"The Prayer That Changed the World"
Luke 11:1-13 July 25, 2010
I am so glad that we are living in the twenty first century. A few minutes ago we prayed for our
New York City Mission team. We prayed with the expectation that God would use them to do
something wonderful among the poor in the city that never sleeps. In a few weeks from now,
many of you will be expecting to hear the stories of how God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy
touched the lives of those we met.
That’s what prayer is all about. It is knowing that God cares about us and that he wants his
blessings to rain down upon his children. But it wasn’t always this way.
In Jesus’ day prayer was nothing more than a ritual. You went to the temple, offered your
sacrifice and said the magic words and then waited for something to happen. Why? Because that is
what you were told to do. Or you recalled the words that were appropriate for a certain situation,
such as thanksgiving for a meal, and then walked away feeling you had done your job. Prayer was
easy. It was by the book. You had no special expectations from it.
All that changed when Jesus came along. The disciples watched him take time to pray… when he
needed guidance, when he needed strength, when he needed comfort, when he needed power,
when he needed wisdom… Watching him pray taught them to see prayer in a totally different light.
That’s why they stopped him that day and asked him to teach them to pray. They saw what it did
for him and they wanted that for themselves.
Now you would have thought that after Jesus spent the time to teach them to pray, that they
would have grabbed it and lived with that power. Yet, just months later, when Jesus asked them to
sit and pray while he went through his agony in the garden, they forget how and fell asleep.
You would have thought that after his death and resurrection they would have seized it again, and
they did, and then passed it on to the generations that followed. Yet, over the centuries prayer has
ebbed and flowed in the life of the church. Those who were the best at it, were monks sequestered
away from life. The rest of the people lapsed back into the old way, letting the priests pray and
reciting formulas.
It is no wonder that so many of us today experience the frustration of unanswered prayer. Like
the disciples, we need to learn again just how to pray. I think that is why this passage is so
important for us to hear.
We know prayer is the key to living a satisfied life. We get that but we still run around unplugged
and forget to pray and tap into the source of our power. Too often we revert back to the prayer of
yesteryear and hope that a few magic words will do the trick or that some ritualistic prayer will
satisfy God. That’s why we stumble along instead of living with the power of God in our lives.
That’s why we experience unanswered prayer.
So I want to take a few minutes and go back to this passage and see what Jesus was really telling
us about prayer. There are three parts to it. First we are given a format for prayer which points us
toward a relationship with God, the father. Then we are encouraged to be persistent in prayer as
Jesus suggests we should never give up asking. Finally we are told to be expectant. He encourages
us to believe that God will truly answer our prayers.
So to the first point Jesus introduces the idea that God loves and cares for us like a father. He
says, "When you pray, say: "’Father...” It’s a reminder of why we can come boldly to the Throne
of Grace. It is because God is our Heavenly Father. We are not approaching some cold, distant
ruler who is unconcerned about what we are going through. We are approaching One who is joined
to us with cords of love. We come as a members of the family of God—heirs of God and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ.
When my kids need something, they come to Lori or me. Yes they try to manage it themselves
first, but when they need something they can’t get or do by themselves they come because they
know we will do all we can to help them. So it is with God.
Prayer is part and parcel of our relationship to God. It is opening our hearts to him. It is bathed in
trust, and flowing with the knowledge that God has a plan for our lives. In Jesus’ model prayer he
calls God father but then he pays him respect. He recognizes how awesome god is and how holy.
There is a sense of marvel as Jesus sees that out of his holiness, God has reached out to touch us
and make us part of his world. That’s why we ask for his kingdom to come and will be done. It
includes us and our best interests. The psalmist said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give
you the desires of your heart.”
You see God created us. He created all things. Without Him we are absolutely nothing. The dignity
and majesty of our God is beyond description. Yet, he embraces us as His very own children. In
Romans 8 Paul says,
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ...”
The good news is that God wants to walk with us every day now and he is ready to supply what
we need. Most of us get that, especially when we have our own children. We will sacrifice and do
whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. Jesus wants us to understand that
dynamic. That’s why he goes to God so regularly. He says we can have that too.
The other side to this is that once we realize how much God loves us, we then are compelled to
honor him and live a life that glorifies him. That’s why obedience and forgiveness are so important.
We honor him by serving him and following his example. It is no longer duty, but a way of living
that delights us.
When you do something for someone you love, it brings you joy. To know that you are doing it
and that it is appreciated makes you feel good. With God it is a never ending circle. You can’t out
do or out give God.
Look at the model Jesus gave us.
