Say "Father" • Luke 11:1-13

59:06 Teaching begins

Notes

I’ve never met anyone who felt they prayed enough. It’s curious that we know we should pray, but it’s easy to let it go, it’s easy to pray a little bit and do something else. We know about prayer but we don’t pray.

Jesus’ disciples felt that lack, that need. He meets their need by giving them what to pray and reasons to pray so that they will pray. It turns out that everything in prayer is based on one foundation, who that Person is in heaven.

Jesus said, “When you pray, say, “Father”.

I’m reading in Luke 11:1-13.

1. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray.

A. The occasion is Jesus praying somewhere. Imagine being able to pray with the Son of God. What an opportunity to listen and learn. They’re right there!

B. When Jesus finishes they still are missing something about prayer. Kind of amazing when you think what they’ve already heard.

1. John taught about prayer, they were there for that. They were John’s disciples before they followed Jesus.

2. For all that they’ve heard the Sermon on the Mount multiple times, so they know about prayer from Jesus. They’ve just now heard Jesus pray!

3. But they still ask Him, teach us to pray.

C. I get this. I’ve been asked to give guitar lessons, and I’ve learned that doesn’t mean only, “Where do I put my fingers?” That’s not enough. People are also looking for the motivation to play guitar because even though it’s cool to play guitar, starting to play hurts your fingers. So asking for guitar lessons really means, “Teach me to play guitar so I’ll want to do it even though it’s hard and it hurts.”

D. That’s what they’re saying here. Teach us to pray so we’ll really want to pray and actually do it.

2. Jesus says you take time to pray because you’re with your Father.

A. He says, “When you pray.” Part of prayer is that you take time for it.

1. The Apostle Paul says, “Pray without ceasing,” that’s also legitimate. You want this ongoing conversation all the time. You want to live being conscious that God is with you.

2. But there is also a time to pray. This is what Jesus has just done. You deliberately take time to pray because being with God is part of your life.

B. For this reason: He is your Father. When you say “Father” you are relating to who He really is.

1. There was a time when God was not “Creator”, because He hadn’t created anything. “Lord of hosts” didn’t apply when there were no angels. He wasn’t Saviour, He wasn’t the Judge of all.

2. But from all eternity He is Father. He’s always had a Son whom He loves with all His Spirit. Relationship is eternal, and He is first and foremost Father.

3. Jesus has brought you back into right relationship with God so that you call Him Father. He has given you life.

C. So Jesus says call Him “Father”. You want to pray so that you spend time with your Father.

D. You pray, “Hallowed be Your name.”

1. The principle is that you honour your father and your mother who gave you life. Your life comes from the Father. Therefore you pray that His name be made holy.

2. Name means all that a person is. It’s a person’s reputation, all that you should think of when you think of them.

3. All that God is and means should be holy to you. You see that as most precious, most beautiful, most special, pure, something to be guarded, never to be violated.

E. You’re really praying, “Let me know You as You are in truth. Reveal Yourself to me so that it grips me with Your wonderfulness. Bless our relationship so that Your name is properly holy to me.” This is the situation Moses experienced, in Exodus 33.

1. He’s talked with God at the burning bush. He’s seen God humble and destroy Egypt with ten plagues and the dividing of the Red Sea. Yet he can still pray, “Show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.” He even prays, “Please, show me Your glory.”

2. I know You, but I need to know You more. The more I know You, the better Your name is hallowed in me.

F. Not only in me, hallow Your name everywhere in this world and in heaven. Let the knowledge of the Lord fill the earth like the waters cover the sea, Isaiah 11:9.

3. When Jesus says, “Your kingdom come,” it’s another fundamental reason to pray: the Father alone is the solution to the absolute conflict of life.

A. People notice the contradiction. “If God is good like you say, then why is the world in such a mess? There’s nothing but lies, cheating, inequality, war, rebellion, chaos, sickness, and death. Did God make all that?” That implies, if there is a God, this is all His fault.

B. We understand that there is a God, and there is also a devil. He has rebelled in the heavens, he has caused the human race to fall into sin and rebellion and death. This is not a minor glitch. This is the conflict of the ages, the ruin of all creation. The name of the Father is not hallowed. It is a curse word. This world’s values are completely upside-down. The devil is the god of this world.

C. We address what is wrong with everything when we pray, “Your kingdom come.”

1. Your kingdom come in me. I submit to Your good, acceptable, perfect will. I submit to Your working in my life just like Your Son submitted in all things.

2. Your kingdom come in my wife, in my husband, in my family, the extended family, my work colleagues, my neighbours, people I run into in the shops.

