The Essential Ingredient

Series on Luke

IV The Imperatives of the Kingdom

A Increasing Opposition

5 Seeking through Prayer

Text: 11:1-13

Introduction

The Lord’s prayer could be the subject of an extended series itself, but today as we continue our study of Luke’s gospel there is only one thing that I want you to gain from this text. I want you to see the essential ingredient in prayer: faith, trust, confidence. Jesus did not give us this prayer so that we could get God’s attention or favor by endlessly repeating it. In fact, in Matthew’s gospel, in the sermon on the mount it is accompanied by a warning that we should not pray as the heathen do, with vain repetitions. On the other hand when the disciples here ask Him to teach them to pray, Jesus himself repeats the prayer, and says when you pray say this. Of course we may repeat the prayer but only when we do it with meaning and understanding. The main point of Jesus’ teaching here, is that the essential ingredient in prayer is trust. We see this in the pattern, which is why Jesus repeats it, and in the persistence that he presents in the two parables that follow. So look today with me at faith as displayed first through the pattern of prayer and secondly through persistence in prayer.

I The Pattern

The reason that Jesus repeats the prayer to his disciples, a prayer He has already given to them is that the content of the prayer teaches us to trust God. How does it teach us this? The disciples request is teach us to pray, not teach us a prayer. The content of the prayer reveals something about praying as we read in verses 1-4, 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.’” Indeed, as one of our pastors says, millions of people pray this prayer over and over and have no idea that they are praying for God to turn the world upside down especially when they say your kingdom come, as here, and in the longer form in Matthew 6, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here we learn to be confident of God’s person, power, provision, pardon, and perseverance.

A The Person

Father hallowed be your name, or holy be your name. Even though He is infinite, eternal and unchanging in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, He is our Father because of Christ who died for our sins. Do you have the confidence here that if God did not spare his only Son but delivered him up for us all he will also with him freely give us all things. The word holy here indicates primarily uniqueness, otherness, not moral rectitude. The high and holy one hears our prayers because of Christ, and we are confident in His person.

B The Power

In praying “your kingdom come,” we express our confidence that the ultimate outcome accompanying our efforts and in spite of our failings will be that God’s kingdom shall be established. God is the ultimate victor. You must have confidence in Christ’s victory over the disorder of the present world, and also over the disorder of your life. All power belongs to Him.

C Provision

“Give us each day our daily bread,” again focuses on God as the sovereign ruler of all that occurs. The bread here is called daily, but the deeper meaning of this word is the needed bread. You must have confidence in God’s ability to supply our needs, even as Jesus taught us that He cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Nothing is beyond His benevolent care, especially you.

D Pardon

Jesus says we should pray, ‘Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone that sins against us.” It is a tragic mistake to think that Jesus is here stating that we will only be forgiven if we forgive. What he is saying is that our confidence in God’s forgiveness is demonstrated by our willingness to forgive others.

E Perseverance

In the words, “Lead us not into temptation,” we express the confidence that God will guide us through all our diverse experiences to the ultimate victory, by preserving us. We are confident of His perseverance with us because He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. The single theme that runs through all of these petitions is confidence in God. What is the point of praying if you do not have confidence in the one to whom you are praying? The amazing thing about this prayer is that all the petitions are just promises turned around! This is why true prayer is not simply an exercise in trying to get what we desire but a confident reliance on the presence and power of God. It is a recognition that he is on our side because of Christ and his righteousness. Now Jesus immediately proceeds to give two brief parables on prayer and what they teach us is that our confidence is also expressed through persistence.

II The Persistence

The two bases of persistence in prayer that Jesus gives are in the arena of friendship and family.

A Friendship

We read the first parable in verses 5-10, Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he 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 with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the 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 everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. I am sure that many truths could be drawn from this passage but the bottom line of the story that Jesus tells is this: first, the appeal is based on confidence that the friend will help because he is his friend, and secondly, he appeals in an emergency, and he is not presuming on the friendship. Nevertheless, although his persistence indicates a lot of confidence in his friendship, that is not why the friend responds. He responds because he wants some peace. The message is that his boldness and his tireless petitioning brings results. God wants to know how much it means to us. How great is our desire to see God glorified through the answer to our prayer? This man is feeling it.

B Family

Jesus also provides a parable of the family in verses 11-13, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks 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!” This is based on confidence in the character of the father. What father would give to his son that which would injure him rather than that which would help. Under normal circumstances even human fathers give what will help, how much more the father of lights with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning. But notice that the father gives the child what is good for him. He dos not give him anything that he wants. But as all children learn very quickly, even things that are good for them are not always granted if they are inconvenient. That’s why when they want a puppy and Daddy doesn’t, they keep on asking, and asking, and asking. They are just that confident in the father’s love.

Conclusion

In my opinion the whole of this Scripture is directed at one goal and that is for Jesus’ followers to have a confidence that leads to persistence when they pray. Both the pattern of the prayer Jesus gives and the parables on prayer he taught remind us of this confidence. Please remember that the power in prayer is not from the form or the frequency but from the fervency that is born of true confidence and faith and trust. When we repeat the Lord’s prayer we are reminded to put his glory, his kingdom first, and both the prayer and the parables which follow remind us of a single unified theme which Jesus expressed succinctly in Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. We like the second half of this verse, all these things will be given to you, but we don’t like the first half which is seek first the kingdom of God. The point is simple; if you don’t seek the kingdom of God first then your prayers are useless. Don’t bother to pray. We need to pray with a confidence in God that is manifested in persistence.