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March 8, 2015
*Intro* – (Read Luke 11:5-8).
In Lu 11:1-4 Jesus tells the disciples what to pray for.
In vv.
5-13 He tells them how to pray – Persistently (vv.
5-9) and Expectantly (9-13).
The reluctant neighbor stands for God.
The knocking neighbor -- the disciples – and thus us.
We’ve seen God is not really reluctant at all.
But at times for His greater purposes, He appears reluctant.
So, how are we to react.
Jesus answers keep praying – persistently and expectantly.
We tend to be like the boy who went to his first day of kindergarten with great expectations.
Mom told him, “You’ll love school.
You will learn so many things – like how to read and write!”
So off he went.
When she picked him up she asked, “How did it go?”
He responded, “Not so great.
I still can’t read or write.”
Defeated by disappointment.
Like many prayer lives!
But Jesus urges – in the face of apparent reluctance, “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.”
Pray with impudence or persistence.
Don’t give up.
That’s the key to this passage.
So what does Jesus mean by impudence or persistence?
Vv. 5-9 show 2 nuances.
To pray persistently = pray tenaciously and shamelessly – all in God’s will.
*I.
Tenaciously*
Look at the reluctant neighbor in v. 7: “Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed.
I cannot get up and give you anything’?”
He’s legitimately put out.
Most houses were one room – two at most.
Everyone, including the kids, are laid out on sleeping mats on the floor.
The door is shut and locked with a large wooden or iron bar to secure the entrance.
This guy would have to get up, light a candle, tiptoe through the whole family, find bread, take down the noisy bar.
The house would be in an uproar!
So, “Don’t bother me!” That’s where a lot of us would give up.
Not this guy.
He’s tenacious!
He persists until he gets the bread.
And Jesus says, “That’s the way to pray.
Pray tenaciously!”
Be a bulldog in prayer.
Jesus instructs in v. 9: “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
These verbs are present tense.
Keep on asking; Keep on seeking; Keep on knocking.
In the end God will respond.
So, is there any difference in those three terms?
And the answer is in this context, they mean basically the same thing.
Persist.
Jesus isn’t saying, “Try asking first, and if that doesn’t work, seek and if that doesn’t work, start knocking.”
That’s not the point.
Rather the idea is when the answer is not immediate, don’t give up.
Increase the energy!
Our natural tendency is to say, “I didn’t learn to read or write today, so forget school.
It’s a waste.”
We play that same game with God in prayer.
No answer so forget about it.
But Jesus says, “In the face of silence, keep on asking, seeking and knocking.”
Persist.
Tenaciously.
He promises an answer.
He doesn’t promise its timing, but He promises an answer, so don’t give up.
Keep on asking.
Jas 4 mid v. 2 reminds us, “You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
Why do we not have?
Because we don’t ask.
We got discouraged.
The answer was delayed and we decided God was not interested.
But is that the problem?
No – the problem is we quit asking.
We gave up.
Now note it is possible to ask wrongly.
To ask only for our own selfish ends.
Motives count when it comes to praying.
We might ask God to prosper our new business purely so that we could make a lot of money, enjoy an easy life and retire in luxury.
That would be asking wrongly.
But we might also ask that God prosper our business so that we can provide for our family and give to His work – help others.
It’s a question of motive.
We need tenacity and purity.
Daniel was tenacious.
At age 80 a new regime came into power.
Babylon was defeated by the Medes and Persians.
Daniel was brought out of retirement to become one of 3 primary rulers under the king.
Soon the king determined to make Daniel #2.
Word filtered out.
Jealousy ensued.
Some of Daniel’s colleagues plotted to use His prayer life against him.
They got the king to sign a decree that no one should pray to anyone but the king for 30 days on pain of being thrown to the lions.
Daniel’s reaction?
Dan 6:10 “He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”
With his life in the balance, Daniel was tenacious in prayer, just like always.
And he gave thanks.
Don’t miss that.
He gave thanks for whatever was to come.
He gave thanks before God stopped the mouths of the lions.
He persisted in prayer.
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