3. Your kingdom come in this nation, and in all the nations of the earth.

D. When You rule there will be justice, fairness, truth, love, faithfulness, stability. The solution to rebellion against You is for You to establish Your kingdom in people’s hearts. You are Father, You are good. You deal with the source of all our unhappiness and futility. Not my will, but Yours be done.

5. Then Jesus says, “Give us each day our daily bread.”

A. That word for “each day” sounds redundant. It has confused commentators and there are lots of suggestions given to explain it. With recent discoveries of ancient texts using that word it has been shown to mean “ Give us in the coming day our daily bread.” We can pray for our needs in the future. The Father says it’s legitimate.

B. When you’ve asked the Father for bread for tomorrow, you can have peace today. You don’t live in tension, anxiety, doubt. When you pray you have confidence for the future.

C. What about your desires? That’s up to Him. He can say yes or He can say no, and because you trust your Father, you’re okay with His answer.

6. Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone.

A. Our relationship with the Father is to be perfect. We can ask to be put back in relationship should we violate it. We have perfect provision in Jesus. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

B. That forgiveness is connected to our forgiving those who sin against us.

1. Because the Father forgave us, we also forgive others, even if they don’t ask for forgiveness. We say, “You don’t owe me anything. I don’t expect you to make it up to me.” We forgive everybody.

2. When we forgive, we are looking to the Father and waiting for Him to make it up to us. He will pay us back for our forbearance and peacemaking. He will also pay back the offender. We’re looking for eternal payback, not temporary.

C. Psalm 66:18-19 If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; but certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.

D. Because we pray we don’t live in bitterness. We don’t remember offence or insult because we relive it over and over. We forget all the bad stuff. We get to live in peace with our Father, and that goes out to every part of our lives.

7. Lead us not into temptation.

A. Yes, you have a fatal tendency to walk away from your Father and do your own thing. You are enticed by your own lust. It’s deep in you.

B. The Father doesn’t require you to conquer yourself. He knows you’re made of dust.

C. So you pray that He makes you walk in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

D. Your Father supports your life. He’s willing to carry the burden of being you because He’s your Father.

8. Now follows two encouragements to pray based on your Father.

A. The first encouragement is to persevere in prayer.

1. The reason is painfully obvious: prayer doesn’t work like we think it ought to. In the material world when you knock a domino over it hits another domino and stuff happens. You get cause and effect. When you pray you can’t see what’s going on. It looks like nothing is happening. You can jump to the conclusion that God isn’t listening or He doesn’t care, so you quit praying.

2. Jesus’ story is about the worst possible scenario to get results. It’s the worst time to ask: midnight. This friend is in bed, all the family is packed around him. He doesn’t want to help at all. Get lost. Yet if you shamelessly keep knocking and don’t take “no” for an answer, you still get what you need.

3. The point is that your Father is a lot better than this friend. He says, “I don’t mind you praying, I want you to pray and pray and pray until you get it.” So you keep praying, keep knocking, keep seeking. Don’t let anything stop you because your Father is good.

B. The second encouragement is to expect the best because your Father gives the best.

1. Some people do not have a frame of reference for a loving father. That is the result of sin and a fallen world. The Father is not the kind of father some people have where he inflicts pain and suffering. The Father doesn’t trick you and give you something dangerous when you ask for something good.

2. Spiritual matters happen in ways we don’t expect. Bad things often happen first. Good things happen later, if at all. The reason for this is the bad things are fallen, corrupt, and temporary. The good things are incorruptible, glorious, and eternal. Terrible things happen that some people blame on God. I prayed for this, but He gave me that. Well, that didn’t work.

3. The Father is so good that when you pray He gives Himself. Receiving His Holy Spirit is the best answer to all your prayers. The Holy Spirit pours in your heart the love that the Father has for you. His love keeps you while you wait for the Father to resolve the other issues you’re praying about. He is the earnest, the down payment, the promise that God will fulfil all His promises.

9. So what?

A. Your Father encourages you to pray. He wants you to be with Him. That’s a good reason to pray.

1. When you don’t take that time you live as if you weren’t in relationship with your Father. You live on your own, like you were an orphan and you have no one to look out for you.

2. When you pray, you live aware that your glorious Father loves you and cares for you.

B. Because of your Father your prayers have much more effect than they appear. That’s another reason to pray.

C. The devil knows your prayers are more effective than they appear. That’s why he doesn’t want you to pray. And that’s why you want to pray. Father, make the devil of no effect in my life.

D. When you ask, your Father gives you His Holy Spirit to enable you to pray because He knows you’re weak and the devil opposes you.

E. You get to know your Father and live with Him. That’s a good reason to say, “Father.”

Let’s pray.