all my illustrations being about football, they will be about biking. Thus, here is your first biking illustration: I was reading the introductory section of a book...I don't remember the title or author...about becoming a better cyclist and the author shared that he is asked this question quite a bit, “How can I improve my riding?” In a rather snide response, the author said, “Listen very closely. There are three keys to becoming a better biker: (1) Ride your bike a lot. (2) Ride your bike a lot. (3) Ride your bike a lot.” In light of the fact that I was able, in fairly short order, to memorize these three keys to becoming a better biker, I decided against purchasing the book. Would that many aspects of life were that simple!When it comes to knowing the Lord and walking faithfully with Him, we perhaps have a deep desire to have things this simple. But then we are faced with the realization that comprehending God is beyond our mental capabilities. When we ponder some aspects of His character such as His sovereignty or the incarnation of Christ, we soon are faced with the reality that, although we can wrestle with and partially understand these things, they are ultimately beyond our comprehension.
But in other aspects of our walk with the Lord, things really are pretty simple. And the topic that we will be dealing with today as we get into Luke 11 is one of those aspects. The topic is prayer and, as you have experienced, this can be one of the more difficult delights of the Christian life. Granted that none of us are ever where we want to be when it comes to prayer, how many of you are satisfied that you are growing and developing in this vital aspect of your walk with Christ? Oswald Sanders, in his great book Spiritual Leadership, quotes a man named C.J. Vaughan, “If I wish to humble anyone, I should question him about his prayers. I know nothing to compare with this topic for its sorrowful self-confessions.” (Moody, 1994, page 85). Through the years, I have asked godly people what is the key to becoming a better prayer. Their response inevitably comes back to something like this, “To become a better prayer is really quite simple. You just need to be committed to doing it.” There is no formula, no magical book out there, no one way that works for everyone. The key to being a better prayer is simply a determination on your part to go and do it.
Fortunately, Jesus has not left us without help. In a similar way that my friends in this church who have given me help and instruction in biking, Jesus gives us some clear direction in His Word about how to pray in a manner that blesses the Lord. So lets take time this morning and learn from the master. Take a look at Luke 11:1-4:
Luke 11:1-4, “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.' So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.'”
Before we dig into the meat of this text, there are a couple of points to be made. First of all, if you were following along in a version of the Bible other than the King James or New King James, you will have noticed some substantial differences between what I just read and what is in your Bible. Contained in this text, as we learned about from Dr. White a couple of weeks ago, are four textual variants between the manuscript that the KJV and the NKJV are based upon and the older, more accurate manuscripts that the newer translations are based upon. What has happened here is what is called a Harmonistic addition. A scribe copying the Bible noticed that this account of the Lord's prayer in the gospel of Luke doesn't match the one in the gospel of Matthew. And so he took initiative and harmonised the two accounts. And this change made its way into the KJV and NKJV. This scribe shouldn't have done this. Based on the setting of the two accounts, we know that they are not same teaching on prayer. The one in Matthew occurs in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 6:9-13) where Jesus is speaking to the multitudes. Here in Luke, he is speaking to one disciple who obviously shared this teaching with others. In the Matthew account, Jesus initiates the teaching. In Luke, Jesus is answering a question initiated by another. Verses 5-8 of Luke 11 are unique to Luke and not included in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Thus, these facts would indicate that this is a different setting for the teaching and Jesus didn't use the exact same words in both settings.
But with that said, the teaching is similar enough to know that Jesus' instruction on prayer is consistent. What he taught in one setting is basically what he taught in another. There are nuances to be addressed in both and, as we have the opportunity to study both accounts, our understanding of prayer is fuller. But since we are working through the gospel of Luke, we will study how Jesus addresses the topic here. Thus, using the ESV, here is how the account should read:
Luke 11:1-4 (ESV), “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.' And he said to them, 'When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”'”
A second point to be made here is to really rejoice in the request that this disciple asks. He says, “Lord, teach us to pray,...” Isn't that your question today? If you are a follower of Jesus, don't you want to know how to pray better and better? Thus, here we have one of the more difficult delights and duties of the Christian laid out and developed for us by none other than God Himself, Jesus our Savior. What a privilege to know how to pray. So lets look into this text and see what Jesus says to this request of Christians everywhere.
Message: Jesus' Instructions on Prayer:
1. He expects us to pray.
Note first and foremost that this disciple was observing Jesus praying before he approaches Him to ask him about prayer. And we know that Jesus was completely devoted to prayer. Here is a sample of passages taken only from the gospel of Luke:
· Luke 3:21 ~ When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
· Luke 5:16 ~ So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
· Luke 6:12 ~ Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
· Luke 9:18 ~ And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
· Luke 9:28 ~ Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
Again, please note that this is only from Luke and from before the account we are studying. Luke 5:16 is most informative, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” What are we to make of Jesus' constant prayer? Well, it is quite simple: if God incarnate felt the need to be praying all the time, then His people should probably feel that way, too. You are familiar with 1 John 2:6, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Jesus prayed, so should we.
