The 21st Century Disciple: "When You Pray"...

if you've been around the block for a while as a Christian

you've been praying

or if maybe you're new to the Christian faith

new to following Jesus

maybe you're just learning how to pray

whether you've been praying for a while

and you're a Jedi Knight of praying

or you are just getting started

and you feel like you're kind of waddling into prayer

Jesus speaks to us

and he teaches us how to pray

we started a couple weeks ago a series

we're calling the 21st century disciple

a 21st century disciple is someone

who is seeking to intentionally live out

every area of their life for Jesus today

a couple weeks ago we started the series

by listening to those two words of Jesus

follow me

those two words change everything

everything for those who hear those words

who receive them by faith

and turn from living for ourselves

into living for Jesus

last week we talked about

the importance of the Bible

in the life of a Christian following Jesus

and this morning

we're going to turn to one particular area

in which becoming a follower of Jesus

makes a pronounced difference

your prayer life

this morning we're going to see Jesus teaching us

what to pray

how to pray

and why to pray

someone's defined prayer as simply talking with God

and generally speaking

that's true

what is that all that it is

let's look at Luke chapter 11

Luke 11 · chapter mention

1 through 13

if you would turn there now

and let's hear God's word

these are Jesus words

instructing us how to pray

now Jesus was praying in a certain place

and when he finished

one of his disciples said to him

Lord teach us to pray

as John taught his disciples

and Jesus said to his disciples

when you pray

say

Father

hallowed be your name

your kingdom come

give us each day

our daily bread

and forgive us our sins

for we are

ourselves

forgive everyone

who is indebted to us

and lead us

not into temptation

and Jesus said to his disciples

which of you

who has a friend

will go to him at midnight

and say to him

friend

lend me three loaves

for a friend of mine

has arrived on a journey

and I have nothing to set before him

and he will answer from within

do not bother me

the door is now shut

and my

my children are with me in bed

I cannot get up

and give you anything

I tell you

though he will not get up

and give him anything

because he's his friend

yet because of his impudence

he will rise

and give him whatever he needs

and I tell you

ask and it will be given to you

seek and you will find

knock and it will be open to you

for

everyone who asks

receives

and the one who seeks

finds

and to the one who knocks

it will be open

what father among you

if his son asks for a fish

will instead of a fish

give him a serpent

or if he asks for an egg

will give him a scorpion

if you then

who are evil

know how to give good gifts

to your children

how much more

will the heavenly father

give the holy spirit

to those who ask him

prayer is more than just

speaking with god

prayer is calling

on the living god

to do things

that only he can do

here in luke

jesus teaches

us

his modern day

disciples

how to pray

and what jesus

shows us

is that

prayer is

essentially

a means by which

we live

for god's glory

and so this morning

here's what i want to help you to see

pray big

pray bold

pray believing

jesus is going to help you see

to pray big

pray bold

and when you pray

you pray believing

that your father in heaven

is a how much more father

so let's turn to

this idea of praying

big

it's the lord's prayer

now jesus taught this material

in a variety of different contexts

and so it looks like he used the same material

but taught the same stuff in matthew 6

which is a different context

than here in

luke chapter 11

Luke 11 · chapter mention

but they're very similar

and look where jesus starts

in this

call to

pray big

and when you pray

say

father

father

this would have been revolutionary

when jesus disciples

would hear jesus pray

and pray to his father

they would have never heard anybody

praying like that before

up until this point

when

israeli would call on god

as father

it would

be

like

the king of all

father over the nation

but what jesus is doing here

is he's personally

calling

god

his father

it would have been new

