What Prayer Is and Isn't

The Gospel Reading from Luke 11:1–13

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now here's a message.

From Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke chapter 11 verses 1 through 13. Now 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.

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. And he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, let me three loaves for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him.

And he will answer from within, do not bother me. The door is now shut and my children are all in bed with me. And I cannot get up and give you anything. 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.

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open for you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened.

What father among you, if his son asked for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asked for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

False Teachings About Prayer

In the name of Jesus, Amen. Brothers and sisters, there is a lot of false teaching when it comes to prayer. If you've watched Christian television or listened to Christian radio, there is a good chance that you have been exposed to literally false and dangerous teaching as it relates to prayer.

Today we're going to use the occasion of our gospel text to address what is and what isn't Christian prayer. And we'll begin, if you would, with kind of the negative concepts. But let us return again to our gospel text and note very carefully what Jesus and God's Word teaches us regarding praying to God our Father.

Here's what the text says. Now 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. It's important to note Jesus, God in human flesh, the Son of God was a man of prayer and this may be seen from his withdrawals for prayer, his blessings at meals, his prayers at exorcisms, and his prayers at healings.

He finds assurance in prayer. Jesus prays for his disciples and he gains help in prayer, especially during his sufferings on the cross for your sins and mine. In the Gospel of John, his prayer at the raising of Lazarus convinces those around him of his divine mission.

His praying is so much an attitude that individual acts seem to be secondary. Christian prayer, then, we must understand this, is the certainty of being heard by God in virtue of his love and his mercy for us so that all things might be brought to him.

Let me say that again, Christian prayer is the certainty of being heard in virtue of God's love and mercy for us. So Jesus said to them, when you pray, say. Now it doesn't seem very explosive, does it?

The reality is that what Jesus just said is very explosive in light of the many false doctrines regarding prayer today. Jesus, in our Gospel text, reinforces the fact that Christian prayer requires faith, requires certainty in God's love and tender care for his sons and daughters, and he uses the word specifically prosukamai.

Now, I don't try to vex you with Greek. I understand that Greek, well, it seems like Greek to you, but I think it's important that we understand something here. The Greek word for prayer, prosukamai, it literally means to petition a deity, to pray, to ask, to beseech.

It is petitionary prayer. It is an invocation of God. Prosukamai is not a two-way conversation where the expectation is that you talk to God the same way that you speak to a friend or a relative, and this point will be further driven home as we work through this text.

Now, the false teaching regarding prayer along these lines works this way. You've probably heard it said that Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship, and this is a true statement. If, by this statement, you mean that Christianity is not a set of man made rules by which we follow them and climb the ladder to God.

Instead, it is a relationship with God that is based on faith and all the things that Christ has done for us to secure our salvation. We were born with a bad relationship with God because of our sin, and Christ has died for our sins and calls us to repent and to be forgiven.

If that is what you mean by Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship, then that is a fine statement to say, but what ends up happening within evangelicalism is that people take this concept, don't rightly define it, and then start extrapolating doctrines from the slogan itself.

Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship, they say. So let me ask you, what kind of relationship would it be if every time you spoke to God, you didn't give him the opportunity to say what's on his mind?

Can you imagine what kind of a marriage you would have if every time you're with your spouse and you sit down and you talk and all you did was unload on your spouse all the things that you're thinking and feeling in need and then never gave your wife or spouse the opportunity to say a word back?

You'd have a terrible relationship, the argument goes. And so people are taught, wrongly, that prayer kind of goes like this. You sit down, you open up your Bible, you have your quiet time, and then you go to God in prayer, and then you express to God your desires, your needs, your hurts, your habits, whatever it is that you're looking for healing in your life, and then you pause and you listen for that still small voice where then God will speak to you in the wind or maybe somewhere in your heart and whisper things to you, what's on his mind.

This is not what Scripture says. Prosuchami, the Greek word, totally rules that out, and the rest of our pericope rules that out as well, because Jesus, in the latter half of our Gospel text, reinforces that prayer requires us to believe and to trust that God hears us, that when we ask, we receive.

When we seek, we find. This calls for faith, right? Another thing, prayer is not an exercise in decreeing and declaring, all right? Decreeing and declaring. If you have not run into this teaching, you will.

It is growing in popularity and it's demonic. Here's how people are being taught to pray nowadays. Do you have an issue in your life? Maybe you haven't found your spouse yet. Maybe you're having trouble with your finances.

