The Lord's Prayer

Today we will be looking at Luke 11:1-4.  Here we have an account of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Two things are leading them to ask this.  First, they make mention that John had taught his disciples how to pray.  Second, it mentions that Jesus had just finished praying.  There must have been something about the way he prayed that caught their attention.  These disciples had heard plenty prayers through their life.  They are not asking to be taught because they have no learning, but because they can see that the prayers of John’s disciples, and especially Jesus, are very different from what they are used to seeing.

I pray that as we go through this you will be hungry to be able to pray as we see Jesus praying in these verses.  If prayer seems like a chore that you never seem to get around to then please take time to either read or listen to this sermon and ask God to help you embrace Him through prayer.  God clearly intends prayer to be something far more intimate than most of us are used to experiencing.

We Need To Be Taught To Pray

In some ways prayer is like the response of a baby to their need, “Waaah!”  It is an almost unconscious cry regarding our sin and the sin around us.  The Bible speaks of a cry that comes up to God from men and women on the earth.  It is clear in some of those contexts that the people are not actually praying to the Creator.  Often they are worshipping false gods.  Yet, God hears the cry of their hearts.  However, at some point prayer must become a more intimate exchange in which we approach God, not as a child, but as an adult child who knows his father.  Simply put, we need to grow in prayer.  We see the disciples recognizing that need in their selves.  Do you see the need in your own life? 

The foundational part of prayer is the recognition that we need help from God.  As much as the modern age has felt that it can meet all needs, humans are still needy people.  In fact, many of the claims of the past have proven to be more difficult than first believed whether we are talking about viruses or social dynamics.  No matter how great our technology we will never be able to “fix” our spiritual problems or satisfy our spiritual needs without God.  Prayer is the humility to toss arrogance and pride aside, and ask God for help.

Notice that the prayer Jesus gives is not complex.  This prayer is simple enough that a child could pray it and yet great enough that no one can be said to have mastered it.  God is not interested in complex and long oratories from us.  He wants a simple, heart-felt prayer that comes from the heart.  In fact, it could be said that God listens to what our heart is saying more then what our lips are saying.  Isaiah 29:13 “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” (ESV).

It is good to memorize this prayer and pray it even today.  It is a timeless prayer.  Yet, it is clear from the differences between this version in Luke and the one in Matthew 6 that Jesus does not intend this prayer to be something to memorize only.  A memorized prayer can become a rote prayer.  It can be a mechanical thing that is absent any thought or feeling.  It is best to see this prayer as a firm starting place that we can use as a model to help us move forward.

A Model Prayer

The first phrase teaches us how God wants us to approach Him, as a child to a father.  This is a picture of a close and intimate relationship.  Now I know that earthly parents are not perfect and some are downright evil.  Yet, God cares for you better than any earthly parent could ever care for you.  As we become adults our hearts need to turn from our parents and towards God as our source of strength and help in the time of need.

Now Jesus is speaking to his disciples.  Although all people on earth are God’s children by right of creation, not all are his children spiritually.  In John 1:12 we are told that “as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  Thus believers in Jesus are not just physical creations of God.  But, we are also a new creation spiritually.  As his spiritual children we can approach with closeness and privilege whether we feel it or not.

Notice that in this prayer Jesus prays for God’s sake first.  He makes three requests on God’s behalf and then three requests on our behalf.  It is important that prayer not be all about us.  We need to learn to put God first.  Pray for God’s things first.  Do you remember when Jesus was talking about anxiety what he said?  He said to seek God’s kingdom first and then all these material needs will be provided.  It may not be our first inclination, but we need to be concerned with God’s things above our things.  Or better put, our things need to find their proper place within the things of God.