Note also that this disciple clearly knows that prayer marks out one who is a follower of God. There was a clear expectation that one of the tasks of a spiritual leader was to direct and instruct his pupils in the area of prayer. This disciple requests for Jesus to teach in the same way that John the Baptist, and if we study the history of 1st century Israel, and other spiritual teachers taught their students. After the ascension of Christ, this pattern continues in the epistles with Paul directing the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). Prayer, for the follower of God, should be something that we are pursuing.
Thirdly, in regard to Jesus' expectation for prayer, note how Jesus responds to this request. He says, “When you pray...”. He doesn't respond to this request with something like this, “Oh, you are giving consideration to prayer! That it really cool. It's not for everyone, but for some, it can be very rewarding.” No, Jesus assumes that His disciples will be marked by prayer. Thus, He simply states, “When you pray...”.
So Jesus expects us to pray.
2. He directs us to have a vertical, God-focused aspect to our prayers
So after articulating the expectation, Jesus provides an excellent framework to help us in our prayers. Although we are absolutely free to follow this prayer verbatim, we are not limited in so doing. This is why God, through the inspired writers, gave us two renderings of this prayer. He doesn't want us to get caught up in the exact wording of the prayers, but rather He wants us to see some very excellent guidelines to prayer. Thus, again, it is right and good for your to, with heart-felt devotion, quote this as you pray. Feel free to do that. But be sure to look at what is being conveyed here and feel free to use this template to develop and guide your prayers.
· Intimacy
First of all, note the intimacy that is to mark our prayer as we approach God. Jesus states that we are to approach God as “Father”. This word is the general Greek word that was used for a human father. However, New Testament scholars are of the mind that Jesus, speaking Hebrew to His disciple here, more than likely used the word “Abba”. This word is most easily rendered “daddy”. Dear friends, this was an absolutely revolutionary way to approach God in prayer. The Jews of Jesus' day, and of our day, would never consider speaking to God in such a casual, intimate way. In that day, there was a prayer called “The Prayer of Eighteen Petitions” which a devout Jew would repeat three times a day. It stared off like this, “Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob! God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth! Our Shield and the Shield of our fathers!” (Pate, C. Marvin, Moody Gospel Commentary: Luke, Moody 1995, p. 244). Now, that is a great way to start a prayer and, again, feel free if the Spirit so moves you to start off your prayer in such a way. There is biblical precedent for this throughout the Psalms and other places. Listen to how Daniel starts off his prayer in the ninth chapter of his book: “And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, 'O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,...'” (Dan. 9:4). There is biblical precedent for such prayers. But please note that when Jesus gave instructions on prayer to His disciples and to us by extension, He emphasized the intimacy involved. At the forefront of our minds in prayer is to be that we are communicating with an extremely caring and loving daddy who absolutely adores us and desires nothing but our very best.
· Reverence
Right along with intimacy and in the same breath there is to be reverence. Notice that the Lord immediately moves into a statement of God's holiness by saying, “hallowed be Your name”. Thus, when we come to prayer, there ought to be an aspect of dwelling on His awesome character and nature. The word hallowed declares His holiness and set apart-ness. God is altogether different than us and above and beyond us. Again, note the tension here in calling our hallowed God “daddy.” As you dig deep into prayer and study of our Awesome God, this tension will be there. How can an unholy wretch like me call our completely perfect God “daddy”? Yet, this is the instruction we are given by our Savior.
Also note that Jesus says “Hallowed be your name.” By directing us to the name of God, Jesus is directing us to focus deeply on the various aspects of God's character. Paige and I, when we were coming up with names for our boys before they were born, had a few kind disagreements on certain names. One of us favored a name and, due to past bad experiences with someone of that name, the other didn't like that name. That name was associated with a perceived character and nature. So Jesus here directs us to think deeply about the character and nature of God. Thus, when we pray, we should be about praising God for who He is. Perhaps your prayers, for a given day, will focus upon one aspect of His character, His sovereignty for instance. Another time you may dwell on His grace. Still another time, you may dwell on several aspects of His character and nature. Regardless, Jesus directs us to think about God in a reverent, hallowed, set-apart way even as we address Him as “daddy.”