Oh, the weather hasn't been so good with your farm. Well, here's what you need to do. You need to activate your faith, and the way you do that is you stand up and you begin decreeing and declaring. I declare that I will find the perfect spouse.

I declare that my finances are going to be amazing, that I will be prosperous and wise and healthy. I declare that the weather will stop being ornery and that the sun will shine appropriately and only the right amount of rain will fall on my crops.

People are being taught that this is Christian prayer. Jesus says, ask and you will receive. He does not say decree and declare and things will come into being. Behind the doctrine of decreeing and declaring as a prayer is the false doctrine that you are a little God, that you are a little deity.

And just as God spoke the universe into existence by saying, let there be light and there was light, let the earth produce plants and it did, you too can create things in your life with your powerful words because you are made of God's stuff.

It's patently false. If you ever hear a Christian minister teaching you to do these things, stop listening to that minister. It doesn't matter how many other things he's gotten right, what he's teaching you is demonic and teaching you that you are a little God.

Avoid him. Nor is prayer, listen to this one, a matter of unplugging your conscious mind. There's a practice known as practicing the presence of God. And what it requires you to do is turn your brain off and then soak in the spirit, in the presence of God, kind of like, well, working on your suntan.

So pull out your spiritual Shay's lounge and sit there and soak up the rays of the sun. This time, the sun is the son of God and just bake in the presence of God. Scripture nowhere teaches you to do this either.

In fact, Jesus says, when you pray, say, which means your brain is engaged. It's not unplugged. Unless, of course, you're prone to just speaking without having your brain in gear, which is a very dangerous thing to do.

At least that's what I've found in my life. So now that we know what Christian prayer is not, a lot is said there. When you pray, say, you are petitioning, you are asking, you are humbly confessing, you are a creature in need of God, in need of what he has, that you have nothing and that he has everything.

Prayer as Petition, Faith, and Humility

So what is Christian prayer? Well, in prayer, Christians pray, according to scripture, with one eye open, looking toward Christ's return at the end of the world. First Peter four, seven makes this clear, where Peter says, the end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, be self-controlled, sober minded for the sake of your prayers. Yeah. When's the end of the world? Tomorrow. Which tomorrow? I don't know, but it will be tomorrow. It's coming. Christ is, he's at the door.

So be self-controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. Should we stand when we pray or should we kneel when we pray? Scripture encourages both. In Mark 11, 25, Jesus says, whenever you stand praying, notice he says, stand, forgive if you have anything against anyone so that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But prayer can also be done on our knees. We see this in Acts chapter 21 verses five through six. When our days were ended, we departed and went on our journey and they all with the wives and children accompanied us until we were outside the city and then kneeling down on the beach.

Notice it says kneeling. We prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship and they returned home. There was a day when it was very common to see kneelers in churches. Unfortunately, that day is not today.

It's very rare to see anybody kneel for prayer. And yet scripture so clearly teaches that this is a good way to pray. Scripture also reveals that Christians are to honor each other, especially husbands are to honor their wives for the very sake of their prayers.

Peter writes in first Peter three, seven husbands live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life. And the reason for this is so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Have you ever stopped to think the way you treat your spouse could hinder your prayers? In prayer, Christians are to avoid foolishness. We learned this from James chapter four, verses one through 10, where James write, he writes, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you, you Christians?

Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? The passions he's referring to are the desires, the sinful and deceitful desires of our sinful flesh. You desire and you don't have. So you murder, you covet and you cannot obtain.

So you fight and you quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask and you ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly, wrongly to spend it on your passions. Oh, you adulterous people. How'd the song go?

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? Please God, don't answer that prayer. What do you need a Mercedes Benz for? And why would you ask God for it so that you can let everybody know and telegraph to them how big your bank account is, how wealthy you are, how important you is.

God answers that prayer. It's not because he's had mercy on you. It's because he's turned you over to your sinful passions, right? You do not have because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.

Oh, you adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? So the person who tells you on Christian radio or television that God wants you to be the head and not the tail, that God, the way he demonstrates his love for us is by making your bank account fat, giving you a Bentley and a mansion and an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a, well, a private island in Tahiti.

The scripture makes this clear. That man is lying to you. And if you ever hear a Christian minister preach this way, turn him off forever. He's sending you to hell. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

And you want to know what the world's all about? Just pick up, well, one of those fashion magazines. It could be Vogue or GQ or Esquire or even Men's Health, right? And what is the magazine filled with?

Oh, the latest fashions, the most amazing watches and jewelry, all things designed to let everybody know how fashionable you are, how affluent you are. Aren't you great? You want to be noticed by people.