The first thing he prays for God is that his name be made holy (hallowed).  One’s name is their reputation and character.  We need to be concerned with God’s reputation and character.  He is good, gracious and just.  Yet, many refuse to see that.  They are convinced that the God of the Bible is not worthy of praise.  We need to pray that God’s reputation and character are viewed and treated as singularly different from all others.  His character should be seen as the highest and best that we seek to attain.  When we are praying for God’s reputation it will make us aware of how our own life helps or hurts God’s reputation. 

The next thing he prays for is for God’s rule; specifically the rule of God’s Savior.  Right now Jesus rules in the lives of believers from heaven.  Thus we can pray for an increase of that rule to other hearts.  However, the Bible promises a time when Christ will return and administer a righteous kingdom from earth.  Thus we are also looking forward to and praying for this coming of Christ.

The third thing is to pray for God’s will.  Do I desire God’s will to be done in my life?  In a sinful world it is easy to desire others to obey the will of God.  However, my heart must be changed as well.  Prayer and reading of the Scriptures is where we cut our teeth on understanding just how good God is and just how important it is to listen to his direction in our lives.

So Jesus prays for the Reputation, the Rule, and the Will of God first.  Then he turns to pray about our needs.  In some ways we all need God’s reputation, rule and will in our lives.  However, God also wants to hear our desires that we have for our self.  Clearly he invites and expects us to share those desires with him.  Part of growing in prayer is learning when a prayer is improperly motivated by our flesh and when it has a proper motivation.

The first need is our daily bread.  This physical need will be with us every day and will not go away.  But we see it prayed for with some restraint.  It is not “Lord, give me enough bread to last forever.”  It is only asking for the bread I will need to day.  There is a foundation of trust here.  Our physical needs have a way of making us go overboard.  But we can approach our heavenly father with the trust that he knows our frame and will provide for us.  Be careful of rejecting prayer and attempting to insulate yourself from any need.  There is a place at which wise preparation goes out of bounds and becomes a neurotic desire to have no needs.  If we follow that path fear and worry will become our masters in the end.  Of course physical food is a reminder of our need for spiritual sustenance, but we shouldn’t be too quick to spiritualize this point.  God cares for our physical needs as much as he does our spiritual.  But he will always prioritize the spiritual over the physical.

Second Jesus says to pray for forgiveness.  Sin is referred to as a debt.  When you think about it you can see that our sins against each other leave us owing confession and repentance to each other.  We also owe each other restitution.  Here we ask God to forgive us because we are forgiving those who have sinned against us.  Clearly it would pose a problem to ask for God’s forgiveness when we refuse to forgive others.  He will not forgive such brazen sin until we break our hard heart and repent.  Yet, what about the sins I have committed against others?  What obligations to others have I left outstanding?  These things can become barriers between us and God if we do not make them right with each other.  Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other.”  This does not mean we never have problems, but that we keep short accounts with each other both in material things and especially in our sins.  To the degree that we see our own sin and deal with it, we will act with greater mercy to those who sin against us.  This will release mercy from God to us.

The third thing Jesus prays for us is God’s leading.  We need God’s direction to avoid the traps and temptations of the evil one.  We are promised that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure.  So the first thing we need to do is drop any excuses we have made and recognize that God wants to help us avoid it.  We must desire to be free from temptation not just externally but also internally.  Too many of us pray for God to take temptation away from us.  But the real problem is our heart’s desire for it.  Prayer is where we learn to lay down those temptations that our heart is drawn towards.  Ultimately Jesus prays that we will be delivered from the devil.  At the cross, Jesus completely neutralized the weapons of the devil.  However, we still need to learn how to walk in the victory that Jesus has secured for us.  We need God’s leading every day and in every way to avoid being manipulated by the devil. 

Don’t let the godlessness of this generation fool you into thinking you can live life without prayer.  Prayer is the fruit of true faith in God and it leads to His help and blessing in our lives.  That blessing takes on many shapes and forms.  However, every one of them will bring us through this world without becoming a casualty to our adversary.  So give yourself to prayer today in a simple yet heart-felt plea to God for the help that you need today!

The Lord's Prayer audio