A Lesson on Prayer - Luke 11:1-13

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Unknown

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Scripture - Luke 11:1-13
A great sermon about the power and necessity of prayer.

1. A lesson on why we pray

... because Jesus prayed. Jesus retreated away often to prayer. Let the needs of people even for the purpose to pray.
... because prayer identifies us to others as Christians. I don't see this as a call to simply make your prayer a constant public affair, because other passages indicate otherwise. "When you pray" as distinct from other religions. Prayer itself is not offensive, but it is the name of Jesus that is offensive, and it is for this reason that we do prayer. When Jesus is our King and our lifes are lived with him as the give of it, then our prayer is different, and will be noticed, whether public or not, because that prayer has the power of Jesus name.

2. A lesson on what we pray.

... to commune with the Father.
... to acknowledge God's holy character.
... to seek the arrival of God's kingdom. "Come Lord Jesus" It is a call for both God's judgement, his mercy and his Love. It is a continual call for God to set all things right. It shapes all our requests, and keeps them focused to the end. For we know that "this" right now, is not our home, is temporary, and that it is all "gonna burn"
... to request the provision of our daily needs. This is a way of giving credit that God is the provider of all our needs. That we do not have to be preoccupied with our "daily" needs, becuase our Father is the provider and giver of our daily needs. Be concerned with spiritual things, not the worldy things.
... to plead for God's forgiveness. We forgive others because have received forgiveness ourselves, and it is a character, like prayer itself, of being Christian's of being
... to ask for God's power to keep us fro succumbing to temptation.

3. A lesson on how we pray.

... with persistence. with imputance. means that he is pleading without any shame. He doesn't care what others think. This story in vs. 5-8 is like us and the Bennage's. We both put our family's first, but we since with plead our needs shamelessly to each other in the name of our Lord, then we help one another, as more than friends, as family, as fellow children of God.
... with assurance that God answers prayer to our ultimate benefit.

FHBC Sermon Notes