This is why consistent time in the Word through personal Bible study as well as corporate worship and learning must have priority in your life. The Word informs our prayers and gives them life and direction. I've been told that the proper order of devotion is to pray first and then read the Word. Aside from God giving us complete freedom when it comes to how we order our devotions, my personal preference is to read the Word first and then pray because my time in the Word will inform and direct my prayers as I have spent time thinking and meditating on some work or some aspect of God recorded in the passage I have read. In fact, I will often use the Word to pray back to God. Regardless of how you choose to set up your prayer life, time and meditation in the Word is absolutely vital to healthy, God-honoring prayer because through the Word we become more familiar with God's name and character and thus better capable of hallowing His name.
· Commitment
Then, Jesus' last direction regarding the vertical aspect of our prayers is that they should be marked by commitment. This only makes sense in light of God's character and attitude toward us, right? The fact that this holy, awesome God of immeasurable power and majesty, chooses to make Himself known to us and call us His children ought to lead to deep, heart-felt commitment on our part. Thus, Jesus directs us to pray, “Your kingdom come.” This entails a futuristic outlook in that as we read the Word which declares God's ultimate plan and purpose for this world, we greatly desire to see that eventuality achieved. It also entails a personal, Lordship outlook in that we desire God's kingdom to reign in our personal lives and the lives of our family and church and other circles of influence. Our chief desire in our personal lives and the lives of others...spouse, kids, extended family, neighbors and coworkers...should be the Lordship of Jesus. Thus we ourselves are to be committed to this end and be about praying for that end.
Thus, when Jesus directs us to have a vertical, God-focused aspect to our prayers, this aspect should include intimacy, reverence and commitment.
3. He directs us to have a horizontal aspect to our prayers
Right along with the vertical aspects of prayer, Jesus directs us to have a horizontal aspect to our prayers. He lovingly invites us to bring the cares of our daily existence to Him. I've often heard that the truly mature believer will spend most of his time in prayer in the vertical realm, so to speak, to the diminishment of the horizontal realm. In no way do I want to disparage or berate that attitude unless it is held with pride. If someone quietly looks down their nose at another for praying about physical needs or sickness or whatnot and views that person as immature, I would say that the immature one is the one thinking that. We never want to neglect dwelling on God's character in prayer. But don't ever think for a minute that God doesn't invite you to bring your earthly, horizontal concerns to Him. The reason that Jesus tells us to think about the vertical aspects first is that in so doing, our prayers about the horizontal aspects will be better directed. If I'm struggling with anger toward someone and I understand how God dealt with His anger towards me, that will greatly impact my anger and subsequent prayers for another. Understanding God's perfect character and name will inform our prayers about our earthly concerns. Thus, we should be thinking and praying about God's character. But don't think that Jesus hear wants you to not think and pray about earthly concerns.
This thought is reinforced by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;...” and by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you.”
In both of these passages, there is indications about
how the nature of God directs and informs our prayers about our earthly concerns. And in our passage from Luke, Jesus instructs us likewise. Thus, when we go before the Lord with our horizontal concerns, there are three aspects Jesus directs us to think upon.
· Acknowledged Dependence
In our prayers, we are to be people who consistently admit that everything we have comes from God. We are to ask Him for it and acknowledge Him in it. This is fairly straight-forward and simple, isn't it. And yet, if you and to agitate an unbeliever, inform them that the very breathe they are breathing is a gift from God, let alone the meals they eat. It is often the simplest and clearest aspects of God's work and character that offend the most.
But for the Christian here this morning, thankfulness and acknowledgement should be an identifying characteristic of who we are. Jesus tells this disciple to ask God for bread daily. It is helpful to realize that bread in that day was the foundation to every meal. Generally speaking, you hadn't eaten if you hadn't eaten bread. In our day, this doesn't resonate as well because we have such a diverse menu available to us. In that day, grain was purchased daily and fresh bread was the foundation of every meal. The side dish might change, but there was always bread and it was viewed as absolutely essential. Thus, here Jesus is directing us to pray for the very essentials of life such as food, health, a roof over our heads and clothes on our back. We are to pray for such things in deep acknowledgement that they all come from God and that, really, everything is a gift of God's grace to us.
Psalm 104 is particularly helpful in showing us this fact. Take a look at verses 14-18 of this Psalm:
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees. The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
These verses clearly declare God's control over man's and beast's daily provision. God causes grass and vegetation to grow. He plants the cedars of Lebanon. All things are from Him. But just in case the reader doesn't catch this fact in these verses, God slams home the point in verses 27-30:
These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
Dear friends, Jesus directs us to be consistently acknowledging God's daily, moment-by-moment provision for us. And these prayers are to be marked by the understanding that anything we have in the future will be from God also. “Give us day by day our daily bread”. There is some scholarly thought that this passage is also pointing to the ultimate future provision of the great banquet feast of the Church in heaven with Christ. But whatever else it is, Jesus directs us to pray with acknowledged dependance
· Acknowledged Sinful Kinship with mankind
Another aspect of our horizontal prayers should be acknowledged sinful kinship with mankind. Dear friends, an attitude of ready forgiveness and graciousness towards others should be a distinctive of our lives. When we consider our own sin and how greatly that sin offends our holy God, then those who sin against us will be quickly forgiven by us.
Thus, in light of our own, consistent need of forgiveness due to daily sin, we are quick to forgive and bless those who offend us. In light of the amazing salvation that it ours in Christ and the complete forgiveness that we experience, even though we still struggle with daily sin, we should be very quick to forgive others when they are indebted to us. All mankind is need of reconciliation with God. If you are a Christian here this morning, then you have experienced that reconciliation through the shed blood of Jesus. You should be marked by a forgiving, gracious, merciful attitude toward others.
Be encouraged to attend Dave Michael's current Sunday School class (summer '11), which is an in-depth discussion of forgiveness.
· Acknowledged Weakness
The last aspect of Jesus' direction to us is to ask God for protection as we walk in this world. Our prayers are to be marked by acknowledged weakness. God, as we know, does not tempt us. James 1:13-14 is very clear on this issue, “Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” It is our own desires and sinful wants that lead us into temptation. Thus, acknowledging a propensity to follow into temptation, we turn over the direction of our life to God and beg Him to lead us away from our natural, sinful desires. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a positive way of making the same request, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” We are to conscientiously reject our own thinking and leading, which will lead us into temptation, and submit ourselves to God's leading.
Friends, are you aware of your own weakness and propensity to follow into sin? If you are honest with yourself, you will find ample examples of this in your own life. Thus, Jesus directs us to mark our prayers by acknowledged weakness.
Conclusion:
Dear friends, Jesus wants us to be praying. That is very clear from this passage and the whole of the Bible. So the question is, “Are you?”. Take advantage of Jesus' directions here. Prayer isn't complicated. But you need to prioritize it in your life. It's like riding a bike. It is not complex. But if you are going to improve in biking you have to ride your bike a lot. Thus it is with prayer. With this disciple, if you are a Christian here today, you want to know how to pray. Jesus answers that question for us in these words. Take advantage of them.
Here are some points of encouragement and application:
· If you are not regularly setting aside time for prayer, start by setting aside 5 to 10 minutes of your day for it. As in learning to walk, learning to pray lengthy prayers takes time. Make it a life-time ambition to be a better prayer and start with small steps and as you improve, take bigger ones.
· Use God's Word as a basis for prayer. You don't have to be creative in your prayer life when God has given us an incredible book filled with Words and prayers that honor Him. Take advantage of this. If you are wondering how to pray for someone, pick a verse of Scripture and pray it about that person. Philippians 1:9-11 is an excellent verse for this purpose: “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Replace the your and the you with the name of the person for whom you are praying. What a great prayer! Take advantage of the Word in your prayers.
· Take advantage of the words of other saints from the ages to enlighten your prayers. Use devotional booklets like Spurgeon's Morning and Evening and The Valley of Vision to help direct your prayers. Another great resource is Andrew Cases' Water of the Word: Intercession for Her (Self-published in 2008 and available at http://www.hismagnificence.com/). You don't need to limit the prayers in this book to only your wife, but rather use them for all your loved ones.
· Take advantage of the corporate prayer times that are available to you at this church. The instruction given by Jesus in this prayer seems to be more focused on individual prayer. But the other place where Jesus gives this same instruction clearly is focused on corporate prayer. We meet on Sunday mornings at 8:30am in the library to pray for the day's service. We also meet at 6:30pm on Wednesday evenings to lift up the needs of the church. Join us. This would bring glory to God and bless this church.
Friends, if you are a believer in Christ here today, you know that eternity is going to marked by complete and total worshipful communion with God and Christ. It was for this purpose that God created man. Jesus invites us to come with boldness and joy into God's presense through prayer. Do so.
Big Idea: Because Jesus models for us and expects us to be praying, He also gives us clear instruction in so doing. Therefore, pray!
Discussion Questions:
· Should prayer be viewed as an obligation or a delight? Why? And which attitude better describes you?
· What are some characteristics of God that you find most praise inducing?
· What are some ideas that you have found helpful in your prayer life?
· How important is corporate prayer with a local body of Christ? Are you pursuing this? Why or why not?
· Do you feel that you have a healthy, biblical balance between the vertical and horizontal aspects of prayer? Why or why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment