THE MODEL PRAYER

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: LUKE 11:1-13




INTRODUCTION:


  1. Weeks ago, we were in the Gospel of Luke and we looked at the parable of the unjust judge.
  2. Today, I would like to stay in Luke and turn to another familiar passage - what is commonly called "the Lord’s Prayer." This is one of the most well known portions of Scripture and even many unsaved people have committed it to memory. 100 years ago, the World’s Congress of Religion met at the World’s Fair in Chicago and Buddhists, Hindus, Shintoists, and all sorts of pagans all prayed this prayer together.
  3. I prefer not to call it the Lord’s prayer because He Himself could never have prayed a prayer such as this (cf. Luke 11:4).
  4. Actually, if you are looking for the Lord’s prayer, you need to go to John 17 – there we see the Lord praying to His Father in heaven. As a matter of fact, the only reference in Scripture to "Holy Father" is found in John 17 and our Lord is certainly not praying to the pope (John 17:11).
  5. I prefer to call the Lord’s prayer the model prayer. Jesus said, "When ye pray, say…" (Luke 11:2).
  6. Before going any further, I should emphasize that all prayer should be directed to God. This is obvious to those who are saved, but not so obvious to those who are lost. Millions of lost souls pray every day to Mary, the saints, statues and other idols, Allah, even their departed loved ones.
  7. As I pointed out weeks ago, one of our Lord’s disciples asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray…" (11:1), not "teach us how to pray." What he was saying was, "Lord, give us that compelling power to move us to pray.
  1. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PERSON
  2. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROGRAM
  3. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PURPOSES
  4. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROVISION
  5. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PARDON
  6. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PURITY
  7. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROTECTION
  8. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S POWER

 

I. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PERSON (11:2).

    1. "Our Father which art in heaven…" (11:2). God is our Father, through the new birth. He resides in heaven.
    2. "Hallowed be thy name…" (11:2). God’s name is hallowed, i.e., holy, respected, honored, exalted.

 

II. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROGRAM – "Thy kingdom come" (11:2).

    1. All history until the end of time presses toward God’s kingdom when the Lord Jesus Christ will return and rule from the throne of David.
    2. But until that glorious day arrives, God has another program, i.e., building His church (cf. Matt.16:18). We need to pray for God’s program to go forward.
    3. We should pray with importunity for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:5-13). This means with persistence – "ask…seek…knock."
    4. If a man is willing to help a friend because of his importunity, God is much more willing to answer the prayers of His children.

 

III. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PURPOSES – "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth" (11:2b).

    1. We should be careful to make sure that we are praying according to God’s will (I John 5:14,15).

 

IV. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROVISION (11:3).

    1. After seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then we are to make known our requests known to the Lord.
    2. We should be content to have enough food for today.

 

V. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PARDON (11:4).

    1. We must forgive others. Otherwise, we are asking for serious trouble (cf. Matt.18:21-35).
    2. God does not forgive those who do not forgive others (cf. Matt.6:15).

 

VI. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PURITY – "And lead us not into temptation" (11:4).

    1. We should always pray that God would keep us from temptation.
    2. "My Father, I am so weak myself, grant that I might not be put in a place of temptation which I could not stand and overcome" (HAI).

 

VII. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S PROTECTION – "But deliver us from evil" (11:4b).

    1. This means literally "the evil one" (cf. II Thess.2:8; I John 2:13).
    2. A ship sailing between Liverpool and NY was caught in a sudden squall of wind that arose at sea. The boat was instantly thrown on her side by the force of the gale, crashing everything that was movable and awakening the passengers. Soon all were alarmed and some started panicking. All except the eight-year-old daughter of the captain. "What’s the matter?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as she was thrown out of bed. Her mother told her of the imminent peril. "Isn’t Daddy on deck?" the little girl asked. When told that he was, she yawned and said: "Then I’m going back to bed." She crawled into bed and in a few moments was fast asleep.

 

VIII. THE BELIEVER IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S POWER (Matt.6:13b).


CONCLUSION:

"Teach Me to Pray, Lord".



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