Lord, teach us to pray. - Luke 11:1-13
How is your prayer life? Are you satisfied with the amount of time you spend in prayer, or do you see room for improvement? Do you have a reputation as a prayer warrior or are you more of a prayer pacifist? I know you pray when you are here at church. I have heard your “Amens”, and I have joined with you in praying to “our Father who art in heaven”. But how is your prayer life outside of church? I think most of us probably do a pretty good job with the “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest…” and the “Now I lay me down to sleep…” prayers. A few of us might even find occasion (too many occasions) to cry out “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me… do not cast me from your presence… Restore to me the joy of your salvation…”[1] I am sure there are random times when you turn to God in prayer, like when bad news is shared or big decisions need to be made. Such prayers are good for you and are pleasing to your God, but I am not sure praying before we eat, go to sleep, or when we need something qualifies us as “prayer warriors”. I am not accusing anyone here of being a prayer pacifist, but I am suggesting, when it comes to prayer, all of us have room for improvement.
If you are looking to improve your prayer life, the person to go to for guidance and advice is Jesus. Jesus was a for sure prayer warrior. The Bible doesn’t give us a prayer count, but Jesus prayed all the time. Jesus prayed in the mornings, He prayed in the evenings, He prayed for food, He prayed for His friends, He prayed for his enemies, He prayed before he traveled, He prayed before He taught, He prayed before He performed miracles, He prayed in the good times, and he prayed in the bad times, and all the times in between. Prayer wasn’t something Jesus did every now and then, prayer was part of His daily routine and incorporated into every aspect of his life.
Jesus had just finished praying when one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” If you, like the disciple in our gospel lesson, feel there is room for improvement when it comes to your prayer life, then this section of scripture is for you. Because in our Gospel lesson from Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches a primer on prayer; He shares His disciples the where, when, Who, what, how, and why of prayer.
Let’s start with the when and where of prayer. In verse one we read, “1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place…”. Luke began by telling the readers of his gospel that he had done a “careful investigation” so that he could write an “orderly account”. True to his words, Luke often gives detailed descriptions that include names, dates, and places. It seems a little out of character for Luke to describe anything as occurring “one day” and in a “certain place”. I can’t help but feel Luke, or rather the Holy Spirit speaking through Luke, is being intentionally vague. It feels like the Holy Spirit doesn’t want us to get too attached to a time or a place as if our prayers can only be offered when standing (or sitting) on holy ground or at mealtimes or bedtimes. By telling us Jesus prayed “one day” and in a “certain place” it seems the first lesson to a better prayer life begins with an understanding that prayers can be said at any time and in any place.
Now let’s move on to the Who of prayer. Prayers can be said at any time and in any place, but they ought not be said to anyone. That might seem obvious to you, but since there are entire church bodies that teach prayers can be addressed to people, it is not obvious to everyone. So that we are clear, nowhere in scripture are we told to address our prayers to people. In fact, in the book of Revelation the angel tells John “Don’t do it!” [2] and in the city of Lystra Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes in grief over it. [3] The only person to Whom we are ever told to address our prayers is God. God is the one to whom Jesus instructed His disciples to pray. In verse 2 Jesus taught His disciples, “When you pray, say: “’Father’”. If Jesus wanted you to pray to people like saint Peter, the apostle Paul, or Mother Mary, then why didn’t Jesus instruct His disciples to pray to people like Father Abraham, Moses, or the prophet Elijah? Jesus instructed His disciples to pray to God because God and God alone has the power and authority to answer your prayers. To address your prayers to anyone other than God is at best foolish at worst blasphemous.