it's a term of tender affection

and authority

and what jesus is calling us to do

is that we call on our god

as father

and it's worth noting

that the one who's calling us

to pray to god as our father

he shed his blood

so that we can be welcomed

into the family of god

and with confidence

call on god

as our father

so when you see that word

father

brother and sister

in christ

that's a blood right

you have

the blood of jesus

accomplished that for us

the only reason why we can

call on god

as our father

is because jesus

shed his blood

for that

we can enter into god's presence

and pray to him as father

because of jesus

so we see this address

jesus

begins

this teaching

for his disciples

on prayer

with this address

call your god

father

note this

look at verse 2

he begins

this teaching on prayer

with father

and then look down

at verse 13

he ends this teaching

on prayer

with father

he couches

the teaching

on prayer

with this theological

category

of the fatherhood

of god

when we pray

we pray

to our father

and then he says

hallowed be your name

there's

there's five petitions

in this lord's prayer

we've seen the address

first petition

hallowed be your name

when you pray

you pray

father

hallowed be your name

we don't use that word

hallowed that much

that's not something

we typically use

in everyday language

and so what does it mean

well it means to

to set apart

to distinguish

it carries the sense

of reverent

knowledge

so when we

are to pray

hallowed be your name

what we're being told

to pray

is oh father

would you

in our life

in our church

set your name

apart

as holy

to be worshipped

when Jesus says

hallowed be your name

that name

carries a lot of freight

in psalm 20 verse 7

Psalms 20:7

we read

some trust

in chariots

and some

in horses

but we trust

in the name

of the lord

our god

when the bible

uses that

that word

name like that

it's talking

about the very

character of god

so name

and character

god's character

are virtually

synonymous

so when Jesus

says

hallowed be your name

he's saying

pray that

god's character

would be reverenced

by all

very interesting

where he teaches

us to start

our prayers

Jesus

calls us

to begin

praying

to our

father

whose reputation

is to go out

among the nations

calls us to pray

big prayers

god exalting

prayers

it doesn't end

there

your kingdom

come

in matthew 6

when we read

about the lord's

prayer there

he expands on

this

your kingdom

come

your will be

done on earth

as it is in

heaven

so when Jesus

commands us

to petition the

father

your kingdom

come

he's urging

us to pray

that god's

revealed

will

will be

obeyed

by his

children

on earth

your kingdom

come

your will

be done

on earth

it's like

Jesus is

praying

telling us

to pray

oh

when you

pray to

your father

and you

pray that

you hallow

his name

and you

pray his

kingdom

come

pray

that god's

people

would live

in the

good of

his revealed

will

that they

would

obey

him

the

coming

kingdom

is the

saving

reign

of god

and when

jesus

came the

first time

he

inaugurated

that

kingdom

people are

being saved

around all

the world

right now

but then

he's going

to come

back a

second

time

and he's

going to

culminate

the

kingdom

it's

going to

be full

and beautiful

and perfect

and so

we live

in between

the comings

the

appearings

and so

our

call

and what

we're to

pray

is that

god's

kingdom

will be

established

and advanced

now

through his

word

your kingdom

come

these

first two

petitions

are

god

exalting

petitions

now if

you were to

measure

your current

prayer life

and what you

typically pray

and measure it up

against what

jesus is calling

you to pray

how are you

faring so far

where do you

begin your

prayers

jesus

continues

he moves

from god

exalting

prayers

to god

dependent

prayers

give us

each day

our daily

bread

this is the

third petition

we're to

ask our

father

for our

daily

needs

that

the little

phrase

daily

bread

is representative

of food

we all

need food

but it's

even bigger

than that

any

daily

need

that you

have

go to

your father

and ask

him for

it

here's what

this means

your father

in heaven

wants you

to come

to him

daily

