How Shall We Pray?
Luke 11:1-13
Editors Note: This is a sermon that I delivered at the International Chapel of Vienna on September 22, 2019. The reader would benefit from following along in the book of Luke. Click here to open Jude in another window.
The sermon video is available below, but it does have some technical difficulties in the first few minutes.
The sermon video is available below, but it does have some technical difficulties in the first few minutes.
A great challenge of the Christian life is that we struggle to pray in various ways. We often neglect to request the infinite resources of God in prayer because we look to ourselves and our circumstances as gods, rescuers, or insurmountable obstacles. C.S. Lewis captured this problem from the perspective of demons in his work, Screwtape Letters. When the new Christian begins to pray, Uncle Screwtape – the head demon - suggests to his demon trainee that tempting the Christian to self-reliance is the greatest trick around. Screwtape continues, “Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills.[1]”
[1] C.S. Lewis. Screwtape Letters. Chapter 4.
[1] C.S. Lewis. Screwtape Letters. Chapter 4.
through Jesus Christ, the Christian should boldly enter the audience of the Sovereign King in prayer because upon the mercy seat and enthroned between angels is our Father.
By ourselves, we simply don’t know how to pray, and even the redeemed people of God can convince ourselves that every undertaking is purely a product of our own wills. Pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps is the Zeitgeist of our era, but the Bible teaches us instead a radical reliance on God’s Word and Spirit. Our text today will help us to understand the content of prayer in verses 2-4, the manner of our prayer in verses 5-12, and the inexhaustible answer to our prayer in verse 13.
When we put all that together, we will see that through Jesus Christ, the Christian should boldly enter the audience of the Sovereign King in prayer because upon the mercy seat and enthroned between angels is our Father.
Let’s set the stage for the events of Luke 11 briefly. Luke’s Gospel is a meticulous biography of the life of the promised Savior King: Jesus of Nazareth. He is God’s own Son who is infinitely endowed with the Holy Spirit to rescue God’s people in a new Exodus out of the land of sin and into the final land of promise: the new heavens and the new earth. Jesus’ Exodus begins in Luke 9:51 where Luke writes, “When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem.” Jesus was on a mission from the Father that would climax in the most significant event in human history on a hill outside the city of David.
Our passage for today is part of what’s called the “travel narrative” because Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. Many sections begin with the phrase, “while they were on the road,” or something similar. Like many of the travel narrative stories, this one begins with a question.
When we put all that together, we will see that through Jesus Christ, the Christian should boldly enter the audience of the Sovereign King in prayer because upon the mercy seat and enthroned between angels is our Father.
Let’s set the stage for the events of Luke 11 briefly. Luke’s Gospel is a meticulous biography of the life of the promised Savior King: Jesus of Nazareth. He is God’s own Son who is infinitely endowed with the Holy Spirit to rescue God’s people in a new Exodus out of the land of sin and into the final land of promise: the new heavens and the new earth. Jesus’ Exodus begins in Luke 9:51 where Luke writes, “When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem.” Jesus was on a mission from the Father that would climax in the most significant event in human history on a hill outside the city of David.
Our passage for today is part of what’s called the “travel narrative” because Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. Many sections begin with the phrase, “while they were on the road,” or something similar. Like many of the travel narrative stories, this one begins with a question.
The Content of Our Prayer
vv. 2-4
This question is caused by Jesus’ practice of regularly drawing away to commune with His Father in prayer. An unnamed disciple politely requests, “teach us to pray.” Jewish rabbis in Jesus’ day were expected to do this, but Jesus’ model prayer and the teaching that follows reveals the radical nature of God’s Fatherhood to those who are in Christ. As an aside, I think we can apply our Lord’s practice of drawing away to pray in this way: Don’t desire applause for your godliness from men, but do allow others to see your practice. If you follow Christ, your way of life can also teach others.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t correct this question as He often does, but He directly answers it. He begins with a retelling of the Lord’s Prayer, which might be better called the “model prayer” since Jesus himself never had to pray this. He himself was sinless, and never had to confess sin, but He teaches us the what content of our prayers should be. If you’re interested in how the sinless Son of God would pray to His Father, John 17 would make a good evening read after church.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t correct this question as He often does, but He directly answers it. He begins with a retelling of the Lord’s Prayer, which might be better called the “model prayer” since Jesus himself never had to pray this. He himself was sinless, and never had to confess sin, but He teaches us the what content of our prayers should be. If you’re interested in how the sinless Son of God would pray to His Father, John 17 would make a good evening read after church.
