WINNING IN PRAYER - LUKE 11: 5-13
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Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 11) - ASK, SEARCH, KNOCK
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
BIG IDEA: WE WIN (IN PRAYER) WITH PERSISTENCE & CONSISTENCY!
BIG IDEA: WE WIN (IN PRAYER) WITH PERSISTENCE & CONSISTENCY!
In keeping with our PRAY FIRST theme, we continue with Jesus’ dialogue on prayer. We’ve been interchanging Luke’s account with Matthew’s account, but on today, we’ll use Luke...
UM…HOW DOES ONE WIN IN PRAYER?
CAN YOU WIN IN PRAYER?
I GUESS THIS IS A PREVIEW OF OUR MESSAGE: WINNING IN PRAYER OCCURS WHEN WE SEE BEYOND OUR ASK, BY SEEKING THE ONE TO WHOM WE ASK!!!
WINNING IN PRAYER IS ABOUT COMMUNING WITH THE FATHER...
WINNING IN PRAYER IS ABOUT THE EXCHANGE OF POURING OUT AND BEING POURED INTO…
IT’S ABOUT SHARING AND BEING HEARD…
IT’S ABOUT SPEAKING AND RECEIVING MORE THAN ANSWERS!!!
SEEING BEYOND OUR ASK, BY SEEKING THE ONE TO WHOM WE ASK!!!
Imagine a father playing with his small children. He sits on the couch with several coins in his hand. His children sit on his lap and work to get his fingers open. One by one, they pry his fingers open. Then they snatch the coins and happily run away. The father is left sitting alone. Is this how you pray? Do you only come to the Father for the coins in His hand? Are your health, finances, family, career, and goals your consuming focus in prayer? Indeed, God is able to work mightily on your behalf in these personal matters. God is gracious and willing to act on your behalf. But don’t get fixated with the pennies in His hands. Seek the face of God, not JUST His hand. - HB CHARLES (IT HAPPENS AFTER PRAYER).
AWWW BELOVED, JESUS SHOWED US HOW TO WIN IN PRAYER, AND HE ALSO TAUGHT US HOW TO WIN IN PRAYER...
TODAY’S PASSAGE HAS TWO PARABLES (LUKE 11: 5-13):
Both reveal an aspect of PRAYERS or ASKS to the Father...
11:5–8. The first parable COMMUNICATES persistence in prayer.
The second parable DEMONSTRATES HOW the heavenly Father gives His children what is good for them, not what harms them.
The first parable shows how we respond to people’s persistence...
While the second parable shows HOW A FAITHFUL FATHER RESPONDS TO HIS CHILDREN!
Both reveal an aspect of PRAYERS or ASKS to the Father...
Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 11)
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
NOTICE IN THE PARABLE:
AN AFTER HOURS FRIEND W/
AN INCONVENIENT NEED...
STRAIN YOUR MEMORY TO A COUPLE OF SUNDAYS AGO, WHEN JESUS CONTRASTS THE FATHER WITH THE UNGODLY JUDGE!
LUKE 18:1 Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
REMEMBER, JESUS WAS NOT COMPARING: SHOWING SIMILARITIES - HE WAS CONTRASTING: SHOWING DIFFERENCES, DISTINCTIONS!
IN FACT, THEOLOGIANS CALLS THESE CONTRASTING PARABLES - GOOD LESSONS FROM BAD EXAMPLES...
FIRST AND FOREMOST, YOU KNOW THIS AIN’T THE FATHER (IN OUR CURRENT PARABLE), BECAUSE OUR FATHER DOESN’T SLEEP…HE NEITHER SLUMBERS NOR SLEEPS!!!
SECONDLY, YOU KNOW THIS AIN’T THE FATHER, BECAUSE HE CAN’T BE BOTHERED BY OUR COMING - EVER!
THIS FRIEND - IN THE BED - YELLING THROUGH THE DOOR IS MORE LIKE US, THAN IT IS LIKE THE FATHER!!!
AWWW, THERE’S A FRIEND INTERCEDING FOR A FRIEND TO A FRIEND...
IT’S A CONTRAST, STILL, BECAUSE WE DON’T ASK OUR FRIEND, WE ASK OUR FATHER...
THE REQUEST COMES TO THE FRIEND WHO’S IN BED AND BOTHERED...
AND YET, THE REQUEST IS GIVEN, NOT BECAUSE THE FRIEND AT THE DOOR IS BOTHERSOME, BUT BECAUSE OF HIS BOLDNESS!!!
THE TEXT SAYS, “HE WILL GET UP AND GIVE HIM AS MUCH AS HE NEEDS!”
HERE’S OUR FIRST POINT:
ASK UNTIL YOU GET WHAT GOD WANTS!
ASK UNTIL YOU GET WHAT GOD WANTS!
THE KNOCKING FRIEND IS MODELING BOLDNESS AND PERSISTENCE...
SINCE IT’S MIDNIGHT, ONE KNOCK WON’T DO.
SINCE IT’S MIDNIGHT, ONE ASK WON’T DO.
NOW, IN CONTRAST WITH THE BROTHER IN BED, THE FATHER WELCOMES OUR ASKS...
THE FATHER LONGS FOR US TO PETITION IN PERSISTENCE...
NOT BECAUSE WE CAN CHANGE HIS MIND, BUT SO HE CAN GIVE US WHAT WE REALLY NEED AND MORE...
THIS IS WHAT IS LOOKS LIKE TO “ASK UNTIL YOU GET WHAT GOD WANTS...”
