Prevailing Prayer

Let's pray.

Gracious God, as we come to look at your word now,

and particularly as we look at the issue of prayer

and as Jesus has taught his disciples,

taught us how to pray,

we pray, Father, that we would model that,

model a prayer of discipleship of the Lord Jesus,

that the priorities that have been outlined here in this prayer

will be our priorities,

and we ask it for your sake.

Amen.

One day out in the Canadian wilderness,

an atheist was taking a walk,

admiring the amazing wilderness

that was, in his mind, a freak of accident.

It was an accident.

It was a freak of some random causes.

The wildlife that were there because of some random chance,

the pristine stream that flowed beautifully by

thanks to a bunch of molecules

somehow mistakenly colliding many, many, many, many years ago.

When all of a sudden he was awoken out of his godless dreaming

by a grizzly bear charging at him straight down the trail.

He had no chance.

He knew it.

And before he realized that he was on his back,

pinned to the ground,

with his huge grizzly bear,

one paw on his chest,

another one raised,

ready to strike.

And without even giving it a thought,

he cried out in a loud voice,

God, save me!

Of course, then he realized the inconsistency

of living a life confident that God didn't exist

and then in a moment of need,

decided to call out to him for help.

And so he had a brainwave.

Instead of saving me, God,

what he decided was,

God, if you're there,

make the bear a Christian.

And he figured if the bear was a Christian,

then the bear would need him.

And pretty smart.

He thought it was a pretty smart move

and he was quite surprised

when all of a sudden the bear pulled down its paw,

stepped back,

put his paws together

and said,

for what we're about to receive,

may the Lord make me truly thankful.

When difficulty or danger strikes,

the immediate response of many people is to pray.

Most humans at some point on this planet

will pray at some point in their lives,

usually without giving it much thought at all

about what they are doing.

We notice that children often pray

with a real simplicity and an ease

which adults can't muster up.

And yet I want to say that

prayer for me

is the one thing that exposes my ungodliness.

There is nothing quite like a lack of prayer

or even the kind of prayers that I pray

that really expose what my heart truly is.

I want to be a man of prayer.

Prayer.

And it's the one area in my life

where if it's not humming,

if it's not working,

I feel like a fraud like nothing else.

Prayer, as I said,

is something that we all might do,

even the ungodly do,

but it does expose our ungodliness.

I think that this is a particularly difficult passage for us.

It's a passage that we know so well,

and yet it's a passage which reveals our ungodliness.

Ungodliness in the sense that we go about our daily business,

even good people,

moral people,

religious people go about their daily business

and give no or little thought whatsoever

to the purpose of God,

the glory of God,

or our dependency upon Him day by day.

We attack our work,

we attack our retirement,

we attack our education,

just like anyone else.

We may begin the day in a bit of prayer,

we may end the day with a bit of prayer,

but daily,

as we move from that point,

we give little regard to God's purpose,

His will,

our dependency upon Him,

and His glory.

And that's what I think the Bible calls ungodliness,

going about as if God doesn't exist.

Or our prayers themselves reflect our ungodliness.

Do we pray for kingdom purposes,

or do we have a long list of things

that are just the things

which are troubling us at the moment?

The content of our prayer

can reveal whether or not

we are actually human-centered,

or we're actually God-centered.

You might remember that we are traveling with Jesus,

having resolutely set His face for Jerusalem to die,

and on the way there,

He is clarifying with His disciples

the misconceptions they have

of what it means to follow Him.

And today we see His teaching

on one of the essentials of Christian discipleship,

a life of prayer.

We are looking at the famous,

the most famous of all prayers.

We know it.

We've said it again and again and again

throughout the centuries.

We say it most week in this church.

In fact, we say it in most services most week in this church.

I think that it's ironic that when Matthew records

Jesus' teaching on prayer,

this very passage here in Matthew's Gospel,

he does it in the context of telling Jesus' disciples,

of Jesus telling His disciples

not to go on mindless babbling with words

and not to be like the hypocrites.

And so we have taken Jesus' prayer

and throughout the centuries

have mindlessly babbled His prayer

and not actually understood

what is behind His prayer

instead of just repeating the prayer

but actually seeing it as a model of prayer.

What we know is that Jesus Himself was a man of prayer.

He was praying when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him

like a dove in Luke 3, verse 21.

