Luke 11:1-14 The Disciples Prayer

Today we are going to be looking at the subject of prayer.

  1. Come to a section in Luke – Disciples asked Jesus TEACH US TO PRAY - What we have here has commonly been called the Lords prayer
  1. Make a few of quick observations before Jumping in

b) 1st very rich portion of scripture – several weeks /

MLJ Sermon on MT/ Kellar/ Lucado

2nd I agree w/ some commentators that a better description would be the Disciples prayer because of v. 4 And forgive us our sins,

  1. THAT IS SOMETHING OUR LORD WOULDN’T PRAY – NO SIN
  1. 3rd note that there is a break between ch. 10 & 11 in Luke’s gospel – the events of that time are recorded for us by John in Ch. 9 & 10 of John

    2. 1) John records for us Jesus going into Jerusalem There He meets a man born blind. Ch. 9

  2. Ch. 10 Jesus teaches on I am the Door & I am the GOOD SHEPHERD
  1. Those are the events between Lk. 10 & 11

VERSE 1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Begin to look at this Prayer – consider several things 1st – Why did the Disciples make this request? Teach us to Pray ?

  1. As we have noted on several occasions, Luke's Gospel really brings out

the HUMANITY of Jesus Christ

1) His favorite phrase is the son of man thus emphasizing the HUMANITY of Jesus

B) In portraying the HUMAN SIDE of Jesus, it is interesting that Luke gives to us a greater insight into the prayer life of Jesus EXAMPLES

C) He is the ONLY one who points out that Jesus was PRAYING at His

baptism

D) He is also the only one to point out that Jesus spent the night in prayer before he chose His disciples

1) He is the only one to point out that at the Transfiguration that Jesus was PRAYING when He was transfigured

E) He is the ONLY one to point out that from the cross Jesus PRAYED: Father forgive them

1) He also is the ONLY one who tells us that Jesus said to Peter

Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

Luke makes it very clear that Jesus was a man of prayer

  1. It is interesting that The disciples NEVER asked Jesus to teach them

how to teach or preach or heal/ TO PRAY - WHY

B) No doubt this question sprang from their own observation of the place of prayer in the life and ministry of Jesus.

C) They KNEW that prayer was at the CORE of the life & ministry

of their Master

1) They saw the CONNECTION between prayer and POWER... prayer and PEACE in the life of Jesus

  1. They Realized that it was the ONE thing out of which everything else would flow/

They also Knew that it was the one thing that they could not do w/ out!!

D) Now If Jesus, the perfect Son of God had to depend on prayer during

His life here on earth,

    1. then how much more do you and I need to pray?

E) In fact The true marks of our intimacy & dependency upon the Lord are seen in How given we are to PRAYER

Martyn Lloyd-Jones expressed it beautifully Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, "Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face to God"

  1. It is in that Place of Prayer that we see God / See ourselves in light of Him/ See His Greatness/ My Weakness/ His Strength / My need!!!

I do NOT know how a person thinks that they can survive in this world WITHOUT and ESATBLISHED prayer life

Now the 2nd thing to note is the EXACT DEATAIL of this REQUEST

A) NOTE the question was NOT teach us how to pray

They knew HOW to pray...& They knew they ought to pray

B) They wanted Him to teach them TO pray Isn't that our problem

1) We all know ABOUT prayer.../ We just need to Learn to pray

Jesus taught them to pray by first of all giving to them a MODEL of prayer, and then gave to them a couple of parables about prayer

a) Not a Prayer to RECITE but a MODEL to follow / Brief explanation

& some Key Observation

  1. Now When we look at it, we will see that it is very similar to what Jesus

    2. taught in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:9-13)

  2. The FORM is the same..... The CONTENT is almost exactly the same
  1. And This prayer can be divided into two sections.

C) The first 3 requests "Hallowed be YOUR Name, YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done" deal with God's glory.

D) The second 3 requests "Give us our daily bread, forgive our sins, lead

not into temptation" deal with man's need.

 

The 1ST thing we note concerning prayer The focus of The Relationship

v2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven,

A) Tells us that Prayer is the PRIVILEGE of God's children

  1. While on earth Jesus used this term Father – over 200 times / In His first recorded words – Lk. 2:49 Jesus explained - Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"
  2. And in His final Triumphant Prayer in Lk. 23:46 Father into your hands I commit my spirit

1)In fact the word Father here is actually ABBA – DADDY

The word Abba – Daddy was a word that displayed one of the most intimate relationship – in the Jewish Language

  1. A Child in public wanted to sound really respectful might use the term Father – but behind closed doors – DADDY

B) Words I love to hear - DADDIES HOME – DAD LETS WRESTLE

That term ABBA Speaks of INTIMACY & Access /

  1. It means that I am a beloved child of God & I am welcome in God’s House
  2. Parents live in OSCD – Key welcome / Knocked – don’t have to knock just walk on in .
  1. We are welcome in God’s house /given Key JESUS walk on in
  1. Kid At Buckingham Palace