for your

daily

needs

he's not

distant

he's not

far away

he's near

he's present

he wants

to help

you today

do you

remember

how long

israel was

in the

wilderness

wandering

there

for a

long time

and god

made this

amazing

provision

for them

on a

daily

basis

it was

called

manna

it literally

means

what is

that

god

provided

manna

israel

came out

like

what is

that

literally

that's

what

manna

means

what is

that

every

day

what is

that

is

there

every

day

do you

know

how long

for

40

years

day

after day

what is

that

there

manna

god

has already

established

a precedent

of daily

taking care

of his

people

we can

go for

him

to him

for our

daily

needs

whether

that's

food

shelter

clothing

or some

kind of

spiritual

nourishment

and strength

you go to

your father

daily

he's in

it

day in

day out

with us

he's not

standing aloof

far away

he's in

it with

us

so we

ask him

for our

daily

needs

and then

we're

going to

ask him

petition

him

to

forgive

us

our

sins

the

fourth

petition

when

was the

last time

you confessed

sin

to your

god

jesus

is teaching

us here

that confession

of sin

forgive us

our sins

it's a

normal

infrequent

part of

a

disciple's

life

prayer

life

just to

help you

understand

theologically

when a

sinner

puts their

faith in

jesus

for the

first

time

at that

moment

that

sinner

is declared

a saint

in god's

eyes

the spirit

of god

indwells

them

immediately

and they

are declared

righteous

in god's

sight

they're

justified

they're

forgiven

of all

their

sin

they've

got the

promise

of eternal

life

they've

been

adopted

into god's

family

sin

but what

you're

going to

need to

understand

is

when

someone

becomes

a

christian

their

sinful

nature

is not

completely

eradicated

and so

what happens

is you

have

saints

who are

indwelt

by god's

spirit

and justified

who continue

to sin

which means

they

will need

to regularly

confess

their sin

to the

one they've

sinned

against

the one

they've

sinned

against

is no

other than

their god

their father

so first

john 1 9

says if we

confess our

sins he's

faithful and

just to

forgive us

our sins

and to

cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness

and so

when god

by his

spirit

makes you

aware

of some

area of

sin in

your life

it is

good and

right for

you to

go to

your father

and say

forgive me

of my

sin

you acknowledge

it

and then you

ask him

to forgive

you for

it

well that

might sound

a little

weird because

I just

said that

once a

sinner's

justified

they're

completely

forgiven

of all

their sin

why would

they need

to confess

their sins

and ask

god forgiveness

if they've

already been

forgiven

well it

kind of

happens like

this

let's say

one of my

kids sins

against me

though that

would never

happen

I'm not

going to

immediately

disown

these

children

I love

them

even when

they sin

against me

I'm

committed

to them

and I

will always

be committed

to them

but the

reality is

when they

sin against

me things

are now

kind of

weird

between

us

there is

something

now in

the way

of our

normal

fellowship

there's an

elephant in

the room

one of my

children comes

up to me

and says

dad I am

so sorry

for what I

said

will you

forgive me

man they're

already

forgiven

I get to

say of

course

of course

now let's

experience the

goodness that

God intends

for us

child of

God you are

forgiven of

your father

but you still

sin against

him

go to him

and confess

that and

experience the

mercy and

forgiveness

afresh

you've got

nothing to

fear

Jesus is

here teaching

us to pray

our prayers

to pray

ask him to

forgive us

our sins

regularly

because we

sin regularly

and then he

says for we

ourselves forgive

everyone who

is indebted to

us that's just

a way of

saying hey

you want to

know how

you're truly

forgiven when

you forgive

others when

they sin

against you

that's when

you know

you're truly

forgiven by

God

we ask for

our sins to

be forgiven

and we

forgive others

when they

ask

the last

petition is

lead us not

into temptation

Jesus is

teaching us to

depend on God

in a certain

way here

having just

confessed sin

