Prayer                       Luke 11:1-13

How many of you pray?               We all pray; we offer congregational prayer, we pray for each other, for loved ones and friends. We pray privately. Since prayer is a part of our lives and a big part of our church I thought this would be a great time to talk about prayer, and this passage gives us the opportunity to talk in depth about prayer.

This passage has so much in it I actually had trouble preparing a message that wasn’t way longer than what I expect you want to sit and listen to so I decided to touch on just two aspects of what is going on.

               First we have the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. As I said, we all pray. What do you pray for? Have you ever been disappointed by the response to your prayer? How often do you pray? Jesus prayed all the time, we should too. I know life gets in the way; work, kids, making dinner, cleaning up, laundry. I know it can be hard to find the time, but to go through life this way is to go through life without the greatest aid you can get; God’s aid.

So again, when you do pray, what do you pray for? Most of us pray for something we want. How many have said to God – if you give me this or if you get me out of this jam; I promise to do “whatever.” That’s not really a prayer; that’s trying to make a deal with God.

When you have prayed; asked God for something, have you ever been disappointed by the outcome, or God’s seemingly lack of response? I have. But I think our disappointment is because of our inability to see things as God sees them. If the answer to our prayer is “no” it may be because God has something else in mind for us.

When I was younger; and I’m going to apologize to Jen before I tell this story, when I was younger I had a girlfriend, we were fighting a lot and our relationship was close to ending. I remember praying for help, for peace in my life and a relationship of love and support. At the time I meant all this to be with my girlfriend. We broke up. I was upset, why didn’t God help? A few years later this same woman called me and said she had a friend she wanted me to meet. She introduced me to Jen. God had someone else for me and he used my old girlfriend as the means of answering my prayer; in his time and in his way. I’ve been blessed ever since.

Think about this, almost everyone at some point prays, even a thief will pray for a lenient judge. James tells us in his epistle, “When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.

So back to the disciples asking how to pray. Jesus gave us the great example of the “Lord’s Prayer.” First Jesus starts his prayer with “Father.” In Greek the word is “Abba.” This is not a legalistic term; abba means more than just father, it denotes an affectionate, dependant relationship. As children we love and depend on our earthly father. Jesus wants us to know we have a personal, intimate and loving relationship with God.

“Hallowed be thy name.” Hallowed means holy. It means to sanctify, to make perfect. It is the quality of being extraordinarily set apart. So Jesus could have said here, “May your name be held holy.”

“Give us our daily bread.” We admit openly to god that we recognize that everything in our life; from the smallest to the greatest, everything has been given to us by God.

“Forgive us our sins.” As Christians we know only God can forgive our transgressions and this leads directly into the next statement, “We forgive those who sin against us.” As Christians we have been given the timeless love of God, as recipients of this love we should never hold a grudge or curse someone for their transgressions. Rather, we should seek God’s help in loving even those who act against us.

“And lead us not into temptation.” In the world today so much seems to come at us everyday. It can be hard to know what is right or wrong. We need God’s wisdom and strength to keep our lives focused on him.

One very important thing here I think should be noticed, see how short this prayer is. Matthew 6 is the other place in scripture this prayer is recorded. In Matthew 6:7 Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling…for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Keep it short. Keep it simple. The length or complexity of your prayer does not make it more powerful. Matthew 6:8 says “…your father knows what you need before you ask.”

I believe in the concept that you use the Bible to explain the Bible. Revelation 3:20 tells us, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” I know this verse is usually used in relation to salvation but it does show us God’s personality, his nature. God is a loving father. He gave us the ability to think and act. He knows what we want, what we need; but he won’t act unless we ask him to.

I just want to mention Matthew 6:6 as it talks of prayer, “When you pray go into your room.” I’ve been around those who make a flamboyant and loud spectacle of prayer. Are these people really praying for someone or are they praying loudly to get recognition for their actions? Everyone’s personality is different and everyone does things differently. I am all for praying for someone and praying with someone but we must be aware of our motives. By telling us to go into our room Jesus is telling us to keep our prayers between ourselves and God and not to worry about who is around and what they may think.

So here is a proper prayer: it should be short, between you and God. It should be God centered, acknowledging God for who he is and being thankful for our relationship with him. Share your fears and concerns, ask for God’s help but for the right reason and ask for patience and understanding for what you want may not be what God wants for you.

The second part of our reading is the parable of the friend. A man knocks on his friends door at midnight. This may seem strange to us but in Palestine 2000 years ago people traveled at night to avoid the heat. Hospitality was considered a sacred duty, Jesus audience would understand and sympathize with what’s going on here.

The man had no bread because his family makes just enough each day to make it through the day, it was a common practice. So the man goes to his friend; the Greek word used here is “Philos” and it means loved or dear or devoted, so the man goes to a very good friend.

Something else, in those times most poor families had a one room house, the whole family slept together and most probably the sheep and the goats were inside too. Waking up his friend probably meant the whole household was woken up. As strong as this friendship is, it isn’t strong enough for the friend to want his whole household up in the middle of the night. The man keeps knocking until the neighbor gets up and gives him the bread just to get him to go away. Shamelessness, boldness, chutzpah; that’s what this parable is illustrating. Jesus audience is likely chuckling by now. To them this is a humorous story.

But now Jesus gets to the point he is trying to make, and he does it with three word pairs. Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened. The first word is the action; the last word is the result.

This parable comes right after Jesus tells his disciples how to pray. This is important. First Jesus tells us how to pray, and then he tells us what we need to do when we pray. We need to approach god with shameless persistence. Do not just pray once and say “Oh well;” pray over and over and over again. Jesus wants us to change our thinking about God.

We may think we shouldn’t bother God; he’s God, he has enough to do. But God doesn’t think like us. He doesn’t mind if you call on him at midnight. In fact he loves it when we come to him, no matter the time.

In Isaiah 62 God says, “You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give no rest…” John 4 tells of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus is tired from traveling and sits to rest while his companions go to find food. Jesus talks with the woman, teaching her. After she leaves and the disciples come back they notice Jesus is refreshed. He tells them “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Jesus is refreshed when we call on him and allow him to help us.

The last point; this parable seems like a strange story, a friend giving to a neighbor just to get him to go away. This seems wrong when we are talking about God answering prayers. But that is just the point. If a friend will help you; even if it’s for the wrong reason, how much more can we depend on God to answer our prayers.

Jesus gives the picture of a father being asked for a fish, what father would respond with a snake? Jesus has now gone from the illustration of friends to one of a parent and child. A human parent would not be that cruel, how much more our heavenly father will make provision for us.

So, pray often, and pray correctly. It does not need to be long or complicated. Acknowledge God for who he is. State your need directly and confidently. And don’t do it just once, remember, approach God boldly and often. Keep in your heart God knows all about you and what you really need. His answer may be “no,” it may be “not now,” or he may have something else for you. And don’t forget to ask for understanding, patience and determination to follow God’s will.