"Your Kingdom Come..."
v. 2
We’ll return to the idea of God as Father and His provision for us later, but notice the second phrase in this prayer: “your kingdom come.” Have you ever found it striking how passive our relationship to the Kingdom of God is? Christians are never commanded to build, create, make, or expand the Kingdom of God. Instead we “receive” and “inherit” the Kingdom while it draws near to us. The Kingdom acts upon us and God reveals it to us.[2] In Luke 12:32 Luke writes, “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.” The Kingdom is both our future hope and our present gift in the church. In the church, God is displaying His redemptive reign to the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the marking of disciples in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This reign will one day culminate in the return of the One True King. So, when we pray, “your kingdom come” we petition God to order our hearts to desire the coming of Jesus Christ and establishment of His perfect justice and absolute rule. This, Christian, is your vision: One day, we, with a great multitude clothed in the righteousness of Christ will cry out before the throne of our Lord, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” His Kingdom will be without end, we will live in eternal peace, and God Himself will be our reward. Many contemporary and historical movements have tried to make Kingdom building our responsibility instead of God’s. But when we can hope in the full receipt of God’s Kingdom at the resurrection, we can faithfully proclaim the Gospel now. When we apply this to our prayers, it is important that we pray with expectation for the return of our Messiah. According to 2 Peter 3:9, the Lord will delay until all His people come in, but we have the honor to pray with this expectant hope.
[2] George Eldon Ladd. The Presence of the Future. 1993.
[2] George Eldon Ladd. The Presence of the Future. 1993.
"Forgive Us Our Sins..."
v. 4a
In the face of God’s holiness, it is appropriate that mankind become aware of their own sinfulness. Therefore, verse 4 turns to a petition for forgiveness. That’s interesting since this prayer is a prayer for disciples. Indeed, Jesus intends this prayer to be for someone who already knows God as Father. Just like the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6, when we see the Lord seated on his throne we say, “Lord I am a man of unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips.” If we conceive of forgiveness as only a one-time event identical with our conversion and justification, this prayer for disciples becomes confusing. It is better to conceive that our conscience arouses a need in us when we trespass into sin. We know that we must go before our Father and be reminded of his forgiveness by confessing our sin. In those moments we often hear the echoes of condemnation and judgement even though they have been sealed behind the door of Christ’s cross. Christian, even that brief moment of uncertainty should drive you to your knees. As we confess our sins, the Gospel of Christ washes over us anew, and even though we wandered, our Father assures us of His pardon, and we see that our Shepherd held us fast all along.[3]
[3] Herman Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. Volume 4. 223.
[3] Herman Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. Volume 4. 223.
"Bring Us Not Into Temptation..."
v. 4b
This last petition has caused some Christians to question God’s goodness. I prefer the translation “bring us into” but other translations, following Tyndale, read “lead”. “Lead” isn’t a bad translation but “bring” better conveys the uniqueness of this word that only appears only 8 times in the whole New Testament. This stresses God’s oversight and allowance of our trials without suggesting that he tempts anyone since we know that God himself tempts no one. James 1:13 reads, “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.” Also, many commentators have mentioned that the word translated as temptation could mean temptation or testing.
Israel’s wandering in the wilderness can help us to understand what Jesus means here. When Israel was wandering, it was a test. The test implied an invitation to obedience, but they largely failed. All were tempted, many sinned and died. So, every test is an opportunity to do what is right, and alongside every test there will be a temptation to sin. God is sovereign over the whole of this reality. Charles Spurgeon, in one of his many pithy one-liners wrote, “The dogs of affliction are muzzled until God sets them free.”[4] So, what is our prayer during testing and temptation? It certainly isn’t that we should never be tested, since we are promised that we will be tested in various ways, but it is that God will carry us through the testing and that Satan may not ultimately succeed in taking us from His hand. Matthew’s addition of “deliver us from the evil one” just makes that even more clear. Some insist that we should not pray for things that God has already promised that He will do, but that lens makes half the prayers of the Bible very difficult to understand. God will certainly hold us, and yet we ask Him to do so. This is not a contradiction, but Jesus’ instruction to pray this way establishes how God keeps us. Paul alludes to this same reality when he writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.” So, brothers and sisters, pray that God would not bring you into temptation, pray that the Lord will provide you a way out. Ask another brother or sister to pray that with you and watch how the Lord answers. Temptation is no match for the living God.
Before Jesus teaches us some parables, notice that the content of our prayers illustrates our complete dependency upon God. God is the one who brings His Kingdom, provides for our needs, forgives our sins, and holds us fast. We pray for all these things and more because we believe that God is the only one who can do them. This concludes our first point on the content of our prayers.
[4] Charles Spurgeon. The Complete Works of Charles Spurgeon. Volume 35.
Israel’s wandering in the wilderness can help us to understand what Jesus means here. When Israel was wandering, it was a test. The test implied an invitation to obedience, but they largely failed. All were tempted, many sinned and died. So, every test is an opportunity to do what is right, and alongside every test there will be a temptation to sin. God is sovereign over the whole of this reality. Charles Spurgeon, in one of his many pithy one-liners wrote, “The dogs of affliction are muzzled until God sets them free.”[4] So, what is our prayer during testing and temptation? It certainly isn’t that we should never be tested, since we are promised that we will be tested in various ways, but it is that God will carry us through the testing and that Satan may not ultimately succeed in taking us from His hand. Matthew’s addition of “deliver us from the evil one” just makes that even more clear. Some insist that we should not pray for things that God has already promised that He will do, but that lens makes half the prayers of the Bible very difficult to understand. God will certainly hold us, and yet we ask Him to do so. This is not a contradiction, but Jesus’ instruction to pray this way establishes how God keeps us. Paul alludes to this same reality when he writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.” So, brothers and sisters, pray that God would not bring you into temptation, pray that the Lord will provide you a way out. Ask another brother or sister to pray that with you and watch how the Lord answers. Temptation is no match for the living God.
Before Jesus teaches us some parables, notice that the content of our prayers illustrates our complete dependency upon God. God is the one who brings His Kingdom, provides for our needs, forgives our sins, and holds us fast. We pray for all these things and more because we believe that God is the only one who can do them. This concludes our first point on the content of our prayers.
[4] Charles Spurgeon. The Complete Works of Charles Spurgeon. Volume 35.
The Manner of Our Prayer
vv. 5-12
Requires Shameless Boldness
vv. 5-8
The Father’s ear to our prayers was never conditioned on our worthiness.
That is what we pray, but what about how we pray? This next parable is challenging because if not for its context, the meaning might be up for grabs. Nearly every translation has a different take on the word underlying “shameless boldness” because this is the only instance of this word in the entire Greek New Testament. Depending on your translation you probably have either “impudence”, “persistence”, “shameless boldness”, or “importunity”.
In order to illustrate something about prayer, Jesus asks us to imagine that we are needing bread for a visitor in the night. This is an unusual but quite possible occurrence in first century Israel. We go to our neighbor and ask him to lend us some bread, he’s hesitant to do it, but he ultimately gives in. Even if this guy doesn’t particularly care for us, he’ll do it just to get us off of his doorstep.
Here’s how this passage shows that believers need shameless boldness in our prayer. First, this parable is a parable primarily of what God is not like. Other translations of this word are not broad enough to work both in the parable and in our relation to God. Mere persistence fits well with another parable that Luke tells about a persistent widow, but it doesn’t capture the moral conflict dimension that this parable wants to say. Impudence and importunity are a little better. Especially “importunity” captures the character of the late-night bread beggar, but both are actually impossible toward God. The Oxford English dictionary defines importunity as “troublesomely urgent; persistent to the point of annoyance.” However, we cannot annoy a God who is not subject to whimsical passions. Nor can we inconvenience Him since His resources and attention span is infinite. Indeed, that’s part of Jesus’ point. Importunity is a kind of shameless boldness when you should be ashamed or embarrassed. Jesus is, however, exhorting us to a righteous version of shameless boldness.
As a young Christian, the consequences of my sin resulted in some pretty severe consequences. My Christian brothers and sisters were suspicious of me because of my transgression, and my secular friends ridiculed my repentance. In my heart, although I never would have articulated this, I figured I was getting what I deserved. I felt ashamed to ask the Lord for peace since I felt restrained by the great weight of my sin. Friends, don’t be like me. The Father’s ear to our prayers was never conditioned on our worthiness. When I gathered the courage to pray daily for restoration, a slow process of several years healed those wounds and my Christian relationships enjoyed an even greater intimacy than before.
In order to illustrate something about prayer, Jesus asks us to imagine that we are needing bread for a visitor in the night. This is an unusual but quite possible occurrence in first century Israel. We go to our neighbor and ask him to lend us some bread, he’s hesitant to do it, but he ultimately gives in. Even if this guy doesn’t particularly care for us, he’ll do it just to get us off of his doorstep.
