Living Room Study

Luke 11

“Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He was finished, one of his disciples said to Him ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’  He said to them, ‘Whenever you pray, say:  Father, Your name be honored as holy.  You Kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sin, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us.  And do not lead us into temptation.’”  Luke 11:1-4

It is a natural human compulsion to pray, because God created us to communicate with Him.

Prayer is an interesting phenomenon in our culture. Preachers, rock stars, athletes, politicians, professionals, and blue-collar workers…everyone prays, sometimes. I have been on airline trips with people who claimed to be atheists, yet when we hit some serious turbulence, they cried out, “Oh God!”

An essential component of evangelism is life’s “turbulence”, shaking the perceived security of the unbeliever. Difficulty makes people cry-out for answers & meaning in life. In steps the evangelist, prepared to give reason and hope in the midst of life’s turbulence.

MC Hammer once sang, “We’ve got to pray, just to make it today.” I agree with that sentiment, but it is not enough to shout vain prayers into the air. If you want your prayers to be heard and to be effective, there is a proper way to pray, an exclusive God to pray to, and a Spirit-leading, which is essential.

Often times, people feel unable to pray and they assume the ability to pray is natural to some and lacking in others. The disciples were on the right track when they assumed Jesus could teach them to pray, and that He would be willing to do so.

Throughout scripture, Jesus taught us to pray in five parts:

1) Who to pray to

2) What to pray for

3) The importance of persistence

4) The certainty of a positive answer because of God’s love & goodness

5) The ultimate gift, the Holy Spirit, who is the source of power for all right prayer

See also: Matthew 6: 9-13 While all prayer may be sincere, to some extent, much of the prayer in this world is misdirected and improperly motivated. Hence, they may be sincere, and yet sincerely wrong. Let’s continue seeking God’s Word, so that we may love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. Ask that His Spirit will guide you to pray according to God’s will, as He requires of us.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins