Let's Pray: How We Should Pray

On page 1042, Luke chapter 11, verse 1 to 13.

Luke 11:1–13

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.

He said to them, when you pray, say,

Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us,

and lead us not into temptation.

Then he said to them, suppose one of you has a friend,

and goes to him at midnight and says,

Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me,

and I have nothing to set before him.

Then the one inside answers, don't bother me.

The door is already locked, and my children are in bed.

I can't get up and give you anything.

I tell you, though he will not get up and give him 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.

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.

For anyone who asks, receives,

he who seeks, finds,

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you fathers,

if your son asks for a fish,

will we give him a snake instead?

Or if he asks for an egg,

will we 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 of him?

Thanks, Lucy.

Well, I haven't made a mistake.

In case you're wondering, you're thinking,

didn't we read this last week?

Yes, we did.

And we're using it simply as a basis,

a launch pad,

to help us understand prayer.

So we looked at it in depth last week.

And next week we'll be focusing in particular

on the prayer,

Father Hallowed Be Your Name,

and just following that through.

But today we're going to be looking at some parts from it

and launching us into other texts

to help us understand prayer.

So let's pray again and ask for God's help.

Father, we ask for your help in understanding your words.

You say we can ask for the Holy Spirit

and so we pray for your Holy Spirit

that he may fill us afresh

so that these words that we see on the page

are not just ordinary words

but life-changing words.

Words that enter our lives, as it were,

and change us on the inside,

helping us to understand who you are

and our place before you.

So please encourage us.

Father, please help us.

And Father, please bless us.

Amen.

As we start, I want to ask a couple of questions.

When we pray,

how long do you think we should pray for?

So if I pray for one hour,

is it more powerful than praying for just two minutes?

Or where should I pray?

If I prayed in a church building

with candles and some nice soft music,

is that better than praying in the car

with the radio blaring?

Or what should I say in prayer?

If I pray using complicated theological language

and threw in a few these and thous,

do you think it's better than

praying like you would talk to a friend?

Well, when it comes to prayer,

it's not about the words we use,

it's not about the place we go to,

or the length of time that it takes.

As one writer has put it,

prayer is nothing more or nothing less

than a child asking her father for help.

And that can take five hours or two seconds.

It could happen in a church or in a car.

It could be carefully prepared

or it could be a sudden outburst of emotion.

So when the disciples in verse 1

came to Jesus and they said,

Lord, teach us to pray.

In verse 2, Jesus said to them,

when you pray, say,

Father.

That word, Father, is the same word

a child would use when they are calling out

to their earthly father for help.

Dad!

It's one of intimacy.

It's a relationship.

So here Jesus is inviting us

to join him in relationship with his father.

And as we thought of earlier at the beginning,

because of Jesus' death on the cross,

we now have access to the father.

So the relationship that Jesus had with his father

is now our relationship.

Prayer is not some duty to perform.

It is a relationship between a child

and their father.

So in verse 9 we read,

So I say to you,

Ask, ask the father,

and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened to you.

You see, in prayer we are coming to a father

who listens and who answers

and who generously gives good gifts.

Verse 13,

If you then, though you are evil,

and this there is talking about earthly fathers,

if you though are evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more

will your father in heaven give?

So prayer is nothing more or nothing less

than a child asking their heavenly father for help.

But how we ask is all important.

And that's what we're going to consider.

Two big things we're going to look at this morning.

First, we pray in dependence.

We pray in dependence.

When we pray,

yes, we are talking to our father.

But look at what kind of father he is.

We saw this last week.

In chapter 10, verse 21,

it says this.

Chapter 10, verse 21.

At that time,

Jesus, full of joy,

through the Holy Spirit said,

I praise you,

Father,

Lord of heaven and earth.

Our father is the sovereign,

all-powerful Lord.

The fact that he is Lord

means he is the creator

of the universe.

He controls all that he has made

and he rules over

all that he has made.

He is Lord

of heaven and earth.

The disciples themselves

learnt this very early on

as they prayed.

So keep your finger in Luke chapter 11

Luke 11 · chapter mention

and jump to Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Acts, of course,

is the second book

that Luke wrote.

And in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

it's,

Jesus has gone back to heaven.

He has sent his spirit.

And there's been a lot of persecution

and struggle for the disciples.

And they've been put in prison

and they've just been released.

So in Acts chapter 4, verse 23,

Acts 4:23

we read this.

On their release,

Peter and John went back

to their own people

and reported all that

the chief priests and elders

had said to them.

When they heard this,

they raised their voices together

in prayer to God.

So they're in a time of crisis,

a time of difficulty,

and immediately they turn

to God in prayer.

And look what they say.

Verse 24,

Sovereign Lord,

they said,

you made the heaven

and the earth

and the sea

and everything in them.

Our Father

is the Sovereign One.

He rules over the entire universe.

He controls the weather patterns

when it rains

and where it is sunny.

He upholds the forces of nature,

the movements of the planets,

the seas and the tides.

And our Father

rules over the actions of people.

So as we read on in their prayer,

verse 27,

they remember the time

when Jesus,

where the plot was

to get rid and kill Jesus.

So verse 27,

Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate

met together with the Gentiles

and the people of Israel

in this city

to conspire against

your holy servant,

Jesus,

whom you anointed.

And they did kill him,

but look what they say next.

Verse 28,

They did

what your power and will

had decided beforehand

should happen.

God, our Father,

decides

what people do

and he makes it

a part of his plan.

He controls

the evil actions

of people

and he uses it

for something good,

in this case,

the salvation

of the world.

And not only that,

our Father rules

over the lives

of every single person.

So jump to

Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

This isn't a prayer,

but it's reminding us

of who God is.

Acts chapter 17,

Acts 17:24

verse 24.

The God who made

the world

and everything in it

is the Lord

of heaven and earth.

That same phrase.

And he doesn't live

in temples built by hands.

You can't constrain him.

You can't box him in.

Verse 25,

And he is not served

by human hands

as if he needed anything,

because he himself

gives all men

life and breath

and everything else.

He is the

all-sufficient one.

And he sustains

everyone else

and everything else.

But look at this,

verse 26.

From one man

he made

every nation

of men,

that they should

inhabit the whole earth.

And he determines

the time set for them

and the exact places,

the exact places

where they should live.

Our Father controls

where you and I live

and for how long

we live.

He decides

when we are born

and whereabouts

we were born.

Our Father

is Lord

of heaven and earth.

He rules over

all things

and all people.

So when we come

to pray,

yes we are praying

to our Father,

but we come to our Father

in dependence,

recognising

that I am not

in charge,

but he is.

knowing that I

can't control life,

but he does.

We come to our

Father in heaven

who holds

everything

in his hands,

the entire universe,

every detail

about our life

is in his hands.

Nothing

is outside

of his sovereign rule.

So we pray

to our Father

in dependence,

but

with confidence.

Go back to Luke

Luke 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

You see,

if our Father

is

Lord of heaven

and earth,

then we can pray

with confidence.

We can say,

verse 9,

I say to you,

ask and it will

be given to you.

Seek and you

will find.

Knock and the door

will be open

to you.

We are invited

to come and ask

our Father,

who is all-powerful

and all-controlling.

So we pray

with a confidence.

Not a confidence

in us,

but a confidence

in our Father.

We pray

with this

expectation

that God

can

intervene

into this world,

into any

situation,

and he can

intervene

into our lives

and into the

lives of other

people.

That's why

we pray

for rulers

and authorities.

That's why

we pray

for countries,

because he

can change

the heart

of a ruler.

He can change

the direction

of a nation.

He can change

the actions

of evil people

and he can

turn it to good.

He can change

the lives

of ordinary

people so

that they

too become

followers of

Jesus and

that they

become like

Jesus.

And he can

change you

and me.

He can change

our sinful

habits so

that we

become the

kind of

people he

wants us

to be.

You know,

sometimes we

don't pray

because we

don't really

believe our

Father is

Lord of

heaven and

earth.

Do you

believe he's

Lord of

heaven and

earth?

That he's

all powerful

and all

controlling?

A writer

put it like

this.

We

overestimate

what we

can do

and we

underestimate

what God

can do.

We don't

pray simply

because we

think it's

all about

what I

have to

do and

somehow

that God

is just

not able

to do

it.

We

overestimate

what we

can do

and we

underestimate

what God

can do so

we don't

pray.

But here

we have this

wonderful

invitation.

That's what

Luke 11 is

about, this

invitation to

pray

independence

on an

all-powerful,

all-controlling

God.

we can

come with

confidence,

we can

come with

an expectation

that God

who made

the universe

can intervene

in our lives

and in our

world.

Verse 10,

for everyone

who asks

receives

and he

who seeks

finds

and to him

who knocks

the door

will be

opened.

So,

prayer is

nothing more

than a

child

asking their

father for

help.

We pray

as children

to our

father

independence

but with

confidence

and expectation.

And second,

we pray

in humility.

When

we pray

we are

talking to

our father

but we

don't come

demanding

and insisting

from our

father that

we get

everything

that we

ask for.

It doesn't

work like

that.

Look how

Jesus

prayed.

So,

in verse 1

of chapter 11

we just get

this little

insight.

One day

Jesus was

praying

in a

certain

place.

Now,

if you

read through

Luke,

you'll

discover

that Jesus

prays in

all kinds

of different

ways.

In Luke

5,

16,

we read

there that

Jesus

prayed on

his own

and in

a solitary

place.

In Luke

Luke 9:28

9,

verse 28,

we read

that Jesus

prayed up

a mountain

and with

his disciples.

Sometimes

he prayed

really short

prayers,

sometimes

he was

praying

all night

long.

But the

place of

prayer and

the length

of prayer

is not

the issue.

Look at

Luke

Luke 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

Jesus

was a

prayer.

And if

Jesus

needed to

pray,

how much

more do

we need

to pray?

And here

in Luke

22,

we see

how Jesus

prayed with

humility.

Verse 39,

this is just

before his

death.

He's facing

into his

coming death.

Chapter 22,

verse 39,

Jesus went

out as

usual to

the Mount

of Olives.

That was

one of the

places he

often went

to pray.

And his

disciples

followed him.

On reaching

the place,

he said to

them,

pray that

you will

not fall

into

temptation.

He

withdrew

about a

stone's

throw

beyond

them,

knelt

down,

and prayed.

And here's

what he

prayed.

Father,

it's that

same word

again,

this cry

of help.

Father,

help.

If you

are willing,

take this

cup from

me.

Jesus is

about to

face into

the most

horrendous,

the most

difficult

situation

in his

life.

He is

about to

face the

rejection

of all

his family

and his

friends.

He's

about to

face the

insults

and

injustices

of false

accusations.

He is

about to

face the

physical

torture,

of beatings,

of a

crown of

thorns being

crushed in

his head,

being nailed

to a

cross.

And most

of all,

he is

going to

face the

judgment

of God

for us,

being

abandoned

by the

Father

for us.

This is

physical,

emotional,

mental,

and spiritual

suffering in

its ultimate

and greatest

form.

and so

he prays,

verse 42,

Father,

help me.

If you

are willing,

take this

cup from

me.

Do not

let me have

to go

through this.

He knows

his Father

is Lord

of heaven

and earth.

He knows

that his

Father is

all-powerful

and all-controlling.

He knows

he can do

anything,

but look

what he says

in his

prayer.

Look at the

last part

of verse

42.

Yet

not

my

will,

but

yours

be done.

Incredible.

Jesus

doesn't

come

demanding

and

insisting.

He

doesn't

whine

and

whinge.

He's

not

stamping

his

feet

in

protest

like

a

spoiled

child.

He

humbly

submits

himself

to

his

loving

Father

who

always

does

what

is

right

and

best

even

in

times

of

great

suffering.

Not

what I

want,

but what

you want,

Father.

Not

what

pleases

me,

but what

will

please

you,

Father.

Not

what I

demand,

but what

will bring

glory and

honour to

you,

Father.

you

see,

all of

our

prayers

should

be

prayed

with

humility.

Not

demanding

and

insisting

and

telling

God

that

he

should

do

this

and

he

should

do

that,

but

a

simple

not

what

I

will,

but

what

you

will.

Back

in

Luke

11,

we

are

told

what

we

can

ask

for

and

know

that

we

will

receive

it.

In

verse

13,

we

are

told

how

much

more

will

your

Father

in

heaven

give

the

Holy

Spirit

to

those

who

ask

him.

Now

why

would

he

be

telling

us

to

ask

for

the

Holy

Spirit?

What's

the

Spirit

got

to

do

with

prayer?

Well

this

is

really

important

and

I

want

us

to

follow

this

through

in

line

with

our

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

And

we

see

here

the

reason

or

the

purpose

of

asking

for

the

Holy

Spirit

when

we

come

to

pray.

Romans

Romans 8:26

8

verse

26

In

the

same

way

the

Spirit

helps

us

in

our

weakness

so

it's

talking

about

times

of

real

need

and

struggle

the

Spirit

helps

us

in

our

weakness

we

do

not

know

what

we

ought

to

pray

for

but

the

Spirit

himself

intercedes

for

us

with

groans

that

words

cannot

express

and

he

that's

the

Father

who

searches

our

hearts

knows

the

mind

of

the

Spirit

because

the

Spirit

intercedes

for

the

saints

people

like

you

and

me

in

accordance

with

God's

will

to

pray

and

they

don't

know

what

we

ought

to

pray

for

have

you

ever

been

in

that

time

in

that

experience

the

situation

is

just

so

big

it

seems

to

be

so

out

of

control

we

cannot

put

a

finger

on

what

the

problem

is

we

are

just

overwhelmed

with

everything

that

is

going

on

in

our

lives

and

all

around

us

and

we

don't

know

what

to

pray

for

we don't even know where to begin.

And at that moment, within our hearts,

it's almost as if it comes out in groans and agonies of cry

or perhaps a shout of frustration.

At that moment, verse 26,

the Spirit himself intercedes for us.

It's literally saying to us,

he joins with us.

The Spirit comes alongside us.

And he begins to pray for us on our behalf

what is good and what is right.

Because he knows our hearts,

he knows what we need right then in our lives

and he prays for that, what is good and right.

But there's more than that.

You see, even if we do pray,

sometimes in those moments of crisis and difficulty and struggle,

sometimes what we do pray,

we can even pray for the wrong thing.

Or we even get our prayers in the wrong way.

But the Spirit takes those prayers.

Look at verse 27, the end of verse 27.

And the Spirit intercedes for the saints

in accordance with God's will.

It's telling us that he takes our prayers,

even the wrong prayers that we say.

But he knows the motive.

He knows the heart.

He knows that we're genuine.

He knows that we want what's right and good.

And he takes our prayers,

even the wrong ones,

and he translates them.

He brings them to the Father

so that the prayers we pray

are the right prayers.

And they are according to God's good and perfect will.

Isn't that incredible?

The Spirit comes alongside,

joins with us,

and prays what we should pray,

and even takes our wrong prayers

and makes them the right kind of prayer

so that they are in line with God's will.

This is a prayer of humility.

That is saying,

I don't always know what is God's will.

I don't know what is right or best in this situation

or in my life or in their life,

but the Spirit does.

And because the Spirit knows

what the Father wants

and what the Father wills,

the Spirit will always pray

what the Father wants

and what the Father wills.

So that's why we come in humility

and we pray with that simple request

for the Holy Spirit.

And he will pour out that Holy Spirit

generously upon us

so that all of our prayers

are according to God's good and perfect will.

