Luke 11: 1-13
Years ago, I had the privilege of serving a dear lady as her pastor. Her name was Norma. Norma loved to come to worship. She loved to come to Bible class. She loved our little church.
Norma had a problem though. You couldn’t miss it if you looked at her hands. They were twisted all out of shape by painful Rheumatoid arthritis. So even though she wanted to, helping around the church was impossible for her.
Yet I have to think that Norma did more for our church and the people around her than we will ever know. You see, Norma loved to pray for others. She loved to fold those crippled hands and go to her Lord in prayer. In fact, every time I visited her she would say to me, Pastor, who can we pray for?
It’s good for a pastor to have someone like Norma. Those Normas remind me not to neglect my own prayer life. Not to lose sight of this fact: what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
I imagine that’s how it was for Jesus’ disciples. Again and again we read how Jesus would go off to spend time in prayer with his heavenly Father. So his disciples couldn’t help but see that and think about their own prayer life. Let’s do the same today in this Word. Let their request be our own.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
I. Remembering what is most important (1-4 )
II. Persistently
III. Expecting good things
I want to start by having you think of one word, Father or our Father. Jesus invites us to come to the God of heaven and earth as Father. Don’t take that for granted. Without Jesus, we could not do that. We could not come to him as dear children come to their loving father. For without Jesus, a big ugly wall stands between us and God. A wall that we built brick by brick with the many times we have offended the Lord with our sin. The prophet Isaiah describes so well where we stand on our own. You iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins has hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. (59:2)
But something has changed all that. Was it me? Was I able to tear down that wall like the people did in Berlin years ago? No, there’s no way you and I could remove that wall of guilt that stood between us and God.
But what I couldn’t do, Jesus did at the cross. Brick by brick he tore down that wall as he took our sin upon himself, suffered and died. Brick by brick he tore down that wall as the Son of God redeemed us by his blood and won our forgiveness.
But Jesus has done more than remove what stood between us. For how does he invite us to come to God. As Father, our Father in heaven. Don’t take that for granted, dear friends. Only in Christ can we come to God this way. Lord teach us to pray.
“When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” What’s the first thing you notice here? This is different from what we usually pray. It is different from what Jesus taught in Matthew during the Sermon on the Mount. Is something missing here? Not really. It seems that Jesus wasn’t teaching so much a prayer to be memorized. He was teaching us what to pray for and who to pray for. He was teaching them not to forget the kind of blessings that are most important.
Think about your prayer life. What fills your prayers? Is it only things like help grandma to get better. Give my brother a job. Keep me safe? These are things to pray for. But what about grandma’s faith. Help her Lord to trust in you. What about your unemployed brother. He may need more than a job. He may need a Savior. Your kingdom come to him by bringing him to faith in You. Help me to share it once more. And what about keeping me safe. There are far more threatening things than an earthquake or hurricane. Keep me safe from those temptations to walk away from you, Lord. Help me to hallow your name by what I say and do as one on whom you placed your name in Holy Baptism.
Do you see then what Jesus taught his disciples here, what he teaches us who can be so unspiritual in our prayers. Our daily bread, the things we need for everyday life is important. But here our Lord teaches us to remember what is most important, those spiritual blessings that have eternal importance.
And did you notice? It’s not just about me, myself and I. For how does Jesus teach us to pray: our, us, like dear Norma prayed for others. For we are not just a bunch of individuals who happen to come together in a certain place. We are the body of Christ. We belong to one another. So we pray not just for me, but for one another. Lord teach us to pray.
He teaches us something else here. “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “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.’ 8 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. Let’s make sure we understand what Jesus is teaching us. He’s not saying, if you keep pestering God, he will finally answer your prayer to get you to quit bothering him. Our Father is not like we earthly fathers can sometimes be. All right!!
Yet Jesus is teaching us this. Be persistent in your prayers. Don’t give up seeking. Keep asking. Keep knocking on God’s door. Don’t go away after one prayer. Be bold like Abraham. Be persistent. And why?
I can’t say why. But could it be that God wants you to realize how much you need his help. Maybe he doesn’t want you to take his blessings for granted. Or maybe he wants you to realize what you ought to be praying for. I don’t know. But I do know this. Jesus teaches us: Keep praying and don’t give up. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
But what will I receive? What will I find when my Lord opens that door to answer my prayers? What can I expect? Listen to your Savior: 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!”
It’s usually safe to assume that a father wants to give good things to his children. Many of our fathers worked very hard, made a lot of sacrifices to put food on our tables, clothes on our back and give us opportunities to succeed in life. So what can a child expect from a father like that. Dad, I need this or that for school. Maybe he won’t get what he asked for. But dad sure won’t give him something harmful.
Now think about our God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for you. What kind of things does Jesus tell you to expect from your Father in heaven when you pray to him. Expect good things.
Of course, some of those things don’t look so good. Many a Christian has prayed that the Lord would spare husband or wife or child from death. But death came to them nevertheless. How could that be good? It seems like our Father has answered with a snake or a scorpion.
Well at times like those we need to do what I do on a roller coaster. Grab hold of something and hold on for dear life. And the something to hold on to is this. God’s promise. That what he sends our way must work for our good. Even those things that bring tears to our eyes. Lord teach us to pray expecting good things.
And one very good thing to pray for is this. the Holy Spirit. Don’t misunderstand. If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you. Yet how often life throws us a curve we didn’t expect. How often we find ourselves worried or confused. We need the Spirit to give us wisdom and understanding. We need him to give us comfort and hope. This you can count on. Good things. as Jesus says: how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Ask him, then.
If you tell the doctor or therapist that you pray he’ll say good. To them it’s good if it makes you feel better. But prayer is more than something that makes you feel better. So much more. So let us pray. In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6) Amen.
