Lord, Teach Us To Pray

This morning, I am reading from Luke 11:1-13 NIV:

[1] 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.”

[2] He said to them, “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. ’ ”

[5] Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; [6] a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ [7] And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ [8] I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

[9] “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. [10] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [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!”

These are such interesting verses as they relate to prayer, especially when we realize that this is Jesus teaching His followers how they should approach the Father, in prayer. Looking at His teaching on prayer with a fresh eye we see:

1. Focus on the Name of the Father, bringing Him Glory and honor, recognizing that there is no other God, and He is wholly worthy of our praise.
2. A calling forth of the Kingdom of God - one would expect this would then result in its demonstration (healing, signs & wonders, deliverance, etc.)
3. A call for blessing and provision, in a very practical sense. God is not just interested in our spiritual condition, but also our natural condition.
4. Asking for forgiveness for those wrongs we have committed in our relationship with Him, and a commitment to forgive others for those wrongs they have committed against us. "Freely you have received, so freely give." (Matt 10:8)
5. Asking Him to guide and direct us and keep us on the correct path, to protect us from the deception of the enemy, and unhealthy pursuits of the flesh and the world. The Greek word can be literally translated trial - with both a positive and negative context. The idea is either that the Lord is testing our character and His work in us, or they are specifically designed to lead us to walk away from God and His plans, and thus from the enemy, or both.

After finishing this brief teaching, it seems Jesus tells His followers to persevere in prayer, almost to the point of obnoxiousness (verses 5-8). This is where it gets interesting, for He is teaching His followers how to approach the Father. I think that sometimes we misunderstand these particular verses, because these verses are really to help us to understand the character of the Father, not teach us to persevere in asking, for He isn't anything like the friend Jesus mentions. Jesus is using the story of the friend, who won't help until you just keep banging on their door, to illustrate that the Father isn't anything like them. The real focus is the attitude we should come with when we go to the Father. The NIV translates it shameless audacity, other translations use the word persistence. I like shameless audacity, for that is how I see the Lord wants us approach Him in the confidence of knowing Him. There is no shame in recognizing and our admitting our need, nor in going to the one who can really meet my needs.

Next, the Lord gives us simple directions, ask, seek, knock, depending on your particular need. He has established that the character of God is completely different than the character of man, and where a man might give us something if we ask many times, the Father will always. There's is no hesitancy, no waffling, no extensive questioning from the Father. There is no misunderstanding, no bait and switch, no shaming, no rejecting, just answering our need.

Our Father is so much more capable, so much more loving and so much more faithful than any person we have ever met, even the best earthly father. If we can receive good things that we need from these types of people, who are sinful and limited at their best, how much more will our Father in Heaven, the one who created us, loves us and has a plan for us, give us exactly what we need. We don't need to be ashamed when we come to Him in our need, we don't need to fear His answer, we just need to ask, seek and knock, and He will deliver.

This is all related to the teaching on prayer, all to help us understand how to approach the Father in prayer. He loves us, and desires the best for us. Let us approach Him with shameless audacity, knowing that He is indeed that good and that faithful.