Prayer – Luke 11
19 May 2010 | Karl Martin | Posted in Word Words1 Comment
As a church family we have experienced at least 2 births recently. It has got me thinking that the way we grow spiritually is almost exactly opposite to the way we grow in the physical. Physically growing up means moving increasingly towards independence from our mother and our father but growing up spiritually is actually about moving towards dependence on our heavenly father.
Jesus teaches us how to pray – and His lesson is a lesson in moving us towards dependence. Prayer is the conduit of this relationship – it’s the life-giving communication heaven to earth.
So Jesus begins by re-affirming this relationship. The prayer starts with ABBA and not KINGDOM. Jesus wants to remind us that our lives consist in, revolve around, and will only have power in this relationship. The God whose name is to be hallowed – (and He has so many amazing names depicting His power and character) – is DADDY.
It is His Kingdom and He has and is bringing it. As we pray we get to participate in heaven coming to earth. The prayer is that all the things that are not in heaven (check out Revelation 21 and Revelation 22) are not on earth, and all things that are in heaven, are on earth. Of course the kingdom of God now is opposed and one day Kingdom is all there will be. But, through prayer, we still get to see breakthrough. And as we move towards dependence, increasingly we find our prayers are prayers attuned to the heart and will of our Father, and heaven touches earth.
As we follow this prayer through, we learn that the characteristics of this relationship are PROVISION, PURITY AND PROTECTION .. (Give us this day…. forgive us …. lead us not into temptation … )
But the core teaching, to my mind, is that this is a relationship available to us of Dependence, with a heavenly Father who loves us, wants to provide for us, wants to continue to save us and enable us to live out of that salvation, and wants to protect us from the tempter.
So Jesus is able to close this teaching with a story and a commentary – the story about the neighbour and the bread at midnight, and the commentary about what a wonderful, giving Father we have.
I think we are being encouraged to live a life of Ask and Receive … a life of dependence through the Holy Spirit. We learn to persist because we know He is this kind of Father who gives these kind of good things and we need His intervention. Consequently mission becomes very simply a direct expression of this dependent relationship. You have a friend who needs bread – you know a Father who has bread and gives bread.
- Which areas of our lives do we find ourselves being more self-reliant rather than dependent on God? Why is this the case?
- How can we move towards greater dependence on our Father God?
- Are there areas of our lives where we need greater perseverance until we see our prayers answered? Spend some time praying for those things now.
- Karl
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