he's saying

now ask your

God not to

lead you into

sin

to deliver you

from evil

as Matthew

6 says

someone who's

intentionally

living for

Jesus is

constantly

asking his

or her

father to

keep him

or her

from sinning

oh God

deliver me

deliver me

today

help me to

see the

temptation

when it

comes so

that in

the moment

I can

trust you

lead me

not into

temptation

and what's

implied here

is that our

father is a

holy father

and we are

to be holy

as he is

holy

do you know

the reason I

don't want to

sin I don't

want to sin

because it

grieves my

holy father

and so we're

asking him on

a regular

basis oh

God lead me

not in

temptation

let's get

really specific

when we go

in without

sleep we tend

to get kind

of cranky

don't we

and if we're

going without

sleep we'll be

uniquely tempted

to impatience

with the

people closest

to us

so one of

the things

that you can

do when you've

had a sleepless

night without

getting in the

details of why

you're having a

sleepless night

but one of the

things that you

you would do

well to do is

call upon your

father oh

father I'm

going to be

uniquely tempted

today to be

to be crotchety

and impatient

because I'm

loose I've

lacked sleep

God would you

deliver me from

the temptation

to be selfish

and hurtful

five petitions

and you can

group these

five petitions

into two

groups you

have the

first group

the hallow

would be your

name your

kingdom come

God exalting

group and

then you have

the latter

three the

provide for my

daily needs

the forgive us

our sins the

lead us not

into temptation

the God

dependent

petitions and

so whether

you're God

exalting in

your prayers or

God dependent

in your prayers

it's all God

glorifying prayers

it's all praying

that in which

you've been

completely reoriented

from being self

absorbed to being

now God

centered

when you follow

Jesus

it changes

everything

even the way

you pray

you pray

big

God

centered

God

exalting

God dependent

prayers

now let's talk

about praying

bold

where praying

big is the

content of our

prayers

it's all

God centered

praying bold

is how we

pray

and for that

Jesus

gives us a

parable

in verses

five and

seven

Jesus puts us

right into a

situation

verse five

it's midnight

and you go to

one of your

friends and ask

him to lend

you three loaves

verse six

tells us why

the reason why

you're asking

your friend for

three loaves

is that another

one of your

friends has

arrived late

and has been

on this

kind of gotten

to your place

unexpectedly

after a long

journey

and you have

nothing to

give him

that's the

problem

so you're

going to

your friend's

house

ask for help

and you knock

on his door

and from

within

verse seven

you hear your

friend say

don't bother

me the door

is now shut

and my children

are with me

in my bed

you got to

remember back

in the first

century Palestine

there wasn't

a 24 hour

festival or gas

station down

the street

and people

would live

in a one

bedroom

home

and they

would share

a bed

together

if you

are a

parent

with

little

dudes

someone

comes

knocking

on your

door

at midnight

you freak

out

you're like

do you not

know we've

got kids

and it's

taking them

30 minutes

each to

put them

to bed

what are

you crazy

so here's

this really

interesting

parable

about this

guy

who has

a friend

come

and he

goes to

another

friend

and is

kind of

knocking

on the

door

looking

for bread

and in

verse 8

we get

the point

of the

parable

it's

cued up

with those

words

I tell

you

Jesus

I tell

you

though he

will not

get up

and give

him

anything

because

he's

his

friend

yet

because

of his

impudence

he will

rise

and give

him

whatever

he needs

in other

words

Jesus

is saying

hey

you can

you can

just show

up

and you

can play

the friend

card

and your

friend

who's as

snug as a

bug in a

you can

play your

friend

card

all night

he's not

coming out

for that

but you

know what

he's going

to come

out for

when you

keep on

talking to

him

hey

hey

I need

some

bread

when are

you going

to get

up

I'm still

here

I need

bread

that

will get

your

friend

up

here's

how this

shakes

out

in our

house

this is

what's

called