Addressing God personally, as our father,
Recognizing that He is holy
Asking for his will to be done, knowing that we will be blessed.
We ask him to meet our daily needs.
We will live as he lives, reflecting the fact that he is forgiving and always giving grace.
We ask him to watch over us and that his glory and power and honor be reflected forever and
ever.
That brings us to the second point Jesus makes in this passage. Jesus says don’t be afraid to be
persistent. Jesus tells a story about a man whose friend visits him at midnight. The traveler is tired
and hungry and the man has nothing to feed him. You couldn’t just run down to a 24-hour Walmart
Supercenter and pick up something. So he goes to a friend.
It is late and he bangs on the door. The friend tries to ignore him and then tries to send him away.
Finally the friend gives in and gives him what he needs. The key word in this passage is translated
boldness or importunity. It means persistence or tenacious insistence without regard to time, place,
or person. Jesus admires that.
The truth is that we react to many passing fancies. But to be persistent means that the need is real.
We don’t need to be ashamed about it. We can ask boldly. The good news is that God is already
aware of it and he wants to give it. So we don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed. We just need
to ask.
This week we will be in New York City. We will be working with the poor and those in need. God
sees their plight and he has already supplied us with what we need, and the churches with what
they need to meet that need.
It’s funny but I was looking at the web site of the Salt & Sea Mission yesterday. One of the
things they need is clothing. Ta da. We have Erica’s clothing bank and we can supply some for
them. I am sure that there will be situations we will encounter that will have us on our knees in
prayer. The key, according to Jesus is to be persistent. That means that even when we come home,
we can continue in prayer and know that God will answer our prayers.
It is a mystery to me why persevering faith is so important in this process. But that’s what is
being taught here.
In Luke 18 Jesus told the story of a woman who kept coming to an unjust judge until her request
was granted. The point of that story was that we should always pray and not faint—not lose heart—
not give up.
I think all of us have been to the point of giving up in prayer. We begin to think God can’t or won’
t answer. We begin to wobble in our faith. That’s the point where Jesus says, “Keep asking. Don’t
give up hope. God hears you.”
The truth is that there is something about the process of perseverance that is beneficial to us.
Peter says that the trial of your faith is more precious than gold. Paul says that it produces
character. They are right. We know it. We have been shaped by the circumstances of our lives.
When we continue to hold onto God and act in faith, we become stronger and will often find our
reward.
I love the story of Joseph, the dreamer. He believed in God and he trusted him although his
dreams kept getting pushed back. He kept the faith and asked God to use him and he did. Keep the
faith. Keep asking and God will bless you for your persistence.
Finally Jesus closes this speech by talking about expectation. If you notice, everything so far had
something to do with faith: our Confidence based upon our relationship with our heavenly Father:
Perseverance that continues in the face of discouragement and now Expectation based upon God’s
promises and his faithfulness.
Jesus says "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.” That’s the message Jesus gives the disciples concerning prayer—don’
t give up—actively press in for the answer: Ask, Seek, Knock.
If Jesus words can be trusted—which we know they can—then even if we have not yet seen the
breakthrough it will—it will come! We are to pray with the assurance in our hearts that what Jesus
is saying here is indeed true.
In Hebrews we read, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the certainty of things not seen.”
That’s the definition of expectation. It is knowing that God will deliver on his promises. It may not
be the way we expect, but God is good and he will answer in a way that blesses us and glorifies
him.
That’s the punch line in our story. Jesus says because of our relationship with God and because
of His attitude toward us we can rightfully expect to receive good things from Him. It’s not that we
somehow wrestle the answer out of God’s reluctant hands because of our persistence. It’s that we
are persistent because we know He wants to bless us and meet every need.
God is good. He loves you and me. He wants to met our needs and bless us at the same time. You
gotta believe that. If you are not seeing that right now, then pray that God will open your eyes.
Start praying and ask him to let you see his face. Then open your eyes and begin looking around
you.
You see God answers our prayers in many ways. Sometimes it is only afterwards that we can see
that that special someone, the kind touch, the loving gesture, the note, was God answering your
prayer.
You know every once in a while I throw myself a pity party. I know I have a good life, but I think
we all fall into the devil’s trap now and then. Earlier this spring I was in one of those moods,
wondering if anything I did made a real difference. I had been hurt by some people I cared about
and asked God if what I was doing really made a difference. I started praying and then I got this
letter, from someone and it talked about how my work has helped them through their tough times,
so it was a reminder that what I do does make a difference.
Have you talked to God lately?