Having reviewed the where when and Who of prayer Jesus moves on to the meat of the lesson and teaches His disciples the what of prayer. In verses 2-4 Jesus teaches, “2 When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ” Matthew’s gospel contains a longer version of this prayer, but I trust there is enough of the prayer here for you to recognize it. This is a prayer that you have likely known from childhood and have been praying once a week for the vast majority of your life. Each petition in this prayer is worthy of its own sermon, and I am seriously considering a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer in the near future. But in the context of the lesson Jesus is teaching about prayer, perhaps it is enough to summarize the content of the Lord’s Prayer into two categories. The content of the first category is God’s glory. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray about God’s hallowed name and coming kingdom. In his catechism, Martin Luther wisely reminds us that “God’s name is certainly holy by itself” and “God’s kingdom certainly comes by itself”. What we are praying for is that God be glorified in the way we live our lives, glorified in the way we teach His truths, and glorified in the way we reach out to the lost. What we pray for is first and foremost God’s glory in and among us and out and among all. The second category of what we pray for concerns our good. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray about daily bread and forgiveness of sins. Again, Luther reminds us that daily bread is not just bread but really “everything we need for our bodily welfare” from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the homes we live in, and the people who support us. In short, our daily bread refers to all our bodily needs. But since we also have souls, Jesus teaches us to pray also for our spiritual needs, specifically to forgive us for the sins of our past and to strengthen us to resist sins in the future. Everything we need to take us from sinner to saint is what we pray for. What specifically you pray for will be unique to you but in general Jesus teaches His disciples to pray for that which brings good to our body and soul. In short, God’s glory and our good is the what of prayer.
After teaching the when, where, Who, and what of prayer, Jesus teaches the how of prayer. In verses 5-8 Jesus teaches a mini parable of sorts. In the story Jesus invites His disciples to imagine a person going to a friend in the middle of the night to request some bread. The friend at first refuses stating “7 ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I think we would all agree, the friend is not out of line to refuse the request, the request is inconsiderate and rude. But at the end of the story Jesus tells us the friend got up and gave the person as much as he needed, and Jesus tells us why the friend granted the request. It wasn’t because the two had such a strong friendship, it was because of the man’s “shameless audacity”. Jesus tells His disciples this story because He wants us to pray with shameless audacity. When it comes to prayer, we are not to be easily discouraged. Rather we are to ask and keep asking to the point of being inconsiderate and rude. We are to ask, we are to seek, we are to knock again, and again, and again. Shameless audacity is how Jesus teaches His disciples to pray.
So, we have been taught the where, when, Who, what and how or prayer. The only thing left is the why. In verses 9-13 Jesus teaches the why of prayer. In verses 9-10 Jesus assures His disciples that God hears their prayers. Jesus says, “9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” When we pray, we are not wishing upon a star, we are not speaking our desires out into the universe we are not trying to manifest our destiny. We are speaking to a God who is actively listening to us. And not just listening, but our God is also eager to answer us. In verses 11-13 Jesus draws a comparison between earthly fathers and our heavenly Father. Jesus points out that earthly fathers, even though we are far from perfect, know how to give good gifts to our children. No good father would knowingly give his child something that would hurt or harm them. Our heavenly Father is perfect; He is superior to our earthly fathers in every way, including the giving of gifts. In verse 13 Jesus says, “13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” You can ask your heavenly father for anything and everything you want or need because even if you are too spiritually immature to realize you are asking Him for a snake or a scorpion you can trust your heavenly Father will say no because your heavenly Father will only and always give you “good gifts”. Jesus teaches us the reason why we pray is because we have a God who is actively listening to us and is eager to give us good gifts.
If you learn the lessons Jesus teaches, your prayer life will improve. I am not saying it will be perfect. In fact, there will still be times when you will neglect your prayer life either because you doubt it’s power or dismiss its purpose. You will never be as much of a prayer warrior as Jesus was. Jesus prayed all the time everywhere and for everyone…including you. One prayer in particular might make you feel better about your prayer life. It is a short prayer. One that Jesus prayed for sinners like you and me. Jesus prayed it as His hands and feet were being nailed to the cross. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them…”[4]. In the moment Jesus was praying for the Roman soldiers, but He was also praying for you and for me. Jesus was praying that God would forgive us for the times we have doubted the power and dismissed the purpose of prayer. Jesus prayed a prayer of forgiveness then He paid the price of our forgiveness. I share that prayer with you so that your guilt doesn’t get in the way of you learning the lessons that Jesus teaches about prayer.
Today Jesus has taught us that we can pray at any time and in any place. He has taught us our prayers are only and always to be addressed to God and God alone. He has taught us to pray about God’s glory and our good. He has taught us to pray with shameless audacity. He has taught us to pray knowing that we have a God who is actively listening and eager to answer. Now that we know the where, when, Who, what, how, and why of prayer we can improve our prayer lives and perhaps even one day we will become prayer warriors. May God bless us all to that end. Amen.
[1] Psalm 51:10-11
[2] Revelation 22:9
[3] Acts 14:14-15
[4] Luke 23:34