Bible Text: Luke 11 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou’s Notes —
Intro: If we look at the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospels, we quickly find out that prayer was a major part of Jesus’ life. We learn that Jesus would get alone and pray routinely. He went to pray when He faced major decisions. For instance, we find that He prayed all night before He picked His disciples. Jesus agonized in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane right before He was arrested. He also learn that Jesus prayed to His Father when He was hanging on the cross. These are only a few examples. If prayer is important to Jesus, how much more should it be important for us?

I believe we all face situations that will demand God’s guidance and wisdom. We need prayer concerning our marriages, raising children, and the handling of family finances and budgets. We also need prayer concerning our relationships in our extended families, communities, church, and work. We need prayer for our continual spiritual maturity and the spiritual welfare of others. These are only a few areas that require guidance and wisdom from God.

Dr. Haddon Robinson had some great insights about this section of Scripture. I will share with you some of those insights today.Dr, Robinson makes the point, if you want to learn how to play golf or tennis and become very proficient at them, would you ask an amateur or a professional to teach you? In the Matthew account, Jesus tells us clearly what prayer should not be. Matthew’s account says we should not pray just for the approval of others or to keep up our image. We don’t need to use religious language in our prayers. God desires honest communication with us. We also don’t need to pray long prayers with lots of words, because God knows what we need even before we ask.

So Jesus says this is how we should pray:

1. First, We Come to the Father and Talk to Him About Him
1. He is Father; Matthew says our Father.
1. We need to realize that even though God is our Father, He is in heaven
1. He is totally “other”.
1. The Creator of the universe
1. Illust: The most accurate clock in the world currently is in Colorado. It is, technically speaking, cutting edge. As sophisticated as this clock is, it is still deficient because it will loose one second every 15 billion years. How do scientist know this? They measure it against the clock of God’s universe which never losses even a nano second.

2. He is our Creator
1. He created us in His image to voluntarily love Him and enjoy Him for ever.
2. Our life and every breath we take are a gift from Him

3. We are adapted into the family of God
1. The moment we believe, we become part of the family of God
2. It is as if the Holy Spirit signs the irrevocable adoption papers

4. As a Perfect Father, He desires what is best for us
1. This starts with a living, dynamic, and growing love affair with God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
2. God wants us to experience His unconditional love. This is the same holy love as shown at the cross of Jesus Christ.

2. Second, We Come to the Father and Speak to Him About His Holiness v. 2
1. Hallowed, or Holy is You Name
1. This may be translated, “may Your Name be kept holy”
1. This implies that God is perfect holiness
2. Our lives as Christ followers should reflect the holiness of God through Jesus Christ

3. Third, We Come to the Father and Speak to Him About His Kingdom
1. “Your kingdom come!” Matthew’s account says, “on earth as it is in heaven”.
2. This can only happen if we let Him be Lord in our lives
1. Jesus in us and us in Him
2. We need to let God break our personal kingdoms to establish His kingdom in our hearts

4. Fourth, We Come to the Father and Ask Him About Our Provision
1. Epiousian: most scholars believe the best interpretation of this word is “enough for today”.
2. If God blesses us with more than enough, then we can share with those less fortunate and bless others.
3. God knows what we need and many times that is different than what we might want
1. Illustration: Giving a gift to a child. Many times a child is more excited about the gift than the giver of the gift

5. Fifth: We Come to the Father and Ask For His Forgiveness
1. We need daily cleansing from being sinners saved by grace
2. Because of the great sin debt from which we are forgiven, we are to forgive others
1. Illustration: When we choose to not forgive another person, we then choose to stay chained to them.

3. We need to understand what biblical forgiveness is:
1. When God brings us to a point in the healing process that when we recall the offense, we don’t not desire any revenge or retribution. Only God through His Word and His Holy Spirit can bring about this type of transformation from the inside out.

6. Sixth: We Come to the Father and Ask For Protection
1.
1. Matthew says that this also provides for protection
2. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”.
1. We face trials and temptations every day

Closing:
I believe pray is paramount in the sanctification process that God desires for us.The sanctification process is allowing God to transform us from the inside out to become more like Jesus. Prayer is our life line to God. Prayer was made possible by the cross of Jesus Christ. If we want to be effectual and influential servants for the kingdom of God, it must start on our knees. Are we willing to let Jesus teach us to pray?