Prayer-Young Adult Lesson
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Model for Prayer
Jesus Model for Prayer
You all had asked about learning the 3-P’s (Prayer, Prophesy, and Preaching) so tonight we are going to start looking a little deeper into these subjects and the first one we are going to look at is prayer.
I am not sure how many weeks we will spend on each one of these, but we are not in any hurry and it’s better to take things slowly and digest the information than to try and rush through some lessons.
But as we start on prayer tonight we are going to be looking at Jesus’ model for prayer and some different aspects that are looked at from the perspective of Luke 11:1-13.
Who wants to read it for us?
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
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.’ ” 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. “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!”
Introduction
Introduction
A few years ago, the Pew Forum conducted a research poll to determine how common it was for adherents of various religious groups in America to pray at least daily.
Overall, 58 percent of Americans reported being daily prayers. However, the two groups with the highest percentage of folks who claimed to do so were the Jehovah’s Witnesses (at 89 percent) and the Mormons (at 82 percent). Not, any of our Christian denominations.
Why do you all think that those two groups have the highest percentage of those who claim to pray daily?
I’m sure there are many reasons that may be proposed, but here is my theory: those two groups both teach and expect their people to pray daily (even multiple times per day).
The Church has failed to emphasize the importance of prayer beyond a “wish list” for God, or a “come to God when you have trouble” prayer life.
Lesson Background
Lesson Background
The Gospel of Luke has an emphasis upon prayer, with more references to that subject than any other Gospel.
Various people are presented in Luke as persons of prayer (examples: Luke 1:13; 2:37).
This emphasis continues in Luke’s second book, Acts, where the early Christian community is frequently presented as being engaged in prayer (see Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:31; 6:4).
The example of the “prayer-person” in the Gospel of Luke is Jesus himself.
Jesus prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21),
Before the choosing of the 12 disciples (6:12)
At the time of the Peter’s confession (9:18–20)
On the Mount of Transfiguration (9:28, 29)
As a motivation for cleansing the temple (19:45, 46)
And during His agony in the garden (22:41).
Since we are only a couple of weeks until Easter, it’s fitting that the immediate context of today’s lesson on prayer is that of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, where He would be arrested, crucified, buried, and resurrected (Luke 9:51).
This fateful journey and its aftermath occupy about 60 percent of the Gospel according to Luke.
So, let’s get into it.
Request and Response
Request and Response
Somebody read Luke 11:1-4 for us....
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.’ ”
Observing the Master (v. 1)
Observing the Master (v. 1)
This situation before us is the only biblical record of an occasion where a disciple comes to Jesus with a request to be taught how to pray.
Luke is not long on details here, but we can determine what is happening by piecing things together.
Jesus is traveling with His group of disciples toward Jerusalem.
His group includes the 12 chosen to be apostles (Luke 6:13) as well as others (10:17).
They have stopped at an unnamed certain place, likely a village on the way to Jerusalem. Perhaps the time of day is morning, and Jesus pauses for a time of prayer before the group resumes its trek.
There may be some prayers offered as a group, but we easily imagine that eventually Jesus is the only one still praying.
His disciples wait for Him to finish, and then one of them expresses a request probably shared by the group at large: Lord, teach us to pray.
But there is something unsaid and strange here.
Think about it, as observant Jews, wouldn’t they already know how to pray?
Their parents had taught them to pray as youngsters. They had been in synagogues for hundreds of prayer services and have heard the elders of their communities pray many times.
So, something is very different here.
Perhaps by this time the one making the request has become aware of Jesus’ prayer pattern from numerous occasions (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28).
The disciple has noticed that the content, context, and length of Jesus’ prayers are different from what that disciple experienced before meeting Him.
If so, what the requester is really saying is “Lord, teach us how to pray as You do.”
Implied here is that there is a method, a structure to Jesus’ prayers that would be helpful for His disciples to know.
The one making the request mentions John the Baptist (now deceased; see Luke 9:9). Some of Jesus’ disciples had been disciples of John the Baptist (see John 1:35–37). Those present who had been in the latter group may be interested in comparing and contrasting John’s prayer method with that of Jesus.
So, as you have grown up, what areas have you seen the most improvement/change in your own prayer life?
What prompted you to make these changes in your prayer life?
What are some things to consider when thinking about prayer and “how to pray?”
Setting aside enough time for prayer-How long should you pray?
Establishing an appropriate place for prayer-Where do you pray?