Also tells us that IF I am NOT a child of God I have no right to prayer

  1. That UNTIL I am born again through faith in Jesus Christ I have NO RIGHT to address God as Father
  2. Question Does God hear the prayers of the UNBELIEVER – Answer is Yes – God is Omniscient - He is everywhere – hears everything
  1. 1) But unbelievers are not welcome in God’s house – no ACCESS

GOD HEARS PRAYERS BUT He has not promised to respond

 

So the 1st thing the Lord would have us to consider about prayer is the special relationship that we have – Come to Him as FATHER

  1. We are coming before the one who loves us w/ an everlasting Love – we are the Apple of His eye

B) He has our best interest at Heart – Father Knows BEST - We need to trust Him .

1) Key to Prayer – he doesn’t always answer to way we want !!!!

The Next thing we see is that the Prayer involves – ADORATION & REVERENCE

Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

  1. Hallowed is an archaic English word used to translate a form of hagiazoµ, which means to make holy.
  2. Words like "holy, saint, sanctify, sanctification," are translated from the same root
  1. (1 Pet. 1:16),God’s people are commanded to be holy / but God is acknowledged as being holy.
  1. That is the meaning of praying hallowed be YOUR name: to attribute to God the holiness that is already HIS/ You are HOLY
  2. To hallow God’s name is to revere, honor, glorify, and obey Him as singularly perfect
  1. We learn from this that although there is a great intimacy there is an equally great Rev. that is to be observed in talking to God.
  1. Balance - Enjoy the INTIMACY – to come boldly into his presence / to rest in His arms of Love
  1. But never forget for a minute – Who it is we are talking to / In Him we live & move & have our being
  1. It is to be comforted in His LOVE & CAPTIVATED By His POWER
  1. INTIMACY & AWESOMENESS ALL AT ONCE !!! / WOW!

G) It is having the heart of a small Child who looks at Daddy as – the most incredible – Powerful – wonderful – Person who ever lived

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

A) Prayer is not getting my will in Heaven, it's getting God's will on earth!.

B) Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade Him to move things our way

1)but prayer is an exercise where we are enabled by the Spirit to move

ourselves His way!

C) Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of His willingness.

    1. PRAYER is His ordained means of seeing His Kingdom established on earth

G. Cambell Morgan said The first PASSION of Prayer is a passion that God’s will may be done, that God’s heart would be satisfied that God’s purposes would be realized

  1. PUT IT SIMPLY - LORD I WANT YOUR WILL & WAY – ABOVE MY OWN – Lord Advance Your Kingdom
  2. Think of it this way when you Pray – Your Kingdom come Your will be done – You are asking for God to Establish His kingdom in your Life
  1. Come My king –Take your throne in my life be present in my heart come into my marriage Be the Lord in my family …Business
  1. This is no feeble prayer this is a bold request for God to occupy

every corner of your life !!!!

 

The next part of the prayer deals w/ mans need -

  1. Important to note Prayer is made up of WORSHIP.... PETITION.... INTERCESSION/ Here we come to petition

B) And Before personal petition is addressed Jesus has taught us to first establish RELATIONSHIP and enter into WORSHIP of God

C) REASON By beginning with WORSHIP we are putting our problems and needs in their proper perspective

1) Seeing God, we then see our personal needs in light of His nature and attributes

D) There we are taught submission to the will of God

We are to see our needs in light of HIS perfect will

  1. The prayers NEXT 3 petitions encompass of the concerns of our life
  1. This daily Bread addresses the PRESENT / Forgive us our sins addresses the PAST / ….. Temptation – FUTURE

 

First He addresses our need for Bread – M. Luther rightfully defined bread as everything necessary for the preservation of this life

This verse encourages us to talk to God about the necessities of Life

  1. We are praying for our daily needs – The walk of the believer is a daily walk – daily trusting
  2. The essence of the Prayer is really an affirmation of the FATHER’S CARE - Our Provision is His Priority

1) Luke 12:32 Fathers good Pleasure to give you the Kingdom

VERSE 4 And forgive us our sins;

A) Here is another NEED to petition God for Forgiveness

B) This is ESSENTIAL to my relationship with God

1 John 1:6-7 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

B) It is also ESSENTIAL for an effective prayer life

Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me:

1) Regard: = "hold on to, cling to."

