It might seem like an odd way to start a sermon, but in order to have the right framework for understanding the theme of prayer- I want us to recall of last Sunday’s reading from Luke chapter 10: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. What is the one thing necessary about prayer?
In Luke chapter 11 the disciples make a request to Jesus, ‘Lord teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’. This request of “Lord teach us to pray” seems reasonable and natural ; it could have been prompted by the anxious desire to ‘get prayer right.’
Apparently John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. Each Rabbi might have a distinctive prayer model. The disciples did not want to be left out. They had experienced the demands of ministry as recorded in Luke Chapter 10 and they knew they needed to become confident prayer warriors.
Their request reflects a perspective that prayer is about the proper technique, the correct words, the right posture. So they asked; and Jesus answered their request. He taught them to pray. But he also taught them that the heart of prayer is not technique structure and terminology- The heart of prayer is our relationship with God, our Father.
The Lord’s Prayer provides a framework through which we can understand prayer in the context of our relationship with God, our Father. While we use this prayer most often to recite together in worship and in our lives- this prayer also provides a framework that redefines the foundation of prayer. It redefines prayer in terms of the one thing necessary- our loving and trusting relationship with God.
We know from the scriptures that proper prayer originates from God, not from us. The Psalter illustrates this order of prayer where God’s people respond to and celebrate God’s promises. “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will answer you.”
We pray because God has invited us to pray in the scripture. And we know His prayers are heard because of Jesus, through His taking away the sin of the world we know the Father is eager to hear our prayers.
In teaching them to pray, Jesus challenged the disciples to rethink the very nature of prayer. Christian prayer is not like prayers of the people of this world. They view prayer as a negotiation process with a super power. They appeal to God’s ego through flowery speech and generous portions of praise. They appeal to God’s greed with their promises and pledges. They appeal to his sense of justice by offering many prayers in the hope of shaming God into action. All these prayers originate from the self, instead of from God.
The prayer of Jesus’ disciples do none of these things. Prayer springs not from our need but from our relationship with our Heavenly Father. While we readily acknowledge the all knowing and all powerful and benevolent nature of God, we begin our prayer first and foremost in the Lord’s Prayer with an acknowledgement that God is our Father and we are his children.
The best prayers are when we speak to God what he promises to us, as His children, in faith to our Father who delights to provide for us. Our adoption as Sons and daughters into God’s kingdom is a gift of God granted to us through the life death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our trespasses, we are reminded that our sins have been forgiven, and will continue to be forgiven- even as we sin daily.
This forgiveness is the true basis for calling God as our Father. The fact that God is our Father changes everything in our prayer. Now we are bold in our petitions to our Father, Verses 5 through 8 in our gospel reading offer a brief parable about prayer. This is a parable more about our prayers than God’s answers to our prayers.
In this story the sleeping friend yields to the persistence of the knocking neighbor primarily because the knocking neighbor is bold. However we should not lose sight of the fact that the sleeping friend gets up and opens the door with bread, not a baseball bat.
Jesus celebrates the boldness of this request, highlighting how the neighbor is confident in the relationship he has with the sleeping friend. He expects to be greeted with bread- not the baseball bat.
God desires us to be confident in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, confident in His goodness and love toward us; so confident that we persist in asking, seeking, and knocking.
What boldness in prayer do we overlook on account of too small of expectations out of our spiritual life, too narrow of horizons for the role we expect God to play in our lives?
With boldness we can bring before Jesus our needs in prayer. We can bring before Him our loneliness, our fears and worries. With boldness we ask that our resentments would soften, our difficulties accepting what has ‘not gone according to our plan’ – turned over to our Savior in prayer.
With boldness as a congregation we should be praying for our Sunday School to grow. With boldness we can pray that our congregation grows in faith and in numbers- not that we pray this as reflection of our self interest and personal agendas, but because it is God’s Will for His church.
With boldness we should be praying for those who have faced adversity and trials in life to the point where they are discouraged in their faith. We should pray for those who may have been hurt by the church to the [point where it is a stumbling block for their faith.
Our scripture reading for this Sunday have helped me to realize what significant potential there is for me in approaching my Heavenly Father in Prayer. How much is to be gained for us as the body of Christ if we open ourselves to praying for what God has promised to us through Christ.
The ultimate expression of confidence in our Heavenly Father is our trust in God to give us good gifts as he determines best for us. We can be at peace knowing that every good gift comes from our Father.