Luke 3:21

He began His ministry with a 40-day fast in the wilderness

in chapter 4, verses 1 to 15.

Other times He withdrew into the wilderness to pray

in chapter 5, verse 16.

He prayed all night before choosing the 12,

chapter 6, verse 12.

He was praying alone just before He asked Peter,

who do you say that I am?

In chapter 9, verse 18.

And just before He was transfigured,

He took Peter, James and John on the mountain

to pray in chapter 9, verse 28.

And He was praying here at the beginning of our text

in Luke 11, verse 1.

Luke 11:1

As a man, Jesus sought His strength

and His guidance from His Father in prayer.

From this alone,

we should feel motivated to make prayer

more central in our lives.

I want to be a man of prayer more than ever.

Jesus also taught us to pray.

It's an amazing thing, isn't it?

His disciples, religious people themselves,

go to Jesus and said, teach us to pray.

I mean, haven't you guys been doing that all of your life?

Isn't that what you do?

Isn't that what you do?

And they said to Jesus, you need to teach us to pray.

In other words, teach us the priorities of prayer.

Jesus taught us to pray.

He made amazing promises to us about prayer.

And so He lived a life of prayer

and He taught us a life of prayer.

It is the will of the Lord Jesus

that St. Paul's be a church of prayer.

That this building that we're seated in now

be a house of prayer.

That our people be given daily to prayer.

Prevailing prayer for personal needs,

for the power of the Spirit,

for the progress of the Gospel

and for the glory of God's name.

They're the things that Jesus teaches us here.

The first thing Jesus teaches us

is to make our praying God-centered.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray

in verse 1,

He says in verse 2,

When you pray, say,

Father, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Notice here that these are requests.

All of the Lord's prayer is actually requests.

It's not prayer, thanks, it's not praise.

Jesus says,

Our first desire,

our first request,

should be that God's name be hallowed or glorified

and that His kingdom be advanced

and that His kingdom would come.

That's what I mean when I say God-centered prayer.

The glory of God's name and the advancement of God's kingdom

are the primary concerns of this prayer.

The God-centeredness or lack of it

has to be the difference between mature prayer

and immature prayer.

I know plenty of non-Christians who pray.

But the difference is between God-centeredness

and human-centeredness

in their praying.

The plea is that we have Jesus' priorities in praying,

namely that the Father's name be hallowed

and that His kingdom come.

If this feels foreign to you,

if you have never pleaded for the name of God to be hallowed

or the kingdom of God to come,

then I want to say to you,

don't be content.

Don't be content today to stay stuck

at an immature level of prayer.

Don't be content with that.

Instead, say in a fresh new way to God,

this week, today,

this coming week,

for the rest of this year,

Father, hallowed be your name

in my life and in my prayers

for this coming year,

for the year to come,

change my prayer life

so that it becomes God-centered.

God's name will be vindicated

among the nations as true and glorious.

His kingdom will come.

But He has decreed

that we will have a hand

in His triumph

through our prayers.

So make the glory of God

the center of your prayers.

Pray again and again and again

with as many different words

as you can think of.

Father,

let your name be hallowed

and let your kingdom come.

Jesus also teaches us here

to pray with a sense of security

in the Father's love.

Jesus doesn't want us

to feel insecure in our prayers.

He shows this mainly

by teaching us

to call God Father

when we pray to Him.

Then in verses 11 to 13,

if you have a look at that,

He unpacks for us

some of the security

implied in this word.

Father,

which of you fathers,

if your son asks you 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?

The words,

how much more,

mean that God

is much more inclined

to hear us

and help us

when we pray

than our earthly fathers are.

Jesus wants us

to feel secure

in the Father's love

when we come

to Him in prayer.

He does not want us

to feel precarious

or unsure

of our acceptance

or fearful

that we will find

the Father

out of sorts

or unconcerned

with the aspects

of my daily life.

This sense of security

is utterly crucial

in the life of prayer

and the life of worship.

You cannot sustain

a life of prayer

if you believe

that God is angry with you

or you believe

that He just does not care.

Prayer is sustained

by the confidence

that God

is our Father

and that He

is concerned

and that

His disposition

is just what

Jesus says it is.

He is more

inclined

to give

what we need

than the best

human father

is.

That's incredible.

That's incredible

that God

would be that disposed

positively

towards me.

But we need

to remember

that if we're

going to be

people of prayer.

