TOPIC:
PATTERN FOR PRAYER
BIBLE TEXT:
LUKE 11:1- 13
MEMORY VERSE:
Lord, teach us to pray, (Luke 11:1 KJV).
CENTRAL TRUTH
God has given Christians a pattern for prayer.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson,
students will be able to:
- Analyse the Lord's teaching about prayer and follow His pattern in their prayer life.
- Realize that our daily needs include: spiritual and physical needs, good personal relationship, and all the materials that concern their day-to-day existence.
- Totally depend on God for the answer to their persistent prayers.
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THE LESSON OUTLINE
1. Acknowledge God's Sovereignty
A. Revere His Name
Luke 11:1, 2
B. His Kingdom's Priority
Luke 11:2
2. Present Your Needs
A. Daily Provisions-Luke 11:3
B. Daily Living-Luke 11:4
3. Persist in Prayer
A. Never Give Up-Luke 11:5-10
B. Our Father's Love
Luke 11:11-13
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INTRODUCING THE LESSON
Watching Jesus pray. That is what His disciples were doing one day. lt appears something about the way Jesus prayed promoted the request, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
Christians often profess confidence in the power of prayer, yet pray comparatively little. When we recognise our shortcomings in prayer, the tendency is to run to the nearest Christian bookstore and buy a "how to" book on prayer. However, many believers fail to realise Jesus gave the definitive answer to the "how to pray" question in what is commonly known as the Lord's Prayer. Many devotional books are very helpful in developing a disciplined prayer list. But should we look to the Master first?
The Lord 's Prayer is more than just a pattern for prayer. It causes us to have a proper focus on God, on ourselves, and on the problems we pray about. It helps us realize we are not alone in our efforts to live for and serve God. It allows us to reflect on the essential priorities of life.
Jesus taught His disciples how to pray effectively. There are few things more dynamic than a Christian who has learned through experience the power of effective praying. If we follow His model and allow it to mould our attitudes, affections, and expectations, we can expect our prayers to avail much (James 5:16).
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COMMENTARY AND APPLICATION
1. Acknowledge God's Sovereignty
A Revere His Name–Luke 11:1,2
Christ's teaching on prayer was prompted by a cry for help from His disciples in learning to pray. After witnessing another of Jesus' long period of communion with the Father, the disciples asked Jesus to
teach them how to pray (verse 1).
Jesus began His model for prayer by explaining to them how they were to address God. First, they could call Him "Father" because they were indeed His children. Their relationship with God was such that they could have confidence in His desire to bless them with His presence and His help.
But God is not simply the Father, He is "our Father". This conveys the sense of family and community which is a vital dimension to the Christian faith. While one's belief in Jesus is a deeply personal relationship. God intends for that belief to be lived out within the household of faith. We are brothers and sisters. God is our Father.
Our loving Father is in heaven. As we pray, it should encourage us to know God is above all things and is greater than anything on this Earth. He has an eternal perspective we can trust as we bring our concerns to Him. Lest we begin to think God doesn't understand us and our needs, remember our Advocate and High Priest. Who has suffered and is touched by the feelings of our infirmities, is making intercession for us (see Hebrews 2:18;4:15;7:25).
Though we possess this kind of access, it is vital we understand that the Lord, whom we are approaching, is holy. His name is to be revered as hallowed or holy. To the Hebrew mind the name represented the character of the person. That is why the third commandment prohibits any vain use of the name of God. (See Exodus 20:7). His love, grace, and mercy never negate the reality of His holiness.
Hallowed or holy means set apart. Jesus taught that when we pray we must desire for God's name to be set apart as special, that it be honoured and exalted. Do our prayers reflect the desire that the whole Earth would revere His
name?
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B. His Kingdom's Priority–Luke 11:2
Christ's model for prayer is significant in its order as well as its content. Jesus instructs us to pray for the establishment of the kingdom of God. This comes before any mention of prayer concerning our personal needs.
The phrase "Thy kingdom come" points to the priority the kingdom of God must have in both our prayers and our lives. Too often we get lost in the arena of the temporal. As a result, we lose our focus. We forget about our identity as children of God and our calling as ambassadors of His kingdom. We exist to walk with and serve Jesus our Lord. God's purpose is to establish the character of Christ in
our lives.
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Question for Application
Does this mean we are not to have any concern about the things of this world?
Because we live in this world, we cannot help but find ourselves concerned about the things of this world. It is not wrong to enjoy our lives here on the Earth.
Unquestionably. God has given us the world to enjoy (1 Timothy 4:4,5).
We must, however, understand that the things of the world cannot bring fulfilment. Only Jesus can satisfy the spiritual needs of a man or woman. Only pleasing Him will bring us true satisfaction in life.
We must invite God to establish His kingdom first in our own hearts. He has promised to work sovereignly in our lives to this very end. The apostle Paul declared that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called to fulfil His purpose (Romans 8:28). All this is to bring about our conformity to the image of Christ (see verse 29).
Our lives are a part of God's sovereign plan. Our prayers must also reflect the desire to see His Work in the world. We must pray that He will establish His rule in the hearts of all people.
We labour together with God as we await the return of Christ to usher in His great kingdom. Until then we must continue to pray. "Thy kingdom Come."
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2. Present Your Needs
A. Daily Provisions–Luke 11:3
The phrase "daily bread" in Luke 11:3 refers to much more than food.
It is inclusive of all the material concerns of our day-to-day existence. God wants us to depend on Him for our daily provision.
In His sermon on the Mount. Jesus told His disciples not to worry about the future, but to learn to trust God one day at a time. He declared worry was not only futile, it was counter productive. Worry is the enemy of faith.
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Question for Application
Why is worry the enemy of faith ?
Faith sees God as one who is larger than our problems. The more we worry about our problems. The greater our problems become in our own minds, making it harder for us to believe God is willing to and capable of intervening in our circumstances. Our perception of God's power is diminished in ourminds.
Prayer, on the other hand, builds faith. Time spent in the presence of God helps us focus on His greatness. Then we will understand that the Lord really is larger than the
problems we face.
The Children of Israel learned this lesson through God's miraculous provision of manna for each day. There was only enough manna for each day. But on the day before the Sabbath, they were able to gather enough for more than one day. The lesson was clear. The Israelites were to trust the Lord one day at a time. Each day God proved himself faithful. Not once did the Israelites not find their need supplied (see Exodus 16:11-21).
The Lord wants us to learn the same lesson. We are not to worry or fear about going without the necessities of life. This does not mean God will grant our every whim.
His promise is to provide our needs, not our wants and desires. Often it is hard for Christians to know the difference. He will take care of us, providing all that is for our good.
Question for Application
Was Jesus teaching that it is wrong to prepare for the future (for example, a person having a retirement programme or the church having a savings account)?
Jesus did not condemn
preparing for the future. What He was trying to teach was reliance on God, not on our resources and abilities (see Luke 12:16-21).
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B. Daily Living–Luke 11:4
Perhaps the most overlooked of our day-to-day need is our need to confess our sins to the Lord. Jesus' model for prayer included a regular time of confession and petition for forgiveness.
Regular examination of our lives enables us to deal with sin before it begins to exercise dominion over us. Unconfessed sin can easily lead to a hardened heart.
Jesus linked forgiveness to our willingness to forgive others.
Question for Application
Why do you think this is so?
Since we are subjects of God's kingdom, we must live by the principles that govern it. God extends grace and mercy to us despite our lack of merit. He does not wait for us to earn His forgiveness. If He did, we would never receive it. We must learn to forgive on the same basis.
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Question for Application
Why do many Christians find it difficult to practice forgiveness?
A fellow believer may offend us in a sensitive area of our lives. This can result in resentment toward him.
Many times Christians want to forgive but feel they cannot. They try to forgive, only to find themselves with reoccurring feelings of anger toward the person who offended them. This leaves them frustrated and defeated.
It is important to understand what forgiveness is and what it is not. Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. Just as God chose to forgive us of our offences towards Him. So we must choose to do the same with those who have offended us. This is not merely the best option available to us. It is a command we must obey. God requires that we treat others as He has treated us.
Prayer for daily living not only includes the provision for our physical needs and good personal relationships, it also involves godly living. Jesus taught us to pray for God's help to live in a way that pleases Him and to have victory over sin and Satan.
The phrase "from evil" in Luke 11:4 could accurately be rendered, "from the evil one," an obvious reference to Satan. Though some translations note that the phrase "but deliver us from evil" does not appear in some Greek manuscripts of Luke, the phrase is found in Matthew's account of the Lord's Prayer. Also, we know from the rest of Scripture that Satan is the tempter. A prayer for God's help to overcome the forces that try to turn us away from following the Lord would include a petition for deliverance from any evil Satan would like to do to us.
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3. Persist in Prayer
A. Never Give Up–Luke 11:5-10
Effective praying is characterised by a fervency that never gives up. Jesus illustrated this in His parable recorded in verses 5–8. There are two main characters in this story. One is a man who found himself the unexpected host of a weary traveller who arrived late in the night. The other is a neighbour who was suddenly awakened at midnight by the host who was in need of bread to serve his guest.
In Jesus' day, hospitality was considered a sacred obligation. The man of the story was willing, but lacked the means to be a proper host to a weary traveller. His circumstances forced him to greatly inconvenience his friend. The friend was in bed and his door was locked for the night. That meant the family was not to be
disturbed. The typical house of that day was one-room structure where the whole family lived and slept in tight quarters. The thump at the door awakened him, but he was determined to ignore it. Only the determination of the man knocking caused him to respond. Prayer requires such determination, not because God is unwilling to respond, but because He is testing the earnestness of our desire.
Think for a moment of a child, who has accompanied a parent on a shopping trip. How many times does the cry, "I want that!'" come from that child? When the pestered parent finally gives in and buys one of the many wanted items, the child heads home with a feeling of satisfaction and triumph. Although this is an imperfect example, we need to realise how much our heavenly Father desire to grant to us the desires of our hearts, if we would only persevere in prayer.
Verse 9 contains three Imperatives: "ask," "seek," and "knock," Each of these imperatives denotes an ongoing action and is followed by a promise. The one who keeps asking will receive; the one who keeps seeking will find; and the one who keeps knocking will find the door opened for him.
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B. Our Father's Love–Luke 11:11-13
It would be wrong to equate our Heavenly Father with the friend who was unwilling at first to meet his neighbour's need. We can be assured of our Heavenly Father's
willingness to respond to the requests presented to Him.
Jesus used earthly fathers as an example. He reflected on their natural instinct to provide for their children. Would they respond to a request for something needed by giving something harmful instead? The answer is obviously no. If our earthly father desires what is for our good, how much more can we depend on our Heavenly Father to give us good things.
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CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP
Nothing is more vital to the believer's well-being than effective prayer lifestyle. In His life and ministry. Jesus not only showed and taught us the importance of prayer, He left us a model - the Lord's Prayer- that will help us as we seek to pray productively. It teaches us what priorities are most important in prayer.
Is communion with God a priority in your life? If not, you are missing a key to victorious Christian living. Without God's abiding presence, you will lack the joy and power that should accompany the Christian life. Ask Jesus today to help you cultivate an effective prayer life.
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MINISTRY IN ACTION
God desires to use your students through prayer. Remind them that they are important parts of God's plan to win the lost to Christ. Take time to lead in prayer for any unsaved people and let your students indicate need to know Jesus as Saviour.
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