Luke 11:1-13 July 25, 2010
I am so glad that we are living in the twenty first century. A few minutes ago we prayed for our
New York City Mission team. We prayed with the expectation that God would use them to do
something wonderful among the poor in the city that never sleeps. In a few weeks from now,
many of you will be expecting to hear the stories of how God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy
touched the lives of those we met.
That’s what prayer is all about. It is knowing that God cares about us and that he wants his
blessings to rain down upon his children. But it wasn’t always this way.
In Jesus’ day prayer was nothing more than a ritual. You went to the temple, offered your
sacrifice and said the magic words and then waited for something to happen. Why? Because that is
what you were told to do. Or you recalled the words that were appropriate for a certain situation,
such as thanksgiving for a meal, and then walked away feeling you had done your job. Prayer was
easy. It was by the book. You had no special expectations from it.
All that changed when Jesus came along. The disciples watched him take time to pray… when he
needed guidance, when he needed strength, when he needed comfort, when he needed power,
when he needed wisdom… Watching him pray taught them to see prayer in a totally different light.
That’s why they stopped him that day and asked him to teach them to pray. They saw what it did
for him and they wanted that for themselves.
Now you would have thought that after Jesus spent the time to teach them to pray, that they
would have grabbed it and lived with that power. Yet, just months later, when Jesus asked them to
sit and pray while he went through his agony in the garden, they forget how and fell asleep.
You would have thought that after his death and resurrection they would have seized it again, and
they did, and then passed it on to the generations that followed. Yet, over the centuries prayer has
ebbed and flowed in the life of the church. Those who were the best at it, were monks sequestered
away from life. The rest of the people lapsed back into the old way, letting the priests pray and
reciting formulas.
It is no wonder that so many of us today experience the frustration of unanswered prayer. Like
the disciples, we need to learn again just how to pray. I think that is why this passage is so
important for us to hear.
We know prayer is the key to living a satisfied life. We get that but we still run around unplugged
and forget to pray and tap into the source of our power. Too often we revert back to the prayer of
yesteryear and hope that a few magic words will do the trick or that some ritualistic prayer will
satisfy God. That’s why we stumble along instead of living with the power of God in our lives.
That’s why we experience unanswered prayer.
So I want to take a few minutes and go back to this passage and see what Jesus was really telling
us about prayer. There are three parts to it. First we are given a format for prayer which points us
toward a relationship with God, the father. Then we are encouraged to be persistent in prayer as
Jesus suggests we should never give up asking. Finally we are told to be expectant. He encourages
us to believe that God will truly answer our prayers.
So to the first point Jesus introduces the idea that God loves and cares for us like a father. He
says, "When you pray, say: "’Father...” It’s a reminder of why we can come boldly to the Throne
of Grace. It is because God is our Heavenly Father. We are not approaching some cold, distant
ruler who is unconcerned about what we are going through. We are approaching One who is joined
to us with cords of love. We come as a members of the family of God—heirs of God and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ.
When my kids need something, they come to Lori or me. Yes they try to manage it themselves
first, but when they need something they can’t get or do by themselves they come because they
know we will do all we can to help them. So it is with God.
Prayer is part and parcel of our relationship to God. It is opening our hearts to him. It is bathed in
trust, and flowing with the knowledge that God has a plan for our lives. In Jesus’ model prayer he
calls God father but then he pays him respect. He recognizes how awesome god is and how holy.
There is a sense of marvel as Jesus sees that out of his holiness, God has reached out to touch us
and make us part of his world. That’s why we ask for his kingdom to come and will be done. It
includes us and our best interests. The psalmist said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give
you the desires of your heart.”
You see God created us. He created all things. Without Him we are absolutely nothing. The dignity
and majesty of our God is beyond description. Yet, he embraces us as His very own children. In
Romans 8 Paul says,
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ...”
The good news is that God wants to walk with us every day now and he is ready to supply what
we need. Most of us get that, especially when we have our own children. We will sacrifice and do
whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. Jesus wants us to understand that
dynamic. That’s why he goes to God so regularly. He says we can have that too.
The other side to this is that once we realize how much God loves us, we then are compelled to
honor him and live a life that glorifies him. That’s why obedience and forgiveness are so important.
We honor him by serving him and following his example. It is no longer duty, but a way of living
that delights us.
When you do something for someone you love, it brings you joy. To know that you are doing it
and that it is appreciated makes you feel good. With God it is a never ending circle. You can’t out
do or out give God.
Look at the model Jesus gave us.
Addressing God personally, as our father,
Recognizing that He is holy
Asking for his will to be done, knowing that we will be blessed.
