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Enrolling in Christ’s School of Prayer (Luke 11:1-13)
22 Plays1 month ago
Sunday Message recorded 18 January 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Ministry in Tulaksac: Overcoming Challenges
00:00:07
Speaker
Wasn't that just precious? I thank the Lord so much for what Aaron and Alyssa Litzler are doing there in Tulaksac. They're doing a great job. They're using the Word of God. They're sharing God's love with those that are in that village and the people are responding. They're leaning into it. I don't know if you can see it each time they send us a video update. One thing they didn't mention that happened after they had filmed that is their village was hit by a pretty tough winter storm. It knocked out the power and it knocked out the water in several of the homes, but thankfully their home's okay. So they wrote and texted and said, you know what?
00:00:46
Speaker
the The money you guys send to us, we've used it to minister to them. So anyway, thank you so much, church family, for how you're helping them and praying for them. hope you were listening as they were sharing some of the prayer updates.
Understanding Jesus' Teachings on Prayer
00:01:00
Speaker
The message today is actually about prayer. So if you'll turn to Luke 11, we're going to look at verses 1 all the way down through verse 13. And so I know that God's going to give us some...
00:01:13
Speaker
interesting truths about prayer that will help us in our prayer life. But I put in the bulletin a summary of what they said because they talk pretty fast, at least for a Tennessee boy, it goes by quick. And so anyway, I'm thinking, what did they say? So anyway, I watched it two or three times and I stopped it and would write down some of their prayer requests. But I put that in the bulletin so you can pray beyond today.
00:01:38
Speaker
So I hope that you'll use that as a prayer guide. You know, if you wanted to learn more about prayer, where would you go? What book of the Bible would you go to if you wanted to learn more about how to pray? There's a Bible scholar from the past. He actually passed away in 1958 named W. Graham Scroggie.
00:01:59
Speaker
He was at one time the pastor of a Baptist church in London called the Metropolitan Tabernacle where Spurgeon used to serve. But this man, Dr. Scroggie, said this, if you want to know where to go about how to learn about prayer.
00:02:16
Speaker
He said, well, Luke's gospel has more emphasis on prayer than any other gospel. In fact, Luke has been called the gospel of prayer because of his emphasis not only on our need to pray, but on Jesus' prayer life.
00:02:34
Speaker
Nine times Luke tells of prayers that Jesus offered in the crises of life, and seven of these are unique to Luke.
00:02:45
Speaker
That's the quote from Graham Scroggie. So would you open God's word to the gospel of Luke? We're going to look at chapter 11 and we're going to examine verses 1 through 13. And I want us to consider how we can enroll in Christ's school of prayer.
00:03:01
Speaker
Is there anything that you could learn from Jesus about praying? Or would you say, no, I've actually learned everything there is. I don't really need to listen to this one. I tell you, my pen was really going to town when I was getting ready for this.
00:03:15
Speaker
And the reason I'm saying this is because one of the disciples is going to say to Jesus, Lord, would you teach us to pray?
Practice and Pattern: Persistence in Prayer
00:03:23
Speaker
And if that's your attitude today, then I want you to pay special attention to this. I'm going to give five points today. First, the practice of prayer.
00:03:33
Speaker
We'll see that Jesus was a practitioner. He wasn't just a preacher who talked about prayer. He was a prayerer. who actually spend time praying. So who better to learn from than from professor of prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:03:48
Speaker
But also he's going to give us a pattern for praying so that we can use that pattern when we're praying and know, okay, I'm going to have this as a guide, but then we're going to learn about persistence in prayer.
00:04:00
Speaker
Why doesn't the Lord just give us what we want every single time on the first ask? I think he's got a reason and we'll look at that together. But then we'll also review some of the promises that Jesus gave us regarding prayer.
00:04:16
Speaker
So now it's time for me just to step aside and I want to invite the real teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, to speak through this microphone and speak through my voice, speak through the living word of God and help us understand how we can better pray. Would you stand in honor of his words? We're going to go from verse 1 all the way down through verse 13.
00:04:39
Speaker
Let's read God's word here. You follow along. I've got it on the screen. You can have a Bible there in the pew if you'd like to open it up to Luke 11 verse 1. Now Jesus was praying.
