Prayer 101 - #24 2 of 2 No Snakes or Scorpions

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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!” Luke 11:11-13

The second lesson in this final teaching passage on prayer is to ask your loving Father for the Holy Spirit.

As one studies prayer in Luke 11, there is a beauty and a flow as Jesus began with a prayer, and followed it with a parable, which was followed by a promise and concluded with a postulate. But there is a twist in the final statement, which leaves the student in the school of prayer pondering. Why end this teaching on prayer with the specific example of receiving the Holy Spirit when you ask? Why not leave a broader ending similar to Matthew 7:11 where it says “...how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”? Here’s several reasons: (1) The promise to give the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer is presented to contrast and illustrate how our heavenly Father’s giving is far better than any earthly father could ever give his child. The passage begins with fish, snakes, eggs and scorpions and ends with the Holy Spirit. (2) The promise to give the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer is presented because the benefits of having the Holy Spirit are profound. We get comfort, help, encouragement, God’s love poured out in our hearts, boldness, joy and power, instruction and guidance concerning the truth, supernatural gifts to heal and prophesy and speak in tongues. We get God himself! We hit the jackpot!!! (3) Finally, the promise to give the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer is presented to remove any doubt regarding a prayer we can pray that our Father will answer.

Prayer 101 ends with God, our Father in heaven, giving the jackpot to his child who asks. He’s not going to give us a demon or something to hurt us and he’s not going to ignore us. With these things in mind…let us pray!!!!

Prayer 101 - #23 1 of 2 No Snakes or Scorpions

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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!” Luke 11:11-13

These are the final 3 verses in this teaching passage (v. 1-13) on prayer. There are 2 prayer lessons here worthy of contemplation. The first is to approach God in prayer as your loving, caring Father; and the second is to ask your loving Father for the Holy Spirit. Let’s focus on the first lesson.

The context for this passage is that Jesus was responding to a disciple’s request to teach them to pray. Jesus asked them how they answer their son when he asks them for bread. Of course, they would always answer by giving their son bread not something that would harm or kill them. If a disciple, who is tainted with evil, can answer their son’s request in a good way, you can bet that your Father in heaven is going to do a far superior job in answering our requests. (As a side note, isn’t it impressive that Jesus taught about prayer with an illustration that is just as relevant and understandable 2,000 years later by anyone in any culture of the world. Try yourself to come up with a better illustration of how our loving Father answers the requests of his children.)

Jesus made it clear in his classroom on prayer that we need to develop the mindset from the outset that we are approaching our Father in heaven. The model prayer (v.2-4) begins with “Father in heaven”. The teaching passage on prayer ends with an illustration showing our Father in heaven’s supremacy over any father on earth when it comes to answering his child’s request. You can approach God as creator with the mindset that nothing is too difficult for him. You can approach him as Lord and King with the mindset that everything in the universe is ultimately subject to his will. But only when you approach him with the mindset of your Father in heaven do you know the tender and passionate love he has for you and his attentiveness to your requests.

Prayer 101 - #21 A.S.K.

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. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-10

Now that Jesus has instructed us regarding the elements of prayer and the attitude of prayer, he finishes his instruction with the promise of prayer. The promise of prayer is in the context of praying according to the elements of the Lord’s prayer (Lk 11:2-4; Mt 6:9-13) and praying with shameless audacity (Lk 11:5-8). The promise contains 3 action verbs concerning prayer.

1. Asking - Jesus instructed us to ask God for: his kingdom to come and for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; our daily bread; forgiveness; to lead us in a way that doesn’t bring us face to face with temptation; deliverance from evil and from the evil one.

2. Seeking - Jesus instructed us whom to seek…our Father in heaven. He taught us what to seek in our asking…the hallowing of God’s name. He taught us when to seek…”give us today our daily bread”. We are to seek God even at unusual hours (“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight…”). He taught us how to seek when he taught us to pray “our Father”, “give us this day our daily bread”, and “lead us not into temptation”. It is a “family” effort. Jesus taught us why to seek when he tells the story of a man seeking bread on behalf of his traveling friend who needs it.

3 Knocking - Jesus instructs us regarding an apparent barrier to prayer…the door. The asker/seeker and the provider are on opposing sides of the door. There may be a perceived resistance on behalf of the provider in opening the door. Keep knocking. Don’t be discouraged. Knock at midnight. Knock with shameless audacity. Jesus stands at the door of the lukewarm church and knocks in Revelation 3 inviting anyone to open it. He keeps knocking. He doesn’t knock the door down, he respects it as a barrier that only the person on the other side can open. This is illustrative of the “knocking” aspect of prayer.

What is the outcome of asking, seeking and knocking? “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Prayer 101 - #20 Let's Pretend - 4 of 4

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. Luke 11:8

When Jesus tells a story, there is usually one primary point that he wants to communicate. In this story the primary point is that God responds to shameless audacity. Shameless is defined as impervious to disgrace. And audacity is fearless daring. In a single Jewish word, shameless audacity is chutzpah. Simpler yet, shameless audacity is gall.

Shameless audacity is behavior born out of passion, determination and perseverance in pursuing a goal. It is behavior born in the heart and not behavior that is feigned or fabricated. Faith and confidence in God is at its core. It is Holy Spirit induced behavior.

It is the behavior that was seen when a packed-out, house-meeting with Jesus was interrupted by friends of a paralytic lowering him through the roof in front of Jesus. (Lk 5:18-26) It was the Gentile woman’s behavior who refused to be deterred from her pursuit of Jesus to deliver her daughter from demon possession. Jesus initially ignored her, the disciples tried to send her away, she didn’t fit with Jesus’ mission statement, and she didn’t stop when Jesus said something to her that could be perceived as insulting. (Mk 7:24-30) Shameless audacity was a blind beggar who refused to be silenced in his attempt to get Jesus’ attention in order to be healed.

Students of prayer pay attention. Jesus clearly tells the subject story in Luke 11 in the context of teaching his disciples to pray. Prayer according to Jesus will connect with God when it is offered with shameless audacity.

Prayer 101 - #19 Let's Pretend - 3 of 4

‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread’… And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

Luke 11:5B, 7

The asker in the “Lets Pretend” story initially encounters resistance to his request. The same is often true in prayer. There are times we ask God for something and encounter apparent resistance to our request. In the Bible someone attempting to talk to Jesus experienced this.

A gentile lady, concerned for her daughter who was tormented by the devil, came to Jesus in Matthew 15:21-28 and desperately cried out for help for her child. Here’s what happened:

• Jesus did not answer a word.
• The disciples attempted to send her away because of the annoying persistence of her cries.
• Jesus stated that he came to minister to Jews not Gentiles.
• The woman knelt before Jesus, again begging for help.
• Jesus stated it would be inappropriate to take the ministry intended for the Jews (i.e. the children) and give it to the Gentiles (i.e. the dogs).
• The woman responded that even the dogs get the crumbs under the master’s table.
• Jesus responded and said your request is granted and the woman’s daughter was healed at that moment.

When we encounter apparent resistance from God, will we walk away? Did the “bread asker” in the “Let’s Pretend” story walk away at the initial response to his request? Jesus teaches us to persevere in prayer.

Prayer 101 - #18 Let's Pretend - 2 of 4

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ Luke 11:5-6

Jesus continues his prayer class by telling the disciples a “Let’s Pretend” story concerning prayer. The story has the disciples as the main character asking for bread from a friend at an unseemly hour in order to feed a traveling friend who is in need of food. The request for bread was granted…not out of friendship but because of the shameless audacity of the requestor.