Establishing a set of themes for prayer-What do I mean by this?
Dealing with distractions-What are things that distract us? How do we deal with them?
So, let’s look a little closer at Jesus’ model he gives them.
Providing the Model (vv. 2–4)
Providing the Model (vv. 2–4)
What follows may be seen as Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, which is better known to us in the version given in Matthew 6:9–13, what we know as the “Lord’s Prayer” or I call the “long version.”
The similarities and differences between the two versions show us that Jesus probably teaches this prayer on more than one occasion and with variations.
The differences indicate that the exact wording is not as important as the general pattern and the emphasis.
There is no magic in repeating the words of the Lord’s Prayer, but there is great power in the thoughts being expressed within it.
The opening line Our Father which art in heaven establishes the basis for prayer.
Prayer, by definition, is directed to God.
As Christians, we do not pray into the void in the hope that someone somewhere will be listening.
Rather, we pray in faith as we address the Creator of the universe, the God of Heaven.
Following the address, the prayer features several petitions.
A petition in prayer is simply a request, and here we must be careful.
What are proper things to ask God for, and what are improper?
We must resist treating prayer as if we were on the lap of the department store Santa, giving Him our Christmas wish list.
The first petition Jesus mentions is hallowed be thy name.
The word hallowed is an older expression that simply means “holy.”
This petition in modern words would be “Let your name be holy.”
This is a commitment to the Third Commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
When we pray the way Jesus is teaching, we are making a commitment to be a guardian of God’s holiness among men and women, a commitment to not misuse God’s holy name.
The second petition is thy kingdom come.
This expresses the desire for the establishment of God’s kingdom, God’s reign, God’s sovereign rule in our lives and in our world.
How or where might prayer for God’s kingdom to come be made manifest in our own lives?
At work or school
At home
In “the marketplace of ideas”
The third petition is thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
When we say thy will be done, we are praying that the will of God be carried out in all things, particularly in our personal lives.
Together, the second and third petitions are twins.
To pray for the establishment of God’s kingdom is to pray for the carrying out of God’s will.
Next, “Give us day by day our daily bread.”
This is the fourth petition.
We are so blessed in our nation that most of us have difficulty recognizing our daily dependence on God for essential needs, but we must do so!
We are not to pray, “Lord, would You be my safety net when I can’t provide quite enough on my own?”
Rather, our prayer should admit our dependence on God for food, for clothing, for shelter, for health—for everything we need on a daily basis.
So, thinking about your own lives, when was a time that you felt most sharply the need to rely on God daily for an essential?
How did you grow spiritually from this experience?
Regarding food
Regarding housing
Regarding transportation
Regarding health
The fifth petition is unlike the others because it is conditional:
As we ask for God’s forgiveness, we promise to be forgiving people.
In Matthew’s version we are told that if we fail to forgive others, then we should not expect God to forgive us.
This petition for forgiveness is also tied to the previous petition for “daily bread”
As we ask for the daily necessities to meet our daily needs, we also ask for daily forgiveness for our daily sins.
We are asking that both our physical and our spiritual needs be met on a daily basis.
This connection gives us insight into the fact that Jesus intends His model prayer to be a daily guide, not just something said in church on Sunday morning.
The sixth petition, lead us not into temptation, may seem strange given the fact that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13).
The problem is relieved when we realize that the Greek word translated temptation does not always mean “enticement to commit sin.”
It can also mean “testing” or “trial,” as it is translated in 1 Peter 4:12.
And finally the seventh petition, but deliver us from evil, most likely points to Satan in particular rather than evil in general.
So, that is the structure of prayer, and next Jesus will show them how to put it into practice.
Somebody read Luke 11:5-10 for us . . .
Seeking and Receiving
Seeking and Receiving
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.
Testing a Friendship (vv. 5–8)
Testing a Friendship (vv. 5–8)
So, lets set the stage for the example . . .
The image is that of a villager who receives an unexpected visitor at midnight. The situation is tied with the prayer’s request for “daily bread” in Luke 11:3, above.
The one who is knocking apparently has no bread for emergencies. This may be because his household practice is to bake or buy only enough bread for family needs on a daily basis.
This daily plan is now disrupted because his need for bread cannot wait until morning. His failure to provide a meal for his visitor would be a grave social error of inhospitality.
So he asks for three loaves, probably because his entire family will participate in this midnight meal.
The neighbor does not respond well to the interruption of his sleep!