THERE’S SOMEBODY IN THE HOUSE WHO ASKED UNTIL THEY GOT WHAT GOT WANTED...
THERE’S SOMEBODY IN THE HOUSE WHO THOUGHT YOU WANTED ONE THING, BUT THEN GOD SHOWED YOU DIFFERENT!
THE FATHER WANTS TIME WITH YOU, WHILE HE REVEALS TO YOU WHAT YOU TRULY NEED!
SEEK THE FACE OF GOD, NOT JUST THE HAND OF GOD...
Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Prayer)
A LADY came to the great preacher of the last century G. Campbell Morgan and she said, “I only take the big things to God. I don’t take the little things to God.”G. Campbell Morgan looked at her and said, “Lady, anything you take to God is little.”That is precisely the case. You can bring everything to God because anything you bring to God is little to Him, even if it is big to you.
NOT ONLY ASK UNTIL YOU GET WHAT GOD WANTS, SECOND AND FINALLY,
TRUST THAT WHAT YOU GET IS BEST!
TRUST THAT WHAT YOU GET IS BEST!
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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
LOOK AT JESUS’ LANGUAGE: “ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU. SEEK, AND YOU WILL FIND. KNOCK, AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO YOU....”
I LOVE THE WAY WEIRSBE EXPLAINS:
ASK IN VERSE 9 IS KEEP ON ASKING...
SEEK IS KEEP ON SEEKING...
KNOCK IS KEEP ON KNOCKING...
DON’T JUST COME AT MIDNIGHT! COME TO HIM CONSISTENTLY!!
WHAT WE MUST SEE IN VERSE 9 IS A PROMISE! IT’S A PROMISE THAT THE FATHER WILL ANSWER...
IT’S A PROMISE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT IS BEST!!!
AWWW BELOVED, THE FATHER KNOWS BEST!
OUR SECOND PARABLE EMPHASIZES THE RELATIONSHIP BELIEVERS SHARE WITH THE FATHER!
AS WE PERSISTENTLY AND CONSISTENTLY COME TO HIM ASKING - SEEKING - KNOCKING, IT WILL BE GIVEN - YOU WILL FIND - IT WILL BE OPENED! IT’S A PROMISE!
JESUS PUSHES THIS PROMISE WITH AN EXAMPLE: VS.11- WHAT FATHER AMONG YOU, IF HIS SON ASKS FOR A FISH, WILL GIVE HIM A SNAKE INSTEAD OF A FISH? 12 OR IF HE ASKS FOR AN EGG, WILL GIVE HIM A SCORPION? 13 IF YOU THEN, WHO ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL THE HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM?
NOW LET ME HELP YOU THEOLOGICALLY, BEFORE I HELP YOU PRACTICALLY: JESUS SAYS, “HOW MUCH MORE WILL THE HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM?”
DURING THIS DISPENSATION, THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD NOT YET COME.
THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME IN ACTS 2.
BELIEVER, YOU HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE GRACE GIFT OF SALVATION BY FAITH… THROUGH CHRIST, WE RECEIVE THE FULLNESS OF GOD!
WE NO LONGER HAVE TO PRAY TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT - WE’VE GOT HIM!
NOW TO THE PRACTICAL:
HERE IT IS: THE FATHER’S LOVE AND WISDOM WILL ALWAYS GIVE US WHAT IS BEST FOR US! ALWAYS...
YOU ASKED FOR THAT JOB…THE FATHER KNOWS BEST!
YOU ASKED FOR THAT RELATIONSHIP…THE FATHER KNOWS BEST!
YOU ASKED FOR THAT THING…THE FATHER KNOWS BEST!
WHEN WE ASK THE FATHER, HE WILL NEVER GIVE US LESS THAN WE ASK. NOR WILL HE GIVE US SOMETHING THAT HARMS US...
THE FATHER GIVES BASED UPON HIS GLORY AND WHAT’S BEST FOR US!
JESUS HELPS US AGAIN BY CONTRASTING OUR LIMITED UNDERSTANDING AS EARTHLY PARENTS WITH THE INFINITE WISDOM OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!!!
BUT I HEAR YOU: YOU SAY, “I’VE BEEN ASKING FOR IT! I’VE BEEN KNOCKING AND SEEKING…STILL NOTHING!”
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Ten: Learning Life’s Lessons (Luke 11))
Persistence in prayer is not an attempt to change God’s mind (“Thy will be done”) but to get ourselves to the place where He can trust us with the answer.
TRUST THAT WHAT YOU GET IS BEST!
ALL OF US HAVE BEEN ASKING - BELIEVING GOD FOR SOME STUFF - FOR SOME SITUATIONS TO SHIFT...
I’M GROWING IN MY VISION, AS I SEE HOW GOD UNFOLDS HIS WILL IN MY LIFE...
THERE ARE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE I’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY...
THERE ARE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE I’M NOT MATURE ENOUGH TO SEE GOD’S REVELATION...
THERE ARE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE I AM CONVINCED - GOD IS WAITING ON ME!
AND IN ALL OF THESE INSTANCES, GOD’S GLORY IS THE GOAL!
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Prayer, Perseverance In)
Prayer, Perseverance in
A woman left her diamond brooch in a hotel. When she got home she remembered her brooch and called the hotel. She told the manager what happened and he went to look for it. He found it, put it in the safe, and returned to the phone to tell her the good news, but she had hung up.So many of us are like this. We aren’t willing to wait on the Lord.
King James Version (Chapter 40)
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,That the everlasting God, the LORD,The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings as eagles;They shall run, and not be weary;And they shall walk, and not faint.