impudence

not

impudence

impudence

if you're

reading out

of the

NIV

it's

translated

boldness

what

impudence

is this

shameless

boldness

that is

persistent

here's how

it shows up

in our

family

it's not

unusual

that we

have lines

form around

bathrooms

you start

hearing it

this way

how long

you're going

to be

the one

outside

the

bathroom

the one

inside

I don't

know

the one

outside

the bathroom

brings it

up a

notch

can you

just tell

me how

long

you're

going

to be

the one

inside

the

bathroom

a little

bit

the one

outside

the

bathroom

starts

would you

come

come on

already

I

gotta

use

the

bathroom

I'm

not

gonna

stop

knocking

until

you

get

out

that's

impudence

shameless

bold

persistence

you're

gonna keep

pressing

until you

get what

you want

Jesus

is teaching

on prayer

and he

shares

this

parable

about

shamelessly

bold

persistence

in asking

for something

and then

in verses

9 and

10

he brings

it home

to his

disciples

he applies

it to

them

and I

tell you

disciples

ask

and it

will be

given

to you

there's

some

impudence

seek

and you

will find

impudence

knock

and it

will be

opened

to you

verse

10

for

everyone

who

asks

receives

and the

one

who

seeks

finds

and to

the

one

who

knocks

it

will

be

opened

and so

Jesus

has just

made the

point of the

parable

and now

in verses

9 and

10

he's

applying

this

parable

to his

disciples

in order

to pray

ask

seek

and knock

keep

on asking

keep

on seeking

keep

on knocking

until you

receive

what

you're

seeking

be

insistent

and in

verse 10

there's this

little tweak

for

everyone

who asks

receives

and the

one

who

seeks

finds

and the

one

who

knocks

it

will

be

opened

the

tweak

is that

it's

emphasizing

the

promise

of it

if you

keep

on

boldly

persisting

and seeking

you're

going to

find

if you

boldly

persist

in

asking

you'll

receive

if you

boldly

persist

in

knocking

the doors

are going

to be

opened

up

for you

keep

on

keeping

on

it's

going

to

happen

and one

might start

thinking

well

it's

going

to

happen

because

I'm

being

so

persistent

but

Jesus

is about

to

really

flip

this

it's

not

about

your

persistence

it's

about

the

one

you're

asking

kind of

begs

the

question

okay

what

what's

the

basis

of

this

promise

if I'm

going to

be

persistent

on what

basis

will

God

answer

my

asking

and my

seeking

and my

knocking

how do

I know

that God's

going to

respond

to

big

and

bold

prayers

ongoing

knocking

well that

leads us

to

verses

11

and

13

we're

to

pray

big

and

we're

to

pray

bold

impudently

but

we're

to

pray

believing

the

why

of

our

bold

big

prayers

Jesus

comes

full

circle

remember

in

verse

2

father

hallowed

be

your

name

and

now

in

verses

11

through

13

he

comes

back

to

this

father

theme

and

he's

going

to

make

a

case

that

the

reason

why

we

pray

big

and

we

pray

bold

is

because

we

have

a

father

unlike

any

other

father

and

he

makes

his

point

with

a

comparison

and

he

starts

it

in

verses

11

and

12

just

imagine

if

he

asked

you

this

moms

and

dads

what

father

or

mother

among

you

if

his

son

asks

for

a

fish

will

instead

of

a

fish

give

him

a

poisonous

serpent

or

if

he

asks

for

an

egg

will

give

him

a

deadly

scorpion

Jesus

is

brilliant

what

he's

playing

on

is

every

parent's

commitment

instinctual

commitment

to do

good

to

their

children

saying

what

father

among

you

if

your

son

asks

for

fish

will

give

him

instead

of

a

fish

a

serpent

and

the

answer

is

none

of

us

would

Jesus

knows

that

he's

setting

up

a

comparison

it's

verse

13

that

he

makes

the

comparison

he

starts

if

you

then

if

you

then

who

wouldn't

give

a

scorpion

for

an

egg

to

your

child

if

you

then

who

are

evil

sinful

you're

the

one

that's

asking

God

to

forgive

you

for

your

sins

on

a

regular

basis

if

you

who

are

evil

give

good

gifts

to

your

children

how

much

more

will

your

heavenly

father

give

the

holy

spirit

to

his

children

who

ask

for

it

the

comparison

is a

comparison

that's

called

and how