It's what I've

written on the

bulletin blurb

on the front

of your bulletin

this morning

about the four

points

for significant

things that

Jerry Bridges

outlines

and one of those

things that he says

is we need to

daily appropriate

the gospel

to ourselves

or as another

way I've heard

him put it

we need to

daily preach

the gospel

to ourselves

to remind us

to remind us

again and

again and

again

God's disposition

towards me

and the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Jesus also

teaches us

to prevail

in prayer

without doubting

the Father's

love.

He teaches

us to hang

in there

persevering

persisting

not giving

up

keep on

asking

and seeking

and knocking

at heaven's

door

until the answer

comes

or until

God says

stop praying

it feels

inconsistent

though doesn't

it?

I mean

if God

is more

caring

than the

best

heavenly

father

then why

why would

he sometimes

be so slow

to respond

to my

prayer

if he's

such a

good God?

Jesus

tells the story

in verses

five to

eight of the

man who

goes to

his friend's

house in

the middle

of the

night

to say

that a

guest has

just arrived

there isn't

enough

in the

house

to feed

him

could

you

please

give

me

three

loaves

of

bread

the

man

says

the

door's

locked

he must

look out

of his

bedroom

window

the

door's

locked

children

are asleep

in his

room

don't bother

me

anymore

but his

friend

keeps

knocking

and keeps

asking

until the

man gets

up

not because

of his

friendship

notice

this

it's not

because

of his

friendship

but because

of the

man's

prevailing

and persisting

and persevering

in knocking

in other

words he

annoyed

him

until he

got out

of his

bed and

went

downstairs

and opened

the door

it seems

an unpleasant

image of the

matter of

prayer doesn't

it

but immediately

in verse

nine

Jesus says

there is a

lesson for us

to learn

ask and it

will be given

you

seek and you

will find

knock and

it will be

open to you

three things

here stress

the importance

of prevailing

and not

giving up

in our

prayer life

one is

that the

tension

the original

language

means to

keep on

asking

to keep

on seeking

to keep

on knocking

the second

is the fact

that Jesus

commands

this continuous

action

three times

and he

even repeats

it again

in verse

10

the third

thing that

stress is

prevailing

is that the

three words

used get

increasingly

close to

the answer

and show

a pressing

in on

God

ask

as it

were

for the

guy in

the house

seek until

you find

it

and then

knock until

the door

is opened

ask it

seek until

you find

it and

then knock

until the

door is

open

asking is

the simplest

and requires

no movement

seeking

turns

asking into

an activity

of pursuit

knocking on

and on

and on

the door

again and

again and

again signifies

utter earnestness

and perhaps

even a sense

of desperation

temptation

and so

Jesus clearly

wants us to

be like

this friend

who just

kept knocking

he wants us

to prevail

in our

prayers

but then he

makes a sudden

turn in verse

11 and

shifts from

the image

of the

grumpy

friend

to the

image of

the caring

father

the point

Jesus is

getting across

is that

prevailing

prayer

persisting

persevering

in prayer

is utterly

important for

us

utterly

important for

us

and he

stamps this

truth on

our memories

with a

shocking image

of a friend

who won't

help without

being bothered

enough to

help

but then

Jesus qualifies

his point in

verses 11 to

13 by saying

that God is

not like that

friend

God is not

like that

friend

he's like

the most

caring

father

imaginable

so yes

God

sometimes

gives us

what we

need

only after

a long

season

of prevailing

and persisting

in prayer

but no

it's not

because he's

uncaring

it's not

because he's

insensitive

it's not

because he's

unable

so why

why does

he postpone

it for so

long

I think

Jesus gives

us some

clues

indirectly

in verses

11 to

13

it says

in verse

11 that

a good

father will

not give

his son a

serpent if

he asks

for a

fish

in other

words

the good

father only

gives his

children what

is good

for them

he only

gives them

what is

good for

them

so this

morning

6.30

Isabel

gets up

take her

downstairs

she heads

straight

for where

she knows

the biscuit

tin is

and goes

biscuit

biscuit

biscuit

biscuit

and if

Natalie

wasn't

there

maybe I

might have

given in

but

but no

we have

breakfast

first

and then

she doesn't

want the

biscuit

anymore

I didn't

give in

and give

it to

her

because I