He resists by noting that his household is bedded down for the night. He does not want to wake everyone up (although the pounding on the door already has done so).
Therefore it is not realistic for him to come to the door and help—he cannot rise.
But he can if he really wants to. His I cannot is actually I don’t want to. —Kinda like when somebody comes to you with a need and you say “I’ll pray for you” instead of helping them, even though you have the ability to help.
The resolution of the story is that the awakened one does finally get up and supplies the needed bread.
Why though? Is it because the guy is convicted and gets up in response to God?
Nope! The awakened neighbor meets the need because he knows his breadless neighbor will not give up pounding on his door until the request is granted.
The best and quickest way for the homeowner to resume his sleep is to grant the request.
The point also applies to prayer.
Persistence in prayer is important.
Prayer is a laying bare of the heart before God. If a request is not worth repeating as a daily petition, it may be deemed as whimsical or unimportant.
Prayer that is persistent and personal is powerful in God’s eyes. Needs are daily, therefore our practice of prayer must be ongoing, never taking for granted the gracious provision of God.
However, we should take care here, though. Persistence in prayer is not effective because we somehow wear God down, as may a child who repeatedly asks her mother for a candy bar while shopping.
The mother may say “No” a dozen times but finally give in just to stop the whining. That’s not how it works with God. Persistence in prayer is a test for us, not for Him.
Persisting in Asking (vv. 9, 10)
Persisting in Asking (vv. 9, 10)
Jesus describes the process of petitioning God in prayer with three related verbs.
To ask is easily understood as a request, the way we normally understand prayer.
To seek takes this a step further and implies persistence in prayer, working hard to get an answer.
To knock refers to the parable above, the man in need who boldly knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight.
All this forms part of Jesus’ teaching His disciples how to pray.
A prayer must be expressed
It must be expressed repeatedly
And it must be expressed boldly.
If we want to pray like Jesus, this is the pattern!
What are some things that hinder persistence in prayer?
How do we overcome these?
So next Jesus is going to call us out on the Father and the Goodness of the Father to give us what we ask for in prayer.
Someone read verses 11-13 . . .
Material and Spiritual
Material and Spiritual
“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!”
Earthly Fathers Provide (vv. 11, 12)
Earthly Fathers Provide (vv. 11, 12)
There is an echo here of the first temptation of Jesus, when the devil tempted Him to turn a stone into bread to quell hunger (Luke 4:3).
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, thereby invoking the principle that humans must have more than bread to be whole. But no Scripture teaches that we don’t need bread (food). This is how our bodies work, and parents are responsible to provide the necessary food for their children.
In this regard, Jesus offers examples of dietary food staples from a Galilean village: bread, fish, and eggs. To respond to a child’s request for food with a rock to gnaw on would be cruel.
To give a serpent or a scorpion would be downright malevolent. No loving parent would do any of this!
Even parents who fail in many things will naturally try to provide adequate food for their children, even going hungry themselves so their children may eat.
Heavenly Father Provides (v. 13)
Heavenly Father Provides (v. 13)
So, we have just seen three potential human responses to requests: the neighbor who initially says “no,” a father who could give an inedible stone, and a father who could give dangerous creatures.
In all these cases, even flawed human beings (being evil) manage to do the right thing. Jesus’ point is that if imperfect humans are able to give the right things when requested, how much greater our situation is when we petition the heavenly Father!
Can you think of an occasion that God gave you something better than what you had asked for, but you didn’t realize it at the time? How did you grow spiritually from this experience?
Employment opportunity
Major purchase
Relationship
This brings us full circle to the opening address of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2), namely requests made to God himself.
And although Jesus does not elaborate here, He points to the greatest gift of all: the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit.
So, what responsibility do we have to teach the next generation to pray?
How do we get to the place where we are able to teach them?
Conclusion
Conclusion
From this wonderful text in Luke 11 we learn we should pray with structure, with persistence, and with expectations.
We should not expect prayer to be something we do naturally or easily. It is something we learn to do, just as we learn to sing praise songs or learn how to study the Bible effectively.
Learning to pray is a central part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. God is a giving God, but we are to ask in prayer. “Ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2).
God will not force His gifts on us.
God’s Holy Spirit does not come upon us like an overbearing alien presence that invades us.
We do not lose our identity, even our free will.
We enjoy this gift as we yield to God’s Holy Spirit, and this is something we learn to do more and more as we grow in Christ.