00:04:53
Speaker
Jesus was praying. in a certain place. And when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.
00:05:05
Speaker
And he said to them, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation.
00:05:26
Speaker
And he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him.
00:05:44
Speaker
And he will answer from within, do not bother me. The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.
00:05:56
Speaker
I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
00:06:10
Speaker
And I tell you, ask And it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives.
00:06:22
Speaker
And the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?
00:06:35
Speaker
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then who are evil Know how to give good gifts to your children?
00:06:47
Speaker
How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Let's pray together. oh Lord, we all just gather together before you right now and say you're the teacher.
00:07:00
Speaker
Lord, only you can show us how prayer should work. And so guide us by the hand. Take us, oh Lord. Lead us through these verses and help us learn from you. We take the position of that disciple who said, Lord...
00:07:13
Speaker
Teach us to pray. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. You know, the chief characteristic of expository preaching or teaching is the biblical text drives the message.
00:07:29
Speaker
and so scripture is not just what God has said in the past, the word of God, it is what God is saying in the present. That's why Hebrews 4.12 reminds us for the word of God is living and active.
00:07:43
Speaker
So where does the text begin? The text begins in verse 1 with the first part of the verse with Jesus practicing prayer.
00:07:53
Speaker
Do you practice prayer? i mean, it's easy to talk about prayer. It's easy to say, I believe in prayer. But do we actually practice prayer? Jesus was. Now, Jesus was praying in a certain place.
00:08:07
Speaker
So the context for the request was the commitment of Jesus himself
Personal Prayer Habits and Authenticity
00:08:12
Speaker
to the priority of prayer in his life. Is prayer a priority in your life or do you only pray when you have time left over?
00:08:22
Speaker
See, this is the fifth time that Luke records Jesus praying. We started in chapter one, remember? And now we're at chapter 11. And we've seen Jesus pray from time to time.
00:08:33
Speaker
Before his baptism in chapter three, verse 21, it says he was praying. Before or when ministry demands increased and crowds were growing, Luke 5, 16 says Jesus took time to pray.
00:08:47
Speaker
Whenever he got ready to select the 12 disciples, it says he prayed. He prayed all night. In Luke 9, 18, he prayed before Peter's public profession of faith.
00:08:58
Speaker
We know who you are. He knows. And he said it out loud. Luke 9, 28, he prayed on the Mount of Transfiguration. So Jesus was someone who practiced prayer.
00:09:10
Speaker
You know, in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 7, there's an interesting verse. It's sort of all by itself, but it says this about Jesus and his prayer life. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death.
00:09:31
Speaker
And he was heard because of his reverence. You know i think sometimes that's the complication thing for us. If we only would remember, wait, I can't live a disobedient life. I can't live an unholy ungodly life and expect God, a holy God, a righteous God to listen to me when I want to talk to him about different things. We have to say, Lord, I want my life to line up with my lips.
00:10:01
Speaker
There was something that was so authentic about the prayer life of Jesus that made it appealing and contagious even to his disciples. I got to thinking about how could I say this in a way you would understand.
00:10:16
Speaker
When I get up in the mornings, the first thing I do is I put the coffee on and then I take my shower and get ready for the day. And then I come back, get that coffee and sit down with Jesus. And I have the the word of God there open. have my journal. I i pray.
00:10:32
Speaker
And you know what? The aroma of that coffee, man, it works on me. I'm just thinking, man, it just, it smells. So here's what I'm going to say before all of the parents that are in this place.
00:10:43
Speaker
Do you know that the aroma of experience makes those around you thirst for learning. If they sense it's real for mom, it's real for dad, it's real for grandfather, for grandmother, it's real for this one at work when he says, let's just have a word of prayer. This is really a hard time in our business. So let's just pray about it.
00:11:06
Speaker
When they sense that it's so real, there's something about that aroma that says, I need to learn from you. So that takes us to the second thing that we see in our text, right? We're just letting the text drive us through this. The professor of prayer, or Jesus.
00:11:22
Speaker
They ask him, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. So who's going to be the instructor here? Well, it's clear. It's Jesus. That's why I made an illusion at the beginning. I just need to get out of the way and let him do the talking.
00:11:37
Speaker
Do you know that this is the only time in the Gospels that someone asked Jesus for a specific teaching? There's something specific they wanted to learn. And they didn't say, teach us how to preach.
00:11:49
Speaker
They didn't say, teach us how to cast out demons or how to heal. They didn't say, teach me how to witness, teach me how to worship. They said, Lord, teach us to pray.
00:12:03
Speaker
And notice that they didn't ask Jesus to teach them a prayer to repeat. They said, Lord, teach us to pray because we want to learn to pray like you pray. Remember Hebrews where he prays with great intensity, pouring out his heart.
Exploring the Five Petitions in Prayer
00:12:19
Speaker
If you want to repeat the prayer that is given here and is also mentioned, by the way, in Matthew. then by all means do it. But all I'm saying is it doesn't have to be limited to that.
00:12:31
Speaker
That's not exactly what he was trying to do. When we move to this next thing, what we'll see is that he was giving a model prayer. He was giving the disciples some pointers on how should they pray.
00:12:44
Speaker
And that's why it goes beyond just verses two and three and four. We're going to read all the way down through verse 13 because the context is the same. He's going to teach them how to pray. And when he did, he gave them a pattern for praying.
00:13:01
Speaker
Now, it's interesting that in the pattern for a prayer, he doesn't say you're going to have to kneel. He doesn't say you're going to have to stand. He doesn't say you're going to have to sit.
00:13:12
Speaker
He doesn't say any of that. He doesn't say you're go to have to lay out flat, even though those things are fine. But he doesn't give any teaching about that, the posture.
00:13:23
Speaker
He also doesn't talk about the place. He doesn't say, well, wait until you go to the church. When you're at the church, that's the place you can pray. You can't pray at your house. You can't pray on the back of a donkey. You can't pray as you're walking down the road.
00:13:38
Speaker
He didn't say anything about the place of prayer, did he? He also didn't say anything about the time of day. You can pray in the morning. You can pray in the evening. You can pray in the middle of the day. You can pray all through the day.
00:13:50
Speaker
You can pray all through the night. But what I want you to realize is this is not the Lord's prayer that we're so used to hearing, right? Because that one is found in Matthew 6, verses 9 through 13. We're in Luke's gospel.
00:14:06
Speaker
And so Matthew 6, 9 through 13 is the same prayer, only it's a longer prayer. It adds some petitions that aren't found here in this one in Luke.
00:14:18
Speaker
As a matter of fact, Matthew's prayer was said in the region known as Galilee, whereas Luke's prayer that we're looking at here, he wasn't in Galilee. He was in Judea.
00:14:32
Speaker
And so Matthew, it's interesting how he's speaking it on a mountain. Remember the Sermon on the Mount? That's where you can find Matthew 6 verses 9 through 13 when we we're familiar with the Lord's Prayer. That was given on the side of a mountain to a big crowd.
00:14:49
Speaker
This was not. This was along the road. Remember when we looked in Luke 9, it says that Jesus was on the road to Jerusalem. So he's on the road. And he's teaching as they go along the road. There's so much that the Lord wants to teach you.
00:15:05
Speaker
If you will say, Lord, teach me as I go through life. Teach me on my way to work today. Teach me, Lord, on my way to school. Well, let's look at this these verses, verses 2 through 4, because I feel it's a pattern for prayer.
00:15:21
Speaker
There's five petitions. Two of the petitions, it's interesting, are vertical in nature because they refer to our relationship to God.
00:15:31
Speaker
They're going to talk about, here's what I'm going to pray happens toward your name. Here's what I'm going pray happens about your kingdom. But the other three petitions, there's two petitions that are vertical. There's three petitions that are horizontal.
00:15:46
Speaker
Those horizontal position petitions are going to be about one another, about yourself, praying for all of our needs. But I thought it was interesting how it begins, right?
00:15:59
Speaker
It's interesting how he starts with the word father. The term he says, if you want to talk to God, call him father. It's amazing that he doesn't say you need to call him king. You need to call him master. You need to call him friend. You need to call him teacher because he would be all of those things and can be all of those things to each one of us.
00:16:20
Speaker
But Jesus said, if you really want to talk to God, start by calling him father. And I thought that was really significant. As a matter of fact, if you were to go through the Gospels and say, what did Jesus call the Father?
00:16:35
Speaker
He called him Father. He did 60 times throughout the four Gospels that are given. he He referred to the Father as Father. And so definitely I think the reason is the Father would say to him, i i recognize your authority, but I also enjoy the intimacy.
00:16:56
Speaker
you know Did you have a good relationship with your father? If you didn't, I'm so sorry. But don't assume that God the Father is like your earthly father was or is.
00:17:08
Speaker
He's totally different maybe. But my father knew Christ and my father represented the Lord well. He let me know I could talk to him anytime about anything.
00:17:20
Speaker
And he always helped me as I went through my life. I'll never forget for my 16th birthday when I got that Pinto runabout. And I was like... This is the greatest car of all times, man.
00:17:32
Speaker
Until, you know, some guys wanted to race me. And I was like, okay, maybe it's not so fast, but it's really good because he gave it to me. But you know, a dad cares about us, doesn't he?
00:17:42
Speaker
But we also recognize that a dad has authority. There were times I got out line and my dad had to straighten me up. Like the time I was throwing his beagle hound in the air and he came up behind me. He was going down there to feed him.
00:17:54
Speaker
And I was throwing the beagle hound up and the beagle hound would land on his side and go, ooh. And I'd say to the beagle, I'd get him and I'd say, you still ain't learned to be like a cat. Look, the cat lands on his feet every time you or you have got to improve this. I'm going to throw you upside down so you'll turn around, you know. hey oo you know My dad said, son, what are you doing?
00:18:14
Speaker
And I won't tell you what happened after that. But anyway, i was in trouble. But what about the vertical and the horizontal? Well, the vertical relationship is represented in verse 2. Let's just look at it briefly.
00:18:28
Speaker
There's two things, really. I think we ought to say to God, Lord, more than anything else, I want to have reverence for your name. Reverence for his name, the name back then represented someone's attributes. What were they like?
00:18:43
Speaker
And so that's why he's saying, Father, hallowed be your name. Holy is your name. But I don't think it's related just and limited just to holiness. You could also begin your prayer and say, Lord, you're so wise.
00:18:56
Speaker
You are so just, you're so merciful, you're so powerful, you're so truthful, you're so good, you're so loving. But we ought to just start out and say, Lord, I just, you know, Hallowed also talks about set apart.
00:19:09
Speaker
So we ought to say, God, I just want to glorify you. I really want to glorify who you are. But the other thing he says is, I'm also praying that your kingdom would come. You see, not only reverence for his name, but rule, the rule of his kingdom.
00:19:26
Speaker
An expositor from the past named J.C. Ryle said, you know, this was the kingdom of grace. But he said, you know what? I'm looking forward to the kingdom of glory when I'm coming back to this earth.
00:19:38
Speaker
And it's going to be totally different when I come back to take charge. But you know, right now, Right now, in order for Jesus to be Lord of your life, you know what we have to do? We have to relinquish the control.
00:19:51
Speaker
We have to relinquish our rule and we have to establish his rule. So that's why when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was saying, not my will, but your will be done. You ever just take time to say, Lord, I want your kingdom to come.
00:20:07
Speaker
Not later, I want it to come later, yes. But I want it to come right now, this week in my life. I want you to be Lord of my life. What a great prayer. Say, I want to glorify your name and I want your kingdom to come in my life.
00:20:21
Speaker
But then notice the horizontal prayers. When I looked at these, I thought, okay, give us each day our daily bread. That's provision. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
00:20:34
Speaker
Well, that would be like pardon. And then lead us not into temptation. So that's protection. So when we're praying, we can say, Lord, there's some things I want to acknowledge my dependence on you.
00:20:48
Speaker
And it's not going to be just on Sunday. Did you catch what he's saying there? He said, give us each day our daily bread. you ever just thank God for his provisions each day, every day? You ever just pray, go out in front of go out in front of the day and say, Lord, I don't know what I'm going to need today. The wisdom, I don't i don't know what I'm going to need, but I pray that you would give me what i need today.
00:21:12
Speaker
But there's also the pardon. He's asking forgiveness, but he also has an attitude of forgiveness. Since he's being forgiven, he's also saying, I'm going to forgive other people when they hurt me, when they do wrong things.
