Scripture: Luke
11:5-13
One of the
largest organizations in America is the Quitters Club. The reason you’ve never
heard of the Quitters Club is because they never meet–the members quit coming.
There are no dues–the members quit paying them.
The Quitters
Club is comprised of people who faced a tough job, a tough marriage, a tough
sickness, or a tough failure–and they quit. You’ve heard the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
But the Members of this club say, “When the going
gets tough, the quitters get going...away.” When God seems to be
asleep, when the church is struggling to reach new people, when spiritual
vitality seems difficult to find, we stop praying!
Luke 11:1-4
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.
The Lord’s
Prayer is really not the Lord’s Prayer – it is the disciple’s prayer. One
disciple said, John the Baptist taught his
disciples to pray, please teach us how to pray. Obviously prayer is not
something known – it is something learned.
Mostly learned from on the job training – but also learned in the
classroom. In fact Matthew places this
prayer right in the middle of Jesus’ teaching through the Sermon on the Mount –
a collection of teachings. Luke places it here as the conclusion of teaching
about how we relate to God.
First word “Our” not I, Me, Mine – but US! We are to pray in unity
as God’s children.
It continues, “Father” – not daddy; there is authority and respect
but also the ability to draw near to a loving caring father. Eph 2:17-18
He came and preached peace to you
who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both
have access to the Father by one Spirit.
In England, who
has access to the Queen? In the US who has access to the President? We have
access daily into the presence of and conversation with GOD!
Close as a
father yet separate as one who is holy (hallowed
be your name) Though God has made himself
approachable – he is set apart as one different form us –not one to be
manipulated or made in our image. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Our first
request: Your kingdom come. All that is eternal and
heavenly come here so that we know where we are headed. We can then live life in light of eternity
and today’s problem shrink by comparison.
Request 2: Give us each day our daily bread. From Make eternity
and your kingdom present now to take care of our simple daily most basic
needs. Recognize that nothing is
provided that God hasn’t made possible – He is our provider.
Request 3: From
the daily physical need to the daily spiritual need Forgive
us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. We need to know forgiveness and practice
forgiveness. Our relationship with God matters as does our relationships with
one another. Hold no grudge, forgive and move on.
Request 4 and
the final one. AND lead us not into temptation. How odd – we have to ask God not to do
this? No, it is a recognition that we
know our sinful frailties. The spirit is
willing but the flesh is weak. For
us to stay holy in the presence of God’s kingdom and the king himself – our
heavenly father, it would be best if we don’t even have temptation to contend
with.
Before
continuing with the rest of the text, we need some cultural understanding of
Israel 2000+ years ago when this was written. Most people lived in a one room
house. No 24 hour convenient stores – people baked enough bread for their
family for that day. Hospitality was
held in high regard, caring for the stranger and friend alike. Most travel
happened during daylight hours as lighting was nonexistent so a visitor coming
late at night would be very unexpected.
Luke 11:5-13
Then,
following a basic lesson in prayer, Jesus said to his disciples, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at
midnight and says, 'Friend,
lend me three loaves of bread, 6
because a friend of mine on
a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
7
"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.' 8
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.
Thought process:
I am so glad to see my friend from out of town.
Oh my goodness, he plans to stay with me and I am not prepared. Oh wow,
he is very hungry and my cupboard is bare. It will take way to long to make
anything. I know my next door neighbor’s wife usually makes more than they need
with so many kids. If I go over, I am likely to wake the whole household. But he won’t mind – who am I kidding, I
wouldn’t want someone to wake me for food for a friend. But I can’t send my
friend and his wife and kids (3 loaves of
bread) to bed with empty stomachs, they will be up all night with a crying
baby and whining toddlers. I have no
choice – for the greater good I will wake my neighbor.
The Greek word
is really translated by two words together meaning “boldness” and
“shamelessness” – he had no choice had to ask his neighbor for the resources he
could not provide for others in need. We
have no choice – we have to ask God for the Holy Spirit to provide the
resources to help our friends that we cannot provide on our own. Not whimper in
a corner but storm the gates of heaven shamelessly and boldly for the sake of
others. In that sense – the rest of the
text rings so true:
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; he who seeks finds; and
to him 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!"
“From Roman history
comes the story of a Roman emperor in his chariot as a part of a parade,
Cheering people lined the streets while the legionnaires were stationed to keep
the people at a safe distance. The emperor’s family sat on a platform to watch
him go by in all the pride of his position. As the emperor came near the place
where his family was stationed, a young boy jumped from the platform, burrowed
through the crowd, and tried to dodge a legionnaire so he could run to the
emperor’s chariot. The soldier stopped him and said, “You cannot go near him.” The
boy laughed, then said; “He may be your emperor but
he is my father.” Then he ran into his father’s open arms.” Hebrews 4:16 Let
us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Forget your
health needs, your financial needs, your relationship needs, any of your needs
for a moment – who should you be shamelessly boldly prayering for – most
particularly for their salvation or spiritual growth. You don’t have the means
to help them because you yourself are weak in spiritual things, but the Holy
spirit in you and help – can provide the living bread they need – PRAY PRAY
PRAY!
This is not about
arrogance or shouting at God – rather knowing what God wants and being
completely confident that you come to him unashamed asking for his help for
others. He will give it! Church growth
expert, George Barna found that prayer was the foundational ministry of rapidly
growing churches in America. He wrote: “The call to prayer [in these churches]
was the battle cry of the congregation: it rallied the troops. These people
understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer
in their services, in their events, their meetings and their personal
ministries.”
Thank you Ellen
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