Luke 11:1-13

     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.”
     2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
          “ ‘Father,
          hallowed be your name,
          your kingdom come.
    3    Give us each day our daily bread.
    4    Forgive us our sins,
          for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
          And lead us not into temptation.’ ”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
     7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
     9 “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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
     11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!”

Dear brothers and sisters

Our Savior Jesus has Opened the Way of Prayer...

Introduction: So many of our prayers end with the phrase, “In Jesus name we pray,” or “We ask this for Jesus’ sake,” or many prayers used in worship, “... through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is a very important part of our prayers because it determines the spirit of our prayers. If we don’t say the words, it must still be in our thoughts. If you don’t pray in Jesus’ name, then you are praying in your own name. Sometimes we see these kinds of prayers in movies or TV shows. “God, you have to give me this or that. I’ve been a nice person and I’ve earned it.” Or “God, maybe we can make a deal.” God doesn’t have to do anything his creatures ask. He is the creator. We are the creatures. “Our God is in heaven. He does what pleases him” (Psalm 115:3).  He also knows very well the times we have not been nice people and have earned nothing but punishment from him. Praying in our own names, praying without Christ is impossible.  Our Savior Jesus has opened the way of prayer for us. He did this by being our Savior and taking our sins on the cross and putting his holiness on us. Even though it isn’t our custom, I fully understand why many Christians make the sign of the cross when they begin their prayers. The sign of the cross is made at baptism. Washed in the waters of baptism and in the blood of Christ we come before God. It’s the only way we can. The old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring. / Simply to thy cross I cling” (CW 389:3). This is true in prayer, too.

I. ...for Us to Pray “Our Father”...

A.    When Jesus’ disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples,” Jesus began by giving them the Lord’s Prayer. To pray, “Father.” We use the Lord’s Prayer so often, it may not strike us.  In the Old Testament, “Father” is very rare as a name for God. It occurs only three times (Isaiah 63:16, 64:8; Malachi 2:10). In Old Testament times and at the time of Jesus the traditional way to begin a prayer was this: “Blessed are you, O LORD our God, king of the universe.” That’s a fine way to begin a prayer because God is all of those things– but Jesus chose to teach us to pray, “Our Father.” He is the only one who can tell us to say “Our Father” because he is the only one who can rightly say “Our Father.”

B.    And he opens the way of prayer for us to say “Our Father.” John begins his Gospel by applying the good news of Jesus directly to us. “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... children... born of God” (John 1:12). Poor miserable sinner, you do not stand before God’s throne alone. You stand with Jesus. You stand before your Father’s throne covered with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. There is no need to “make a deal” with God because Jesus gave himself up for you. There is no good deed of your own you can point to as reason for God to listen, except for the whole, perfect life of Jesus. You are washed in the blood of Jesus. That’s why you can call God “Father,” and that’s why he will listen.

II.    ...for Us to Ask Boldly...

A.    Because this is true, we don’t need to be afraid. We don’t need to hesitate. We don’t need to doubt. Here, Jesus teaches with a parable about boldness– and teaches with some humor, too. I’ve gotten calls in the middle of the night. “Grandma just died. Please come have a prayer with the family.” I go because duty calls. But imagine a neighbor at your door in the middle of the night, asking for some loaves of bread. He isn’t even asking for himself, but for a visitor who just dropped in– somebody you don’t know at all.  Half-awake, half-asleep you groan: “What? Who dropped in? From where?  The doors are locked. I’m in bed. I just got to sleep. Why is he arriving now? Can’t he wait to eat until morning?” Just to get rid of the midnight visitor you say, “Oh... let me see what I’ve got.” The psalms tell us that our Father in heaven does not slumber or sleep (Psalm 121:4). There is no time when he will be in a bad mood. There is no time when listening to a prayer will be an inconvenience. He is our all-powerful, all-present God– “an ever-present help in trouble... therefore we will not fear”  (Psalm 46).  You are not waking a grumpy neighbor. You are talking to your dear Father who so loved you he gave his Son to make you his own.

B.    So Jesus says these word we know so well: “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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  In his letter, James says that the reason we don’t have is that we don’t ask God in prayer (James 4:2). Prayer is an exercise of faith. If we don’t ask, is it because we don’t think God can give? Then our lack of prayer comes from lack of faith.  “Ask!” Jesus says. “Ask!” our heavenly Father says. In fact– some Scriptures are speaking about prayer even when they don’t use the words “pray” or “prayer” directly. “Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:23). “Come to me, you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He is telling us to put our problems in his hands. If we don’t, the problems remain in our hands, upon our hearts, weighing on our minds. Our God says “Ask!” “Cast the burden on me!” Exercise your faith. Prayer never depends on the strength of the person making the prayer, not on the flowery language. It depends on the strength of God alone– our Father who invites us to pray– our Savior who says, “it will be given,... you will find,...  the door will be opened.”

III. ... for Us to Pray with Confident Faith.

A.    Did you ever order something from a catalog or on the internet and when it comes you find it wasn’t what you ordered? Or maybe it is what you ordered but it doesn’t work? (I just had an experience with remanufactured printer cartridges.) Does God lose your request in the mail? Do your prayers end up in his “spam” folder by mistake? Does he hear you wrong? Does he send a defective product?  Absolutely not! He is the all-knowing, almighty God! He knows how to give you good gifts. “He is good. His mercy endures forever.” Why would he answer your prayers any different way?

B.    Jesus taught a second parable.... not a story parable, but an illustration: “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?”   A child asks for something good, why would anyone respond by giving something bad.  The idea is laughable and horrible at the same time. Only a very cruel or a very out-of-touch parent would do such a thing. The almighty, all-knowing and all-merciful God will give good things when we ask for them. He always does it in line with his good and gracious will. That’s why we pray, “your will be done.” God knows our situation better than we do. He knows our needs better than we do. If we got everything we asked for when we asked for it, we might find these things to be curses more than blessings. God knows what we need and the best time to give it. Of all gifts, Jesus singles out one.  “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!” The Spirit gives the Word and with it he gives faith. He connects us to the promises of God and empowers us for life. All other things he will give, too– The way of prayer is open. Ask! Ask boldly. Ask with confidence. Your Savior tells you to. Your Father tells you to.  This means he is ready and willing to answer, to give, and to help. He is there. He can hear.

Amen.

© 2010 Rev. Paul C. Stratman
St. Stephen’s Ev. Lutheran Church, Beaver Dam WI
http://www.saintstephen.org
pastorstratman@saintstephen.org
pcstratman@gmail.com