Here’s how this passage shows that believers need shameless boldness in our prayer. First, this parable is a parable primarily of what God is not like. Other translations of this word are not broad enough to work both in the parable and in our relation to God. Mere persistence fits well with another parable that Luke tells about a persistent widow, but it doesn’t capture the moral conflict dimension that this parable wants to say. Impudence and importunity are a little better. Especially “importunity” captures the character of the late-night bread beggar, but both are actually impossible toward God. The Oxford English dictionary defines importunity as “troublesomely urgent; persistent to the point of annoyance.” However, we cannot annoy a God who is not subject to whimsical passions. Nor can we inconvenience Him since His resources and attention span is infinite. Indeed, that’s part of Jesus’ point. Importunity is a kind of shameless boldness when you should be ashamed or embarrassed. Jesus is, however, exhorting us to a righteous version of shameless boldness.
As a young Christian, the consequences of my sin resulted in some pretty severe consequences. My Christian brothers and sisters were suspicious of me because of my transgression, and my secular friends ridiculed my repentance. In my heart, although I never would have articulated this, I figured I was getting what I deserved. I felt ashamed to ask the Lord for peace since I felt restrained by the great weight of my sin. Friends, don’t be like me. The Father’s ear to our prayers was never conditioned on our worthiness. When I gathered the courage to pray daily for restoration, a slow process of several years healed those wounds and my Christian relationships enjoyed an even greater intimacy than before.
Is Like a Child Petitioning a Father
vv. 9-12
Because He is our Father we can pray with expectation.
Since we’ve examined what praying to God is not like, now Jesus transitions to what praying to our Father is like. Jesus gives us a promise: “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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” These verbs of asking, seeking, and knocking imply a progression. Asking is when we bring God our desires. Seeking is when our desires meet our actions. Knocking is our ongoing and continuous pursuit of a goal. Here, God’s sovereignty and our responsibility beautifully overlap. We labor to find, but God plans our steps. We ask, and He gives. We knock and He opens. The Christian is both utterly reliant on God to move and can rest in knowing that our prayers will be answered according to God’s all-powerful means. Because He is our Father we can pray with expectation. As His Children we pray knowing that He will give us what we need. Christians, if we think about the needs we have in our marriages, families, and relationships, or our desire that our children would know the Lord - Let’s ask our Father. He is not reluctant to hear us, but He is the one turning the door handle even now. However, “don’t fall into the trap of let go and let God.” If you really believe God is going to answer your prayer, give your all to glorify him with an expectant heart.
Verses 11 and 12 illustrate one final facet of the Father in our prayers. Jesus asks us to imagine some simple requests for provision that a child makes to an earthly father. Earthly fathers don’t willfully harm their children in response to their requests. Rather, if it is in the power of the father to give what the child requests, the father is inclined to give it. Any one of you who has a child can feel the weight of this argument. Jesus is hitting very close to home. To even imagine that I would do something like that to my infant son, Jonathan, infuriates me against my imaginary self.
Returning to our outline, this is the manner of our prayer from verses 5-12: We pray shamelessly, boldly, and with a recognition that the one who hears our prayers is good, never annoyed, and always inclined to give us what we need.
Verses 11 and 12 illustrate one final facet of the Father in our prayers. Jesus asks us to imagine some simple requests for provision that a child makes to an earthly father. Earthly fathers don’t willfully harm their children in response to their requests. Rather, if it is in the power of the father to give what the child requests, the father is inclined to give it. Any one of you who has a child can feel the weight of this argument. Jesus is hitting very close to home. To even imagine that I would do something like that to my infant son, Jonathan, infuriates me against my imaginary self.
Returning to our outline, this is the manner of our prayer from verses 5-12: We pray shamelessly, boldly, and with a recognition that the one who hears our prayers is good, never annoyed, and always inclined to give us what we need.
The Inexhaustible Answer to Our Prayer
v. 13
The Father has not spared the treasure trove of heaven in the mission of redemption, but He has given us His beloved Son and His Spirit who lives within us.
Verse 13 is the apex of Jesus’ response to the question from verse 1, and the backdrop of this one is dark. Jesus is by no means confused about man’s nature, and He knows that sin has corrupted all of creation. We live in a world corrupted by death, idolatry, and all kinds of evil. If you’re here today, but you are not a Christian, there is good news.
God will put all sin and evil to an end, but every person is complicit and corrupted by those things. After all, every one of us, at one point or another has spurned His commandments, despised his reign, or even denied His existence! God’s own holy character demands that His judgment fall on us. But, here is how guilty sinners may know and pray to God as our Father: All of Jesus’ prayers in the New Testament begin with an address to God as Father except one. One prayer that we would have to pray if God gave us what we deserve. One prayer where Jesus was crucified in the place of sinners under the justice of God, and He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus received the full penalty of death for the sin of God’s people, so that everyone who trusts in His sacrifice and righteous life on their behalf no longer knows God as judge but instead as Father. So if you believe in Jesus Christ and turn from your sin, eternal judgment is no longer your expectation, but you have the eternal reward of God Himself.
Now we turn to our final point: The inexhaustible answer to our prayer. It’s clear that earthly fathers give good things from what they have, but what can God the Father give to us? The greatest gift of all. The eternal seal of our inheritance, the abiding presence of God Himself, and the strength for all of the Christian life: The Holy Spirit. The Father has not spared the treasure trove of heaven in the mission of redemption, but He has given us His beloved Son and His Spirit who lives within us. Just as the Holy Spirit flooded the room in Acts chapter 2, He now indwells everyone who believes. Through that gift, the Christian has everything they need, although we have many other desires. Jesus ensures us here that the one thing we truly cannot live without, the Father is delighted to give us. That gift was prayed for and received by the Apostles, and the Father continues to give the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus. Even though we have received the Spirit at the moment of our belief, we can pray that through Him God would give us everything. Pray that He give us courage to endure persecution, patience to parent well, long-suffering with a hostile boss, and love that covers a multitude of sins.
God will put all sin and evil to an end, but every person is complicit and corrupted by those things. After all, every one of us, at one point or another has spurned His commandments, despised his reign, or even denied His existence! God’s own holy character demands that His judgment fall on us. But, here is how guilty sinners may know and pray to God as our Father: All of Jesus’ prayers in the New Testament begin with an address to God as Father except one. One prayer that we would have to pray if God gave us what we deserve. One prayer where Jesus was crucified in the place of sinners under the justice of God, and He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus received the full penalty of death for the sin of God’s people, so that everyone who trusts in His sacrifice and righteous life on their behalf no longer knows God as judge but instead as Father. So if you believe in Jesus Christ and turn from your sin, eternal judgment is no longer your expectation, but you have the eternal reward of God Himself.
Now we turn to our final point: The inexhaustible answer to our prayer. It’s clear that earthly fathers give good things from what they have, but what can God the Father give to us? The greatest gift of all. The eternal seal of our inheritance, the abiding presence of God Himself, and the strength for all of the Christian life: The Holy Spirit. The Father has not spared the treasure trove of heaven in the mission of redemption, but He has given us His beloved Son and His Spirit who lives within us. Just as the Holy Spirit flooded the room in Acts chapter 2, He now indwells everyone who believes. Through that gift, the Christian has everything they need, although we have many other desires. Jesus ensures us here that the one thing we truly cannot live without, the Father is delighted to give us. That gift was prayed for and received by the Apostles, and the Father continues to give the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus. Even though we have received the Spirit at the moment of our belief, we can pray that through Him God would give us everything. Pray that He give us courage to endure persecution, patience to parent well, long-suffering with a hostile boss, and love that covers a multitude of sins.
How Shall We Pray?
"God is cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position" - Screwtape
We started in Luke 11 with the reality that fallen human beings really struggle to pray. However, we discovered that Christians don’t approach God like slaves of an indifferent master, or like groveling peasants to a whimsical king. We, as his children, instead can go boldly into His throne room. We trust that whatever we ask He is delighted to give, and we will receive what we need. The question is, do we believe these things? If we are convinced of them, then let us all resolve to pray in our trials, in our joys, together, as families, and finally, as churches.
Uncle Screwtape, that old demon, conceded the greatest fear of the domain of darkness: “Wherever there is prayer, there is danger of [God’s] own immediate action. He is cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position, […] and to [Christians] on their knees He pours out self-knowledge in a quite shameless fashion.”[5] Cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position. Who knew a demon could say something so true?
[5] C.S. Lewis. Screwtape Letters. Chapter 4.
Uncle Screwtape, that old demon, conceded the greatest fear of the domain of darkness: “Wherever there is prayer, there is danger of [God’s] own immediate action. He is cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position, […] and to [Christians] on their knees He pours out self-knowledge in a quite shameless fashion.”[5] Cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position. Who knew a demon could say something so true?
[5] C.S. Lewis. Screwtape Letters. Chapter 4.