00:21:25
Speaker
So we have the provision for our needs and the pardon for our sins, but we also have the protection during our temptations. We're going to say, God, please, would you would you protect me from temptation?
00:21:39
Speaker
If you don't have 1 Corinthians 10, 13 as one of the verses you have as a go-to verse, you should get it. Because temptation, there's nothing new about temptation.
00:21:50
Speaker
But what God promises is when you face a temptation, there's always a way of escape. There's a way out. And so that's what you're asking and praying for is God, show me the way out.
00:22:01
Speaker
So those five petitions do not cover all of the possible requests that you may have or I may have at any given season in our lives, but they certainly provide direction for our praying. And that's why I would call them a patterned But there's something else that we need to look at in verses five through eight.
00:22:21
Speaker
You know, Brian Bell makes an interesting comparison to whales and to seals and to dolphins. You know what they all have in common?
00:22:32
Speaker
Those are mammals that have to come up for air. I mean, they can go down deep, right? But they do have to come up for air at different intervals. how but How about you? I remember when I was, you know, our church offered swimming lessons one time at Holiday Inn, Milan, Tennessee. And I remember it was fun.
00:22:50
Speaker
Until one guy was out there in the pool already and the lady said, swim across the pool. And then somebody got to talking to her. So there I go, I'm swimming across the pool. He thought be fun to hold me under.
00:23:02
Speaker
And so man, he was holding me under longer than I had breath. So pretty soon he and I had a come to Jesus moment. You know what I was like? Either Lord, you wanna help me or I'm gonna kill this guy right here in the pool.
00:23:13
Speaker
But you know humans, normally we can only be down there 30 to 90 seconds. But if you're trained, yeah, maybe you can go three minutes. Maybe you could even go longer than three minutes. But dolphins can stay down there eight to 10 minutes, but they still have to come up.
00:23:27
Speaker
An orca, an orca whale can stay down there 15 to 20 minutes, but they still have to come up. Even a sperm whale can stay down there 90 minutes, but he has to come up. Seals have to come up.
00:23:38
Speaker
They're only down there 30 minutes. So what is he trying to say? He's trying to say, the reason you don't get everything you want is because God's saying, I want you to come to me.
00:23:51
Speaker
I like that time when you come to me. I like for you to tell me what's going on. I love you. I care about you. I'm the one who designed you and gave you your life. Come talk to me about this.
00:24:02
Speaker
And so that's why you're saying, I don't know why you won't just give me what I'm asking for.
Parable of Persistence: Human vs. Divine Response
00:24:07
Speaker
That persistence is built in to a parable that he gives us right here. Jesus transitions from the pattern for prayer to a parable that represents prayer in verses five through eight.
00:24:20
Speaker
And the parable begins with a hypothetical situation. You see, you have a neighbor who has a friend who arrives at midnight And the friend says, okay. The neighbor says, okay, let me see what I can get here.
00:24:34
Speaker
Friend doesn't have any bread. Dude's been traveling all night. And so that neighbor is going to come over and ask, can I have some bread? Notice that there's a correlation, right?
00:24:46
Speaker
There's a correlation in the parable because there's a need. And there's also someone who wants to ask. And so the answer as the neighbor declines is, look, kids are in bed, I'm not getting up.
00:25:00
Speaker
I'm gonna stay right here. So he's knocking on the door. He's not answering the He said, go away, we're already in bed. You know, this parable has a hermeneutical device.
00:25:12
Speaker
Hermeneutical refers to preaching. It's called a parabolic contrast. You see in verse eight, all that the friend was, grumpy, not willing to get up and so forth.
00:25:25
Speaker
All that the friend was is what God is not. God's not like that friend. That's why it's called a parabolic contrast. It flips just like it flips. If you were to go to a similar parable of a persistent widow in Luke chapter 18 verses 1 through 8.
00:25:43
Speaker
see, the friend's answer stands in sharp contrast to God's answer because the friend says, i need more sleep. But the Bible says God doesn't sleep nor slumber. And so the parable contains homiletical point.
00:25:57
Speaker
The story ends with the punchline impudence. It refers to persistence, perseverance in asking He's like over and over asking, just like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15, 22 to 28, her daughter was in bad shape.