C) Asking for forgiveness implies confession – 1Jn.1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins.. to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

D) Confess = to say the same as !!! Daily confession –

1) Daily acknowledging of our need – our falling short

 

Now 2nd PART of v. 4 has caused some confusion

And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

A) This seems to be saying that My FORGIVENESS is predicated upon MY forgiving those that have sinned against me

B) In the Sermon on the Mount it is even more forceful Forgive us our debts AS we forgive our debtors For if you will NOT forgive those who trespass against you, NEITHER will your Father forgive your trespasses

C) That creates a problem for us in reconciling the grace of God with this

conditional forgiveness/ SOLUTION Note a few things

1st This prayer (here and in Sermon on the Mount) was given NOT to the world, but to those who were disciples

  1. Those who had already experienced the GRACE of & who were going to experience the forgiveness of God for their sins !!!!

    2. a) Through Christ that is true of all of us who are believers

  2. And As a child of God we are taught the IMPORTANCE of

    3. FORGIVENESS

    1) In fact Jesus taught the disciples in PRINCIPLE and PARABLE the importance of forgiveness

    C) PETER: "Should I forgive my brother 7 times/ JESUS: No Peter, 70 x 7

    Forgiveness is NOT a matter of MATH... It is a matter of SPIRIT 1) Person who says "I'll never forgive" is NOT the Spirit of Jesus"

  3. God has forgiven us in Christ of every sin / Every wrong – He puts our sin as far as the East is from the West – FORGIVEN & FORGOTTEN

1) MEANING He has Chosen to put it our of His REMEMBRANCE

E) If we are walking in the Spirit of Jesus in this area of forgiveness it will mean that we are choosing to NOT hold over someone an offense that has been confessed & asked to be forgiven

  1. The point really is this : If I have truly experienced the forgiveness of God in my own life / how can I not forgive someone … seeking forgiven

MLJ Is Helpful here – Sermon on the mount

We must not allow ourselves to be misled in this way. What we have here is what we find so clearly taught in Matthew 18 in the parable of the steward who would not forgive his underling although he had been forgiven by his master.

It means that the proof that you and I are forgiven is that we forgive others. If we think that our sins are forgiven by God and we refuse to forgive somebody else, we are making a mistake; we have never truly experienced the forgiveness of God. The man who knows he has been forgiven, only in and through the shed blood of Christ, is a man who must forgive others.

He cannot help himself.

If we really know Christ as our Savior our hearts are broken and cannot be hard , and we cannot refuse forgiveness. I say to the glory of God and in utter humility, that whenever I see myself before God and realize even something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything. I cannot withhold it, I do not even want to withhold it. That is what our Lord is saying here

True forgiveness breaks a man & he must forgive !!!"

When You think about it at the Root of Unforgiveness is Pride – I am basically saying that there is something too special about me / my rights

That I do not have to follow our Lord’s example –

  1. But we must not forget – that the Bible says God resist the Proud but gives grace to the Humble …..
  1. Sense unforgiveness is an element of Pride – My prayers of forgiveness are resisted because God is waiting for me to be Humbled

 

THEN HE SAYS / And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

A) Why should I pray this IF GOD does NOT tempt man with evil (James 1)

1) I think that it means: Keep me from the PLACE where I might be prone to fall

B) It is a recognition of our own proneness to wander & walk straight into

A sinful situation .

1) We should pray that the opportunity to sin and the desire to do so should never coincide.

C) The prayer expresses a healthy distrust of our own ability to resist

temptation!

Now After giving them this Model of Prayer – Jesus gives them two parables about prayer – Look at Briefly

  1. Parables were used to illustrate by making comparisons & contrast

Here Jesus is using 2 Parables to illustrate by way of CONTRAST

B) 1st is of a man who had guest come at midnight - Understand Culture

    1. Heat Traveled at night - / HOSPITALITY WAS A MUST

Doors always open except at night .
  1. FRIENDS SHOW UP EXPECTED TO GIVE A MEAL
  1. Problem – guy was out of Bread - Goes next door – door is closed knocks
  1. HOUSES ONE ROOM – ELEVATED FLOOR 8 inches – FIRE / SLEEP

    2. 1) 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; not going to walk over kids & animals

  2. Continues to Bug him finally the man gets up not because he is his friend but because he wants him off his back
  1. Now some make the mistake of thinking that Jesus is teaching the importance of PERSISTANCE IN PRAYER
  1. Problem is that if I use this as a comparison I make God out to be the guy who is sleeping who says DON’T TROUBLE ME
  1. But the Bible teaches us that God invites us to Come anytime & He is a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers

The Point of the Parable is to illustrate by way of Contrast – By saying if this mans neighbor responded to get off back

  1. Just think how much more Your heavenly Father who loves you & wants to meet your needs will respond to your prayers
  2. So don’t ever be afraid to come to Him at anytime / for any need – keep on Knocking / Keep on seeking / keep on asking
  1. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Then Jesus gives another illustration to contrast

11 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

12 "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"