Teach Us To Pray

Luke 11:1-13

January 3, 2010 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction

Friday we began a New Year – 2010. Many people make New Year’s Resolution because they want to change something in their life. Yet most people keep these resolutions only a month or two.

New Year’s Resolutions are often stated in the negative. They involve giving up something, letting go of something that has become a part of our life. That’s very hard to do. We can’t be successful unless we change the patterns of our life that are wrapped around what we are trying to give up.

We need to look at the positive for the New Year. So instead of making resolutions, let’s set some goals for our lives for this year. Where do you want to be at the beginning of 2011? What things would you like to see happening in your life next year?

This year, the pastors of our churches, Immanuel and Community Evangelical, have decided on two goals for the people in our churches and for our churches.

For these goals to truly make a difference for our churches, they must first make a difference in the lives of our people. Each one needs to take the challenge of these goals for the church to change and become more of what God wants us to be.

And for these goals to make a difference in the lives of each of us personally it will take the whole church. We need to stand together as God’s people and help each other if we want to reach our goals.

Jonathan Edwards, the 18^th-century revival preacher sat down at age 17 and wrote 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. He added to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions. He put at the top of his list: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.” Edwards knew that without God’s help he could not keep these promises. So he committed them to prayer. [PreachingToday.com, “Jonathan Edwards’s Commitment to Resolutions (Jan Brown, Christianity Online Connection, 1-8-99)].

As we plan the work of our church for this year of 2010, we recognize that whatever we do will require God’s help.

Teach us to pray humbly

So our first goal is to become people of prayer. Prayer is our connection to God. Prayer is essential.

A well-known author and authority on prayer was giving a seminar. During the question-and-answer period, a man raised his hand and asked, “How should I pray?” “It’s very simple,” the speaker responded. “Ask God.” [PreachingToday.com, “The Simple Answer to Prayer” (Larry Dossey in Healing Words. Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 2)].

That’s what Jesus’ disciples did. Luke 11 tells us that Jesus had been praying. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” [Lk.11:1]. Jesus gave them a simple prayer to get them started on their journey of learning to pray.

“Father, may you name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us our food day by day. And forgive us our sins—just as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” [Lk.11:2-4].

It was a simple prayer for men who had never learned to have a real conversation with God. They had learned the prayers that came from the book but not prayers that came from the heart.

Yet to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray required humility. They had to admit they didn’t know how to pray and ask for help. But they also showed that they really wanted to learn to pray.

Even today, when people believe in Jesus they may not know how to pray. We assume that everyone knows how to pray if they are Christians. But for a new believer to admit they don’t know how to pray is humbling. Yet until each of us can say, “teach me to pray,” we won’t really know how to talk with God.

Jesus’ prayer gave his disciples some direction for how to talk with God. He taught them to pray. And Jesus still wants to teach us to pray.

So if you don’t know how to pray, and you want to learn how to pray, we want to help you learn. This year we will provide opportunities for people to come together to pray. If you want to talk with a pastor about how to pray, just ask one.

If we are to become people of prayer here, we need to learn how to pray – and we need to pray – lots!

Teach us to pray boldly

Jesus went on to tell about a man who went to his friend at night to get some bread for a visitor. The man doesn’t want to get up and disturb his whole family even for his friend. However, because his friend is persistent in asking, he will get up.

Then Jesus added, “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.” [Lk.11:9].

God is in the business of answering prayers, but we need to ask. God wants to give his children good things. We need to go to God and talk with him.

And we can go to God without being afraid of what God will do or say. The Almighty God, Creator of the universe, our Savior and Lord, invites us to come into his presence and talk with him.

Those who have put their faith in Jesus have unlimited access to God – any time, any place, for any reason.

The writer of Hebrews says: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. … Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” [Heb.4:14,16].

We can boldly approach God. Becoming a person who prays boldly takes time. But even more, we must believe that what God says, God will do.

So how do we know that the disciples actually learned to pray? The gospels don’t tell us much about their prayer life. They even fell asleep when Jesus was praying in the garden before his arrest.

The story in Acts 4 gives us the evidence that these disciples were also people of prayer. Peter and John had been arrested for speaking about Jesus and healing in Jesus’ name. While they were in jail, some of the believers in Jerusalem gathered to pray for them. Once they were released they went back to the group and told them all that had happened. The chief priests and elders had ordered Peter and John to stop speaking about Jesus. Before they released them, they threatened them.

So the believers prayed together. Beginning in verse 29, we read: “’Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” [Acts 4:29-31].

The disciples had not only learned to pray boldly, but they had taught others to pray as well. Because they prayed for God’s work to be done, Christianity spread throughout the world, and continues to grow even today even in places where people are told to not talk about Jesus.

Pray for God’s will to be done

I have watched God change Immanuel from a church of about 20% people from countries other than the US, to as much as 65% people from other countries. This has been God’s work.

This church represents the true kingdom of God, made up of people of every nation, tribe, people and language. [Rev. 7:9]. Unless you have attended a church that is all one nationality, one culture, you cannot see the miracle that is happening right here in this church. Yet, we have not really grown in size.

I don’t know what size God wants this church to be, but I do know what kind of church God wants us to be. God has given us the gift of diversity so that others can get a glimpse of the kingdom of God. For that to happen, we need the whole people of God here praying for God’s will to be done in our lives and in our church.

I got a book for Christmas entitled, I Did It HIS Way: a Collection of B.C. Religious Comic Strips, by Johnny Hart. He said this about prayer:

“Prayer is allowing God to have His will in your life on HIS terms.” [Johnny Hart, I Did It HIS Way (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2009)].

To know God’s will in our lives, we need to talk with God. We need to pray daily, often, boldly.

Conclusion

For God to do great things in our church, it will take more than a few the people taking a few minutes a day to pray.

God is calling us to become people of prayer. God wants to shake this building when we pray. God wants to shake up our lives when we pray.

God wants to show us all the good things he has to give us. So we need to ask God and seek God’s will and knock on God’s door continually.

To become a person of prayer doesn’t require us to give up anything. Just go some where alone and give God our full attention. Turn off all distractions. Have an uninterrupted conversation with God.

Find someone who can teach you to pray. Find another person with whom you can pray.

What God can do in us and in our churches is beyond our imagination.

Let God have His will in your life and the life of the church on HIS terms. Then expect God to great things this year. Amen.

Return to the Sermons Page

Return to the Immanuel Home Page

To email Pastor Carnes or Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church office@immanuelcov.org

This sermon is copyright ©2010 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.