know it's

not good

for her

right there

and right

then

it doesn't

mean I

never give

her

biscuits

but not

first thing

in the

morning

it's not

what I

have for

breakfast

it's the

only answer

that Jesus

gives to our

question in

this text

when the

father in

heaven gives

us a slow

answer

when he

wills that

we prevail

for a

season

it is

because he

is giving

us a fish

and not a

serpent

he is

giving us

what is

good for

us

there is

something in

the prevailing

there is

something in

the asking

the seeking

the knocking

that we

frankly need

as his

disciples

we need

that prevailing

it is good

for us

he knows

what's best

the promise

that will

encourage us

in prevailing

in prayer

is verse

10

I'll read

it with a

little bit

of a twist

based on

the original

language

everyone who

goes on

asking

receives

and he

who goes

on seeking

finds

and to him

who goes

on knocking

it will be

opened

God is not

unresponsive

to prevailing

prayer

the final

teaching that

Jesus gives

us on

prayer is

in

it's if you

like a

circling back

to the very

beginning

to the first

point of

God

centeredness

in our

prayer

and if I

understand

Jesus here

he means

for us

that the

prevailing

heartbeat

of our

life here

as a

church

he means

for us

to be

prevailing

in our

prayer

in Jesus

teaches

in verse

13

that our

prevailing

in prayer

should be

prevailing

for the

Holy Spirit

if you

then

even though

you are

evil

know how

much

how to

give good

gifts to

your

children

how much

more will

your

Father in

heaven

give you

the Holy

Spirit

to those

who ask

him

it's a

prevailing

prevailing

asking

seeking

knocking

that we

might receive

the Spirit

it is no

accident that

Luke tells

us in

chapter 3

verse 21

that while

Jesus was

praying

the Holy

Spirit

descended on

him like

a dove

or that

the

outpouring

of the

Spirit

at

Pentecost

came

at the

climax

of

10

day

prayer

vigil

or in

Acts

Acts 4:31

chapter 4

verse 31

that when

the church

had prayed

the place

where they

gathered

was shaken

and they

were filled

with the

Holy

Spirit

prevailing

prayer

is the

pathway

to the

outpouring

of the

Holy

Spirit

when you

prevail

in prayer

for the

outpouring

of the

Holy

Spirit

more is

happening

in your

life

through

this

prevailing

prayer

than you

could

ever

ever

imagine

God

waits

because

our

prevailing

is good

for us

and so

may the

Lord

prevent

us

friends

from

losing

heart

and

failing

in the

very

thing

we

need

mighty

prevailing

prayer

so let

us

enter

this

week

let us

enter

this

week

with

God

centered

prayer

with a

sense

of

security

in the

fatherly

care

of God

with a

new

resolve

to

prevail

and

persist

in

prayer

without

doubting

God's

love

and let

us prevail

specifically

in praying

for the

outpouring

of the

Holy

Spirit

amongst

us

here

his

power

his

gifts

his

full

blessing

all

the

while

rejoicing

that

the

prevailing

itself

is a

great

work

of the

indwelling

Spirit

of the

living

God

and so

let us

pray

let us

pray

and take

the words

of the

Lord's

prayer

and put

them in

my

language

let's

pray

our

gracious

God

and loving

heavenly

father

we long

to see

you

honored

more

and more

in our

church

and in

our

city

cause

your

name

to be

hallowed

and glorified

amongst

us

magnify

your

worth

and your

glory

here

in our

lives

we pray

that your

kingdom

rule

would come

in each

one of

these

hearts

that are

here

right

now

that your

kingdom

will come

and it

will rule

we also

pray

Lord

that your

kingdom

will be

established

here on

earth

we pray

for the

speedy

coming

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

we

ask

Lord

that your

kingly

rule

would be

taken up

here more

and more

fully

over our

church

over our

lives

our

families

our

city

over our

ministries

speed the

day we

pray of

Christ's

final

appearing

we ask

Lord

that you

would meet

our

physical

needs

so that

we can

press on

with joy

in the

work

you've

called

us

to

for your

namesake

forgive us

oh Lord

where we

have sinned

and fallen

short of

your glory

where we

have gone

day by

day

in

ungodliness

without reference

to you

your purposes

your name

keep us

Lord as

well from

entangling

temptations

that are

in this

world

that are

designed

to trip

us up

and that

will bring

criticism

to your

name

and your

people

and we

ask this

through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord

Amen