00:26:15
Speaker
And so she goes to Jesus and you know what it says Jesus did? He answered her not a word. He did not answer her a word. And so she just kept on presenting with humility, but also this persistence.
00:26:31
Speaker
But after Jesus presents the parabolic contrast, he then proceeds to a parabolic comparison. You see, this is a parable of fatherhood.
00:26:42
Speaker
This is a parable of friendship, rather, but he's going to lead us to a a promise that's related to fatherhood. The last point I wanted to make is the promises regarding prayer.
Promises of Prayer: Assurance and God's Goodness
00:26:54
Speaker
Verses 9 through 13. Isn't it ironic that the linking of three imperative verbs spell the word ask? Asking, that's the A. Seeking, that's the S. Knocking, that's the K. And they all continue to get more and more intense.
00:27:14
Speaker
Do you just kind of ask God one time and you're like, I thought it wouldn't work. I'm done. We're done here. He's not going to answer me. Well, what about Babe Ruth?
00:27:24
Speaker
You remember Babe Ruth from the past? 2,873 hits, home runs. career was. But played in 2,503 games. And so what it is he came bat 8,399 times.
00:27:35
Speaker
three hundred and thirty strikeouts that's kind of where my baseball career was but he played in two thousand five hundred and three games and so what it says is he came up to bat eight thousand three hundred and ninety nine times So you know what the story is about Babe Ruth?
00:27:54
Speaker
He didn't quit. For 22 seasons, he would get up there in that batter's box and he would say, throw me a pitch. Would you go to the Lord in prayer and say, God, I know that you have an answer. Even if your answer is no, I can accept that.
00:28:11
Speaker
Even if your answer is wait, I can accept that. But I just want you to know, Lord, I'm still going to knock. I'm still going to seek. I'm still going to ask.
00:28:22
Speaker
See, the promise of an answer is to those who abide. Why doesn't the Father give immediately? Here it comes. I thought about this long and hard all week.
00:28:34
Speaker
I thought, why do you delay? And I think I have a possible reason. He values the relationship. He values the fellowship. That's why he wants to be with us.
00:28:47
Speaker
And if he just gives us what we want, most of us would never go back into his presence, right? So our need actually brings us near to him.
00:28:57
Speaker
And he said, I like this. I like this. So watch carefully where Jesus takes this section on the promise of an answer in these last few verses.
00:29:08
Speaker
You see, first in verses 11 and 12, there's a promise of an attribute. It's not about friendship anymore. Like I said, it's about fatherhood. So what kind of father is he?
00:29:21
Speaker
He says, even you earthly dads, you you love your kids, you provide for them. If they ask for a fish, you're not going to turn around give them a snake. If they ask for an egg, you're not going to turn around give them a scorpion.
00:29:35
Speaker
The main idea is the answer, the gift that you're going to give them will be helpful, not harmful. The provisions will be beneficial, not painful. So the promise, not only of an answer, but a good answer from a good father, right?
00:29:52
Speaker
The promise of an attribute is the goodness of God. But there's also the promise of an advocate. If you go to the last verse, verse 13,
00:30:02
Speaker
See, the message of verse 13, which wraps up the whole teaching on prayer, is that the Father has something better. Let's put it this way. He has someone better than the answer itself.
00:30:16
Speaker
You see, let Jesus support you in your praying. He wants to give you the Holy Spirit. Romans 8, 26 to 27 says that the Spirit helps us know how to pray according to God's will.
00:30:31
Speaker
And so that's why he says, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to actually place the Spirit of God. The day you got saved, the Spirit of God came to dwell within, to guide you, to lead you, to help you in your praying.
00:30:46
Speaker
And so when I look at this whole passage, I think, look at that, man. I mean, he provided a consistent example of prayer himself. He provided a condensed explanation of prayer.
00:30:57
Speaker
He provided a compelling exhortation to keep on praying. And he provided a comforting excellence for praying his Holy Spirit. But you see, even Moses grew weary in praying. You ever get tired?
00:31:11
Speaker
I know that those who pray for those with a terminal illness, they must get tired. Exodus 17, 8 through 16 refers to Moses. There's an enemy called Amalek, and Joshua's down there in the valley fighting with Amalek.