You want people to think the best about you based upon your clothes, your watch, your perfume, your car. This is what the world pursues after, and it's wicked, self-centered, idolatrous, and evil. You do not ask God according to these passions.

So whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. This is what you want to pursue after? Go for it. But understand this, you have now made yourself an enemy of God by doing so.

Or do you suppose that it is no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? And there's a mention of prayer and the Holy Spirit. You'll notice at the end of our gospel text, Jesus says that God will give the Holy Spirit.

You see, the Holy Spirit, according to scripture, is intimately, inextricably linked to your prayers, right? Do you not know that he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? But he gives more grace.

Therefore, it says God opposes the proud, and he gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God. He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners.

Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. See, prayer is that.

It is humbling yourself before the Lord, not exalting yourself, which is why doing it on your knees is a good practice. When it comes to our prayers, intercessory prayer is vital. It's important. James also writes, chapter 5, verses 13 through 18, is anyone among you suffering?

Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick.

It doesn't say heal, it says save. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, even if the person dies. And the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another.

Pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power, as it is working. Do you hear that? The prayer of a righteous person has great power. And you might be tempted to sit there and say, well, that's great for the righteous person, but what about me?

I'm not so righteous. Yeah, but see, scripture says you have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You have a righteousness given to you by God as a gift. You see, God sees you as perfectly righteous because you are covered, and you are in Christ.

In other words, your prayers, saints and holy ones have great power, because scripture says so because of Christ, not because of you, but because of him. And the example given here, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.

Yeah, sinful. And he prayed fervently that it might not rain for three years and six months. We all know the account. This is what led to the showdown at Mount Carmel. And notice the text doesn't say that Elijah decreed and declared, I decree and declare that there will be no rain until I say so.

Nope. He prayed fervently, Lord God, please let it not rain so that it might not rain. And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. And then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit.

Intercessory Prayer for the Church, Enemies, and Leaders

Scripture also tells us about the power of intercessory prayer when it comes to the ministry of Peter. Peter's ministry was nearly cut short. Scripture teaches us in Acts chapter 12, verses one through five, about that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

He killed James, the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. This is the Passover time.

And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. He was going to be given the Barabbas treatment.

Who would you like me to release to you? Peter called Cephas or right. That was his intention. So Peter was kept in prison. But note this. It says, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

You think that's in there for no reason? It isn't. It tells us about the power of prayer that God heard their prayers on behalf of Peter. God intervened miraculously and sprung him out of the clink. Prayer is to be offered according to scripture for your brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as your enemies.

Jesus says in Matthew five, 43 through 46, you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. That would include ISIS and the Muslims in your neighborhood that are acting out, freaking you out.

Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, for he makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? Yeah, they do. And then Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Timothy 2, verses one through four, says this.

First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. For kings, that would include presidents, even if the president is of a party that you'd never vote for.

For kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. And notice what then it says. These prayers, this is good and it's pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

The Lord's Prayer, Adoption, and the Holy Spirit

Yeah, your prayer on behalf of everyone is good and pleasing in God's sight. So Jesus teaches us to pray, Father, hallowed be your name. Doesn't seem very explosive, right? But it is. You see, the Spirit is at work in prayer.

The Holy Spirit is attesting to us that we are God's children. And the Holy Spirit is interceding for us in our frailty, specifically in regard to this invocation of God. Jesus says, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

You've received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. Actually, that's Paul writing in Romans 8, verse 15. You did not receive the spirit of slavery. You instead received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.

Romans 8, 15 makes it clear to pray, our Father, hallowed be your name. That is given us to do by God, the Holy Spirit himself. Verse 26 in Romans 8 says, likewise, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know what to pray as we ought.

Instead, the Holy Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings that are too deep for words. You see, we believe the Holy Spirit is quite active in the life of the believer. The ability to pray, our Father, who art in heaven and believe it is given by the Holy Spirit.

And even when we're not sure what it is that we are to pray, God, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf with groanings that are too deep for words. You're not alone when you pray. Cyril of Alexandria, the church father, writing about this that Jesus said, pray, our Father, hallowed be your name, says this for the Savior said, when you pray, say, our Father and another of the holy evangelists adds who art in heaven.

He gives his own glory to us. Listen carefully. You've got to understand this. God is giving his glory to us. God raises slaves like you and me to the dignity of freedom. He has crowned the human condition with such honor as surpasses the power of our own natures.

He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature and now permits us to call God father. Have you ever thought of how absolutely bold and outrageous that is?

