- In Luke 11 & 18, Jesus gives us several strong motivations to pray, including an example, a parable and some very clear teaching that challenges our core beliefs about prayer.
- Listen to Jesus and be motivated by him today!
Play Audio:
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
- Why does God sometimes not seem to hear us?
- We are praying for the wrong thing
- We are demanding, trying to bully God, not trusting
- God has a better plan
- God has different timing
Psalm 44 – The Psalm with No Hope
- When God doesn’t even seem to be listening
- Most Psalms that start with a complaint end with Praise
- Paul shows us how there is the most amazing answer: Psalm 45
- “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us”
Idolatry, Fear and our ‘Need’ to be in Control
- All of us hate being out of control
- We can treat God as a way of getting leverage over life
- God wants us to bring our prayers, and trust him
- Several people asked me if we should keep on praying or just leave it with God?
Three Parables that Challenge our Beliefs about Prayer
- The Neighbor at Midnight
- The Parent Asked for an Egg
- The Lazy Government Official
Goal
That we would fully take in these strong statements by Jesus
which will change our beliefs about prayer.
1. The Neighbor at Midnight
Luke 11:1–13
- Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
- So he said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, honoured be your name;
may your kingdom come. - Give us each day our daily bread,
- and forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And do not lead us into temptation.”
- so this is very similar to what we call “The Lord’s prayer” in Matthew
- Jesus probably gave them this on several occasions during 3½ years (we should not be surprised at differences)
- But then Jesus goes immediately into some teaching on prayer
Luke 11:1–13 cont’d
- Then he said to them, “Would any of you have a friend whom you went to at midnight and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
- because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
- Who would reply from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’
- I tell you, even though he might not get up and give him anything out of friendship, yet the very boldness of the request will make him get up and give him all he needs.
- We often misread this parable (and it can be confusing in our translations —he never actually refused).
- Jesus is asking a question to which the answer it “No friend would ever refuse someone like that”
- Here is a culture where it would be unthinkable
- A culture with a very high value on hospitality and it would be shameful to refuse.
- The point is that if friends don’t refuse, how much more is God not going to refuse!
Quote from Klyne Snodgrass Stories with Intent p.448f.
- Is God of such a character that he responds to prayers?
- The parable answers, “Of course!” Well beyond what a human might do, God will respond.
- Jesus’ conviction is that God is
- a God who eagerly hears the prayers of his people,
- is biased in their favor,
- and can be trusted to respond.
- The parable... is an invitation to pray...
- Surely if you would ask for and expect help from a neighbor, how much more should you seek and expect the help of God?
- What is God’s heart towards me?
- Have you ever done something really stupid and feel you can’t ask God to get you out of it
- This is what this parable is about
- The man must have felt really stupid and embarrassed
- Jesus is telling us this parable to get rid of our ideas that God does not want to be bothered
- If humans sometimes respond even when there is no friendship—simply to a demand, even if it’s rude.
- how much more will God respond to his children
2. The Parent Asked for an Egg
Luke 11:1–13 cont’d
- “So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
- For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
- What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?
- Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
- If you then, even as bad as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give...
- This is a “how much more” argument
- What kind of a father would do that? —an evil father
- It’s really about God’s heart—does he want to bless you? is he really for you?
- But the last phrase is surprising:
Luke 11:1–13 cont’d
- If you then, even as bad as you are, 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!”
- How does this fit in to the logic? —it is the biggest possible gift he could give us—himself!
3. The Lazy Government Official
Outline of Luke
- 1 —3 Birth and Infancy
- 4 —9:50 Ministry around Galilee
- 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
- “the travel narratives” (starting and ending with matching parables on prayer)
- 19:41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it
- 19:42 —23 Trial and death
- 24 Resurrection
- The central section of Luke is sometimes called “the travel narratives”
- At the start and end are matching parables on prayer
- The two parables at the start have more of an emphasis on urgent needs,
- The one at the end is about not giving up on things that may be more long-term
Luke 18:1–8
- Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.
- He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.
- There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
- For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people,
- yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’ ”
- Again the argument is from the lesser to the greater
- If a human neighbor will help us in the middle of the night, how much more is God ready to help us
- If a wicked judge eventually answers, how much more will God hear our prayers
Luke 18:1–8
- And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says!
- Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them?
- I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faithfulness on earth?”
Quote from Klyne Snodgrass p.461f.
- “The parable is not about persistence in praying or badgering God until we get our desires.”
- It is simply about not giving up!
- “the character of God, who is
- not like the uncaring, unrighteous judge,
- but is merciful, patient, and eager to assist his people”
- What happens when God does not seem to be answering?
Praying without giving up
- Who has heard of the hymn “Amazing Grace”?
- Do you know who wrote it?
- John Newton’s mother never gave up praying
- Luke 2:36 – Anna didn’t give up praying for around 64 years, and saw Jesus as a baby!!
- A number of years ago I was discouraged that God didn’t seem to be answering my prayers…
- The biggest prayer you can pray, we know he will answer right away. What is that
- “God please forgive my sin, and give me a new heart that wants to follow you.”
- Both of these parables are really about the character of God
- They compare a human to God
- I am going to sum this message up with a simple slide:
Three Kinds of Prayers
- Prayers that are urgent because of our own bad planning
- Don’t worry about bringing embarrassing prayers to God
- Desperate and urgent prayers
- God is better than the best father. Pray in this way!
- Prayers that are not yet answered
- It’s ok to cry out day and night—don’t give up!
Challenge for this week
- Write down a list of 5–10 big prayers
Try to pray about them every day, but don’t try to put pressure on God
If one is answered, you can add another to replace it, but keep a record of the one answered
Be patient, but don’t give up
- Pray about something right now! (small or big)