00:31:27
Speaker
Moses is on top of the mountain. Lord, we need you. He lifts up the rod with one hand. We need you, Lord. But his his arms were getting so tired. And so Aaron and Hur said, you know what? We are to support his arms.
00:31:40
Speaker
We are to hold up his arms. And so that's what they did. The two men were called to support his weary arms. And they held up his arms until the going down of the sun. And so it's amazing how that's what, ah you know, they they were able to win because Moses's hand stayed lifted to God in dependence and so forth.
00:32:00
Speaker
But who helps you and who helps me? Well, if you don't have anybody else praying for you, I guarantee you there's two. The Bible says Jesus intercedes for us. The Bible says the Holy Spirit helps us with praying.
00:32:13
Speaker
So for sure, every single day, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they're saying, I'm on your side. I got your back. I'm going to hold up your hands. As a matter of fact, I recommend you read Exodus 17, 8 through 16, not today, but someday, because Joshua won the battles that he was fighting against Amalek but because Moses kept his hands lifted up there.
00:32:38
Speaker
But you know what the Lord ordered after that? He said, write it down. Write it down. And Moses built an altar. He said this, the Lord is my banner. But there's a testimony that is written there that you might not have ever heard.
00:32:52
Speaker
It says, a hand upon the throne. A hand upon the throne. That's really what prayer is all about.
Encouragement in Persistent Prayer: Trusting God
00:33:01
Speaker
God is inviting you and I in the midst of our battles that we face in life.
00:33:06
Speaker
He's saying, you know what? If you'll just come to me through Jesus Christ, through the shed blood that I've made, you're gonna be able to have a hand at the throne. And so I'm just thinking, wow,
00:33:19
Speaker
Let's enroll in Christ's school of prayer. Let's pray for our families. Let's pray for our church. Let's pray for our community. Let's pray for our our nation. Let's pray for our world because there's nothing that he can't do.
00:33:35
Speaker
So I want us to close in a word of prayer and give an opportunity for you to respond. If there's something that you need to to come to talk to me about, I'll be down front. But let's all stand together. I want to have a prayer because we want to invite the Holy Spirit to be in charge of the invitation.
00:33:53
Speaker
But I pray that you will make prayer a priority, just like Jesus. And remember some of these kinds of truths that the Lord gives us. These principles will help your prayer life be stronger, more effective.
00:34:08
Speaker
You know, grow in your prayer life. Don't be satisfied, you know, with just, you know, bless our food and that's it. No, spend time lingering before God and lifting up requests that honor Him.
00:34:21
Speaker
A long time ago, there was a man named Dawson Trobman and he said, you know what? It doesn't honor God to ask him for peanuts when he would give us continents.
00:34:33
Speaker
Why don't we say, God, you're a great God. You can do great things. So let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, I thank you so much for welcoming us as a heavenly father.
00:34:44
Speaker
Lord, I know that the the version of the prayer that we read today is different than maybe the one that we've been familiar with all our lives. But I just thank you that it's here and that we can learn from it, that it's like a pattern for us.
00:34:58
Speaker
I thank you that you want us to persist in prayer because you like it when we come into your presence. And so, Lord, help us to realize that our persistence is really intended to bring us into your presence.
00:35:13
Speaker
And so help us to enjoy the times, help us to rest in the fact that you do give your children good things. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights.
00:35:25
Speaker
And so, Lord, help us to realize that if if you're not giving what we're asking, that we can trust you. We can trust your character. We can trust who you are.
00:35:36
Speaker
And we can trust that you give us the right thing. And you withhold things that are not the best. So bless us, O Lord, as we grow in our prayer lives. But bless this invitation. The very first prayer anyone should pray, that prayer I remember so long ago now,
00:35:52
Speaker
When I was in college, my freshman year, I said, Lord, i know that I'm a sinner. I know that Jesus died for me. And I pray that you would forgive me of my sins. And I pray that you would lead me and guide me as the Lord and Savior of my life.
00:36:08
Speaker
And you answered that prayer. And here I am now, Lord, many years down the road, and I'm still enjoying your presence. So, Lord, speak to us this day. If anyone needs to be saved, I pray this will be the day of salvation. In Jesus' name we pray.
00:36:24
Speaker
Amen.
00:36:30
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.