Though the friendship between the “bread-asker” and the “bread-giver” was not ultimately the reason the request for bread was granted, it was the basis for why the request was made in the first place. The “bread-asker” knew the “bread-giver” well enough to call him friend…well enough to know that he would have enough bread to give…well enough to know if he came at the most inconvenient time, he would likely grant his request. Prayer is not approaching a stranger named “God” or an impersonal King with a request. Prayer is approaching someone with whom you have a relationship…someone you can call “Friend”. Prayer is approaching someone you know well enough to know that he has abundant supply…well enough to know that he will grant your request. Because he is your friend, you know he will grant your request even though you may approach him very imperfectly.

Prayer 101 - #17 Let's Pretend 1 of 4

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ Luke 11:5-6

Luke 11 begins with a disciple asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus begins his prayer class by giving the disciples the words of a prayer. These are not words to be mindlessly babbled but words that give insight regarding legitimate elements of prayer. Jesus continues his prayer class by telling the disciples a “Let’s Pretend” story concerning “how” to pray and “who” to pray for.

Jesus tells the disciples “Let’s pretend you have a traveling friend that has come to you and you have nothing to feed him. Let’s pretend you go to another friend to request food for your traveling friend. And let’s pretend you go with your request at midnight. He’s in bed, his kids are in bed, the door is locked and, by the nature of things, you are going to spotlight your own insensitivity, sloth, or poverty.” Jesus goes on with the story to say that the request was fulfilled…not out of friendship but because of the shameless audacity of the requestor.

Prayer is about requesting provision for those God places in your life that have needs which you are incapable of meeting. Notice in the “Let’s Pretend” story that the provider does not give the bread directly to the traveler but to the audacious requestor so that the requestor can give it to his traveling friend. When you pray for your friend’s needs be prepared to have the request answered through you.

Prayer 101 - #15 JM 3 of 4 Thoughts on the Lord's Prayer

Note: John MacArthur (JM), pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, has some of the best developed thoughts on the Lord’s Prayer that I could find. I would like to devote a number of Prayer 101 postings to excerpts from his sermons.

“Look just at the last three elements. The bread, provision, the forgiveness, pardon, and the leading not into temptation, protection, and you find the three time dimensions of life. Our daily bread, present. Our debts, sins from the past. And lead us not, that's the future. This little prayer encompasses the past, the present and the future provision sustenance of God. Bread, that's physical, forgiveness, that's mental it relieves the anguish of guilt, and leading not into temptation is spiritual, that's the maintenance of spiritual life. Whether you talking about past, present, future, whether you're talking about physical, mental, spiritual, whatever it is you're talking about it's here, it's here. And by the way all of the petitions in this verse are in the imperative mode in the Greek which means there's an intensity to them, a tremendous intensity, there's a fantastic brevity in every phrase, but it's an intense thing, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done." There are no qualifying elements. Everything in this prayer beloved seeks to glorify God, seeks to lift up His name, seeks to exalt His holiness. And I would just tell you right now that's the purpose of all prayer, if you think prayer is for you you've missed the point, you've missed the point. That's why we get so messed up, we're praying for ourselves we don't take into account the whole community of faith and we don't take into account the whole will of God and the perimeters of His own Kingdom.”

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2233

Prayer 101: #1 - Teach Us to Pray

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

Have you ever thought about the way you learned to walk? No one taught you. You just slowly began to do it and today you are an expert walker. Who taught you to sleep? No one…you just did it. This is the way many of us think about prayer. We often do not think of prayer as something we are taught. We just do it. The general notion is if we do it enough we’ll get good at it. I find it intriguing that a disciple would come to Jesus saying “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

There’s an aspect of prayer that isn’t natural and instinctive. There is a way to pray that is taught. John the Baptist felt compelled to teach his disciples how to pray and Jesus did not refuse the request to teach prayer. I’ve been a believer for nearly 45 years and have spent a considerable amount of time in prayer over that period. Yet, it seems that I find myself in Prayer 101 and greatly enjoying it.

You are invited to follow my postings concerning Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 11:1-13 and Matthew 6:5-18. Any and all feedback and comments are welcome. Join me in learning to pray.