1. The need to pray
A mother and her children were taking a tour of New York City and were in awe of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The children were especially curious about the votive candles at the front of the cathedral, so the mother invited each of them to light one. She explained it was customary to say a prayer of petition or thanks as the candles were being lit. “These are not birthday candles,” she said. “You’re not making a wish but asking for God’s blessings.
After the family bowed for a prayer, they began to walk away. The mother asked the kids if they had any questions about what they had just experienced. “No,” said the five-year old, “but if there’s a pony outside, it’s mine!”
Surveys have found that most Americans understand or believe there is value in prayer. Gallup says 9 out of 10 American’s pray. Andy Greeley surveyed atheists and agnostics and found 1 in 5 pray regularly. That seems like a contradiction doesn’t it? But life is tough and at some time all of us feel a need to pray.
2. Luke 11.1-5
a. Good Rabbis teach their talmidim theory and application – daily conduct; religious practices; dependence on God; Prayer (“Fiddler on the Roof” – “We have a blessing for everything – even the Czar – Lord keep the Czar . . . Far from us!”)
b. Yeshua (Jesus) gives a pattern for prayer that included aspects from the “Amidah” and “Aleinu” prayers that Jewish people recite
c. He goes on in this chapter to describe perseverance in prayer (11.6-13)
3. As an introduction to a study of the Lord’s Prayer consider some aspects of prayer:
I. Prayer is Caught
A. Examples of Yeshua (Jesus) in Prayer (approximately 17 references):
He prayed often (Luke 5:16)
He prayed early in the Morning (Mark 1:35)
He prayed late at Night (Luke 6:12).
He prayed all thru the night
He prayed at the beginning of His ministry. . . (Luke 3:21-22)
He prayed before He chose His 12 disciples. . . (Luke 6:12-13)
Jesus prayed before the confession that He was the Christ. . . (Luke 9:18-20)
Jesus prayed before His Transfiguration . . .( Luke 9:28-29)
Jesus prayed before the cross . . . (Luke 22:39-42)
Jesus prayed on the cross . . . (Luke 23:34)
Jesus prayed before He began His public ministry. . . (Luke 3:21-22)
Jesus prayed before He taught His followers. . . (Luke 11:1)
He prayed while He was teaching others. . . (Matthew 11:25-26)
He prayed after He ministered to others. . . (Matthew 14:23)
Jesus prayed before healing the crowds. . . (Mark 1:35)
Jesus prayed before feeding the 5,000.( Mark 6:41)
Jesus prayed before healing the man who was deaf and mute. . . (Mark 7:34)
Jesus prayed before bringing the dead back to life . . .( John 11:41-43)
Jesus prayed for His friends. . . (Luke 22:32)
Jesus prayed for His disciples. . (John 17:9-16)
Jesus prayed for all Christians. . . (John 17:20)
Jesus prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross. . . (Luke 23:34)
And now that He is in heaven, Hebrews 7:25 says that He constantly interceding for us
(Bruce A. Shields DD with some modification)
B. Experience of Answered Prayer – James 5.16
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.
1. One preacher said that in order to get people to pray more, tell them answered prayers.
2. Some people have a “connection” in prayer – that’s why we ask one another to pray for us
C. Elation of Changes Through Prayer
1. Prayer Changes “Things”
A church in a small Kentucky town was located next to a bar. The members of the church were concerned because they thought the bar was hurting their community. To make matters worse, the owner of the bar was an outspoken atheist who would taunt people from that church about their belief in God.
The church decided to hold a prayer meeting on Saturday night to ask God to intervene and settle the matter once and for all. The church met and began to pray for God to close the bar down.
During the prayer meeting a horrible thunderstorm went through the town. To the delight of the church members, lightning struck the bar and burned it to the ground! The next morning in church the preacher preached on the power of prayer.
Insurance adjusters promptly notified the bar owner that they wouldn’t pay for the damages. The fire was caused by an “act of God,” and that was an exclusion in their policy. The bar owner was furious. He decided to sue the church, claiming they had conspired with God to destroy his building and business. The church denied they had anything to do with the cause of the fire.
The judge in the case opened the trial with these words: “I find one thing in this case most perplexing. We have a situation where the plaintiff, an atheist, is professing his belief in the power of prayer, and the defendants, all faithful church members, are denying that very same power!”
2. Prayer Changes ME
a. We become like the people we spend time with (1 Corinthians 15.33)
b. How about time with God – For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Romans 8.29
II. Prayer is Taught
Larry Davies, in the online magazine "Heartlight" tells of the time he asked his class:
"Does God answer prayers?"
The class erupted with answers like:
"Of course."
"Yes."
"Always."
"Well then,” he said “why don’t we pray more frequently?"
There was a long uncomfortable silence in the room. But then they began to open up…
Among their replies were these two:
"I don’t know how to pray."
"I don’t know what to say."
A. Disciples’ Request for Prayer Lessons
1. NOT Preaching Lessons
C. H. Spurgeon was one of the most popular and successful preachers of Victorian England. His Metropolitan Tabernacle drew thousands each Sunday. Often hundreds would stand outside in the street hoping to catch a bit of the Baptist preacher’s message. One day a group of young seminary students came to visit the church they had heard so much about. When they entered the huge building, they were met by a gray bearded gentleman they took to be the janitor. He offered to lead them on a tour through the facilities and answer any questions they had.
They walked through the sanctuary, stood in the pulpit, and looked down from the balcony. When they had seen just about everything and asked every conceivable question they could come up with, the old gentleman asked a strange question, “Would you like to see what heats this church?” They weren’t really that interested in touring the coal cellar and furnace room. But just to humor their host, they followed. They went down a narrow stairway to an area beneath the pulpit. As the gentleman opened the door, he said, “Behind this door is the secret of this great church. Everything that happens upstairs starts down here. This is where the fire in the pulpit begins.”
The old man, actually Spurgeon himself, opened the door to reveal several dozen people on their knees in fervent prayer. The great preacher would always insist that the secret of any church, big or small, was the prayers of the people. It was Spurgeon who said, “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”
2. Power in Prayer – 14 And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. 1 John 5.14-15
3. Jewish Prayers – And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2.42;
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 3.1
B. The Model (Luke 11.2-4; Matthew 6.9-13)
C. Some Warnings About Prayer
1. Real prayer, not as Actors, Playing a Part (Matthew 6.5-6)
2. With Clarity, not Babbling like Pagans (Matthew 6.7-8)
[Elijah and prophets of Baal]
What does it take to Pray?
1. Focus on God
When Lyndon Baines Johnson was President, he had several guests in for a meal at the family room of the White House. LBJ had given the honor of giving grace to journalist Bill Moyers (an ex-Baptist minister). As Moyers began to softly say grace, LBJ - who could not understand what was being said - interrupted Moyers "Speak up man." Without looking up and barely stopping in mid-sentence, Bill Moyers replied "I wasn’t talking to you."
2. Faith in God – he knows before we ask
3. Commitment to pray to God – Daniel prayed three times/day
4. Realization of our relationship to God – creatures and Creator