Now that means

we don't always get what we ask for

or what we want.

Our Father doesn't hand out

everything and anything that we say we want.

But it does mean

that he will always give to us

what is good and right and best for us.

He will always give

what is according to his good and perfect will.

He knows his children.

He knows what we need.

And he will give us

and not withhold what we need.

And so we pray in humility.

But we also pray continually.

Back in Luke 11

as Jesus taught his disciples to pray

he says to them

in chapter 11 verse 9

I say to you

ask

and it will be given

seek and you will find

knock

and the door will be opened.

In reading through this

and studying it

it became clear that

this is a present

continuous asking.

It's not just a one off

ask

and then forget about it

and never ask again.

In other words

it's an encouragement to us

to keep on praying

and not give up.

We continually ask

we continually seek

we continually knock

we continually speak to our Father.

You see as we ask

sometimes the answer

might be simply this

not yet my child

not yet.

And so we pray continually

trusting in God's timing.

Our Father will always give us

what is good

when it is right.

Always gives us

what is good

when it is right.

And so sometimes

our experience

will be like this

we pray for something

and we receive it

right now.

We receive it

straight away.

We pray for an end

to some kind of suffering

or difficulty

in our lives.

We pray for God

to do a work

in somebody's life

and God intervenes

and it happens.

The suffering ends.

The person becomes

a Christian.

We pray for a change

in a circumstance

and God works

to bring something

different about.

He answers.

He does it.

But sometimes

what we ask for

the answer will be

not yet

it will come later.

Tim Chester

in his book

You Can Pray

I recommend it

to you

as a very

easy read.

He says this

about waiting

and praying

continually.

God is waiting

until the time

is right.

when you pray

for justice

the ultimate

answer may be

the final judgment.

When you pray

for peace

the ultimate

answer may be

the reign

of the Lord Jesus.

When you pray

for health

and healing

the ultimate

answer may be

your resurrection

body.

When you pray

for joy

the ultimate

answer may be

the wedding

feast of the Lamb.

And when you pray

for a sense

of God's

presence

the ultimate

answer may be

the day

when heaven

comes to earth

and a loud

voice from the

throne says

look

God's dwelling

is now

among the people

and he will

dwell with them

they will be

his people

and God himself

will be with them

and be their

gods.

we pray

continually

because we

can be assured

that God

will always

give us

what is good

when it is

right

and when it

is best

for us.

Verse 10

For everyone

who asks

receives

and he who

seeks finds

and to him

who knocks

the door

will be

opened.

we are

invited to

come to

a father

as children

who pray

to their

father

asking

for help

he gives

good gifts

but we

come to him

with

dependence

he is the

sovereign lord

of heaven

and earth

he is the

one with all

power who

controls all

things

we can

come with

confidence

with an

expectancy

that he

can intervene

into this

world and

into our

lives

but we

pray

with humility

not what I

want

but what you

want

what will

bring you

glory

what is best

for you

and what will

be best

for me

and we

do not

give up

in our

prayer

because he

will always

give what

is good

when

it is

right

let us

pray

our

father

god

forgive us

for the

times where

we

overestimate

what we

can do

and we

underestimate

what you

can do

for you

are lord

of heaven

and earth

all power

and all

authority

belongs to

you

you control

all things

you are in

charge of

our own

lives

so teach

us to

come and

pray in

confidence

but father

help us to

get our

relationship

with you

right

help us

that we

might come

in humility

that every

prayer will

be not

what I

want

but what

you will

and what

you desire

change us

so that we

fit in with

your purposes

and your

plans

and thank

you

that all

of our

prayers

prayers

whether we

pray once

or pray

for many

many years

you will

answer and

you will

give all

that is

good and

right

thank you

that we

can come

to you as

father

thank you

that you

give us

help when

we ask

and help

us

that we

may go

on talking

to you

through

this week

in jesus name

we pray

amen

do

need

to

care

where

you

your

train

or

you