We ask him to meet our daily needs.
We will live as he lives, reflecting the fact that he is forgiving and always giving grace.
We ask him to watch over us and that his glory and power and honor be reflected forever and
ever.
That brings us to the second point Jesus makes in this passage. Jesus says don’t be afraid to be
persistent. Jesus tells a story about a man whose friend visits him at midnight. The traveler is tired
and hungry and the man has nothing to feed him. You couldn’t just run down to a 24-hour Walmart
Supercenter and pick up something. So he goes to a friend.
It is late and he bangs on the door. The friend tries to ignore him and then tries to send him away.
Finally the friend gives in and gives him what he needs. The key word in this passage is translated
boldness or importunity. It means persistence or tenacious insistence without regard to time, place,
or person. Jesus admires that.
The truth is that we react to many passing fancies. But to be persistent means that the need is real.
We don’t need to be ashamed about it. We can ask boldly. The good news is that God is already
aware of it and he wants to give it. So we don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed. We just need
to ask.
This week we will be in New York City. We will be working with the poor and those in need. God
sees their plight and he has already supplied us with what we need, and the churches with what
they need to meet that need.
It’s funny but I was looking at the web site of the Salt & Sea Mission yesterday. One of the
things they need is clothing. Ta da. We have Erica’s clothing bank and we can supply some for
them. I am sure that there will be situations we will encounter that will have us on our knees in
prayer. The key, according to Jesus is to be persistent. That means that even when we come home,
we can continue in prayer and know that God will answer our prayers.
It is a mystery to me why persevering faith is so important in this process. But that’s what is
being taught here.
In Luke 18 Jesus told the story of a woman who kept coming to an unjust judge until her request
was granted. The point of that story was that we should always pray and not faint—not lose heart—
not give up.
I think all of us have been to the point of giving up in prayer. We begin to think God can’t or won’
t answer. We begin to wobble in our faith. That’s the point where Jesus says, “Keep asking. Don’t
give up hope. God hears you.”
The truth is that there is something about the process of perseverance that is beneficial to us.
Peter says that the trial of your faith is more precious than gold. Paul says that it produces
character. They are right. We know it. We have been shaped by the circumstances of our lives.
When we continue to hold onto God and act in faith, we become stronger and will often find our
reward.
I love the story of Joseph, the dreamer. He believed in God and he trusted him although his
dreams kept getting pushed back. He kept the faith and asked God to use him and he did. Keep the
faith. Keep asking and God will bless you for your persistence.
Finally Jesus closes this speech by talking about expectation. If you notice, everything so far had
something to do with faith: our Confidence based upon our relationship with our heavenly Father:
Perseverance that continues in the face of discouragement and now Expectation based upon God’s
promises and his faithfulness.
Jesus says "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.” That’s the message Jesus gives the disciples concerning prayer—don’
t give up—actively press in for the answer: Ask, Seek, Knock.
If Jesus words can be trusted—which we know they can—then even if we have not yet seen the
breakthrough it will—it will come! We are to pray with the assurance in our hearts that what Jesus
is saying here is indeed true.
In Hebrews we read, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the certainty of things not seen.”
That’s the definition of expectation. It is knowing that God will deliver on his promises. It may not
be the way we expect, but God is good and he will answer in a way that blesses us and glorifies
him.
That’s the punch line in our story. Jesus says because of our relationship with God and because
of His attitude toward us we can rightfully expect to receive good things from Him. It’s not that we
somehow wrestle the answer out of God’s reluctant hands because of our persistence. It’s that we
are persistent because we know He wants to bless us and meet every need.
God is good. He loves you and me. He wants to met our needs and bless us at the same time. You
gotta believe that. If you are not seeing that right now, then pray that God will open your eyes.
Start praying and ask him to let you see his face. Then open your eyes and begin looking around
you.
You see God answers our prayers in many ways. Sometimes it is only afterwards that we can see
that that special someone, the kind touch, the loving gesture, the note, was God answering your
prayer.
You know every once in a while I throw myself a pity party. I know I have a good life, but I think
we all fall into the devil’s trap now and then. Earlier this spring I was in one of those moods,
wondering if anything I did made a real difference. I had been hurt by some people I cared about
and asked God if what I was doing really made a difference. I started praying and then I got this
letter, from someone and it talked about how my work has helped them through their tough times,
so it was a reminder that what I do does make a difference.
Have you talked to God lately?
Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
| Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Norwich 239 West Main Street Norwich, Connecticut Phone: 860-889-0369 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |