to be assured that that person is on our side. We don’t want to be involved with someone who will misuse or abuse our story—through gossip, for example—but someone who will stay on our side, sometimes even in spite of our story.
I found myself in agreement with that psychologist; he had indeed touched on an important aspect of our deepest need as people. I also came to the conclusion that our relationship with God through prayer meets that deep-seated need. For the promise of prayer is that for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior, God is always ready to listen to you and me. The promise of prayer is that God believes in us, that He loves and cares for us, desiring what is best for us. The promise of prayer is that God is on our side all the way. This is the promise of prayer.
It’s interesting that when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. Because God has forgiven our sins, we must forgive those who have wronged us. In fact, to remain unforgiving shows we haven’t fully understood our own need for forgiveness. And so we’re taught to pray, “Forgive us in the same way that we forgive others.”
In the novel The Great Hunger, a newcomer moves into to a farm community. He refuses all friendship with his neighbors and puts out a No Trespassing! sign. But one day a little child from the town climbs underneath his fence to pet his dog. The vicious animal leaps on her and kills her. Hostility quickly spread throughout the community. When the newcomer comes to town no one will speak to him. Clerks refuse to wait on him. Spring comes and the merchants refuse to sell him seed. Finally, the father of the girl who was killed comes over—and sows his field. This act of kindness is too much for the insufferable newcomer. “Why you of all people?” he asks. The father responds, “To keep God alive in my heart.”
Jesus’ emphasizes forgiveness in prayer because the experience of forgiveness is vital to our spiritual health. It’s the way we keep God alive in our hearts. But there’s more. The petition says, “Forgive us as we forgive others.” In other words, we’re asking God to forgive us in proportion to our forgiving others, and so we become our own judge and jury. And how do we get the strength to forgive? By remembering that God forgives us for our sins against Him. Maybe now would be a good time for you to think of some people who’ve wronged you. Have you forgiven them? And how will God deal with you if He treats you as you are treating them?
So it is that the essence of Jesus’ teaching on prayer is to bring us into a right relationship with God—that if you ask, you’ll get; that if you seek, you’ll find; that if you knock, the door will open. It’s kind of like my dad has told me time and time again: “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”
We are to come our heavenly Father knowing that His arms are open wide for us. Like the fathers Jesus described in this passage, I’ve been blessed to have an earthly father who loves me. I know what it means to be able to walk into his room, his office, or wherever he is, and know that if I have an urgent need, he has a listening ear and a compassionate heart that’s open to my pain. The great lesson of a good earthly father is that it gives us a glimpse of our heavenly Father. I know what it is to receive fish or eggs when I ask for them, just as I also now know what it is to receive physical and mental and emotional and spiritual strength for my life from my heavenly Father. I hope you know that too. I hope you know that we can come regularly, worshipfully, humbly, and persistently before the throne of grace because we have a heavenly Father who cares. We can seek His face because He really is there--waiting to hear us, waiting to embrace us, waiting to forgive us, waiting to meet our needs. He is waiting to draw us deeper and closer into an eternally fulfilling relationship with Himself.
May we pray together today the prayer taught by our Lord Jesus: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
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