You were born dead and trespasses and sins. You were born a slave to sin. You were born under the dominion of the devil. And Jesus teaches us to pray our father who art in heaven. That is a bold prayer.

Bold for people like you and like me to be praying in such a way. But this is only possible because of the cross. This is only possible because of what Christ has done for us. This is truly a bold prayer.

No joke. I've seen people recently teaching in the church. Christians should never pray the Lord's prayer because that's vain repetition. Would Jesus ever teach you to do such a thing that's vain? Never.

Or they'll say, oh, that Lord's prayer. That's common. That's ordinary. That's boring. To pray our father who art in heaven is, well, the most bold thing you could possibly pray. Who are you to pray that God is your father?

That's how Jesus prayed. And we all know he's the son of God in human flesh. But Jesus teaches us to pray this way because of what he has done for us. We have now been adopted into God's family. We are no longer slaves.

We are heirs. And so when we pray our father. That is bold. It's outrageous. It's scandalous. And it's wonderful. All at the same time. Your kingdom come. Jesus teaches us to pray. Another false teaching about this.

If you ever hear somebody say, well, there's a difference between the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the kingdom. They're two totally different things. I mean, we're all about, well, we want people to be saved, but now we've got to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

And by this, here's what they mean. It's our jobs as Christians to conquer the world. It's our job as Christians to conquer the world, make all nations into Christian nations and establish the kingdom of God here on earth.

And once we do that, God will show up. Jesus will show up and say, good job. Good job. Golf, clap, golf, clap, golf, clap. Good job. Now I'm king. It's nonsense. Absolute nonsense. When people preach what they call the gospel of the kingdom and say that it's your job to go take dominion.

They are ignoring what scripture says. When will God's kingdom come visibly? When will it come? When we establish it or when Christ brings it? Right. Matthew 25 says this, Jesus speaking in verse 31, when the son of man comes in his glory.

Oh, that would be the last day and all the angels with him. Then he will sit on his glorious throne and before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another. As the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, he will place the sheep on his right, the goats on the left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, listen, come you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Sounds to me like on the last day, Jesus will say to the righteous ones.

Now you get to inherit the kingdom as if it wasn't there their entire lives. Right. And we understand this, though, that the kingdom of God does come. It is among us now, but it comes when people are brought to penitent faith in Christ and they bear fruit in keeping with that repentance and they trust God's word.

They believe the gospel. And in return, as a result, they live godly lives both here in time and then thereafter in eternity. Right. In other words, there is no difference between the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the kingdom.

Scripture clearly teaches they are one and the same. Give us this day our daily bread, Jesus says. I think Ephraim the Syrian, another church father, has it right on this. Give us our constant bread of the day, he translates this text.

He says, look, he has said, seek the kingdom of God and these things over and above will be given to you as well. He said bread of the day in order to teach us poverty in relation to the things of the world.

Do you ever feel like, man, I only have enough in my bank account to pay for my bills. And to put food on my table. And then next month I have to really work hard in order to replenish that supply. And then I have just enough to pay my bills and put food on my table and meet my daily needs.

This is what you prayed for. Give us this day our daily bread. This teaches us poverty in relation to the world. The one who has this is not rich in the world's eyes, but they are rich in faith. They are rich in faith because they understand that it is God who meets our daily needs.

We don't pray that God be our big quartermaster in the sky or our big concierge or genie. We don't pray that we ask that our storehouses be filled to the max so that we can take it easy for the next 20 years.

In fact, that will come up in next week's gospel lesson. Instead, we are taught that we are creatures and that every day we walk by faith. Every day we need God. Every day we are beggars and every day God is the one who meets our needs and forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

Forgiveness, Temptation, and Trusting God’s Answer

In other words, this to forgive sins is what it really means to be like God. To forgive others sins is exactly what it means to be Christ like. Oh, Lord, if you kept a record of wrongs, who could stand?

But with you, there is forgiveness. Therefore, you are feared. And Jesus is one command as I have loved you love one another. Well, how has he loved us by forgiving us? To hold a grudge, to be unforgiving, to say, I will not forgive you, I hope you get what you deserve is the opposite of what it means to be like Christ.

And lead us not into temptation. Truly, we have an enemy, the evil one himself, who prowls around like a roaring lion, desiring to devour you, to shipwreck your faith and drag your carcass into the fires of hell with him on the last day.

So it is not in vain that we pray lead us not into temptation. The threat is real. The danger is off the charts real. And so we pray lead us not in temptation. Now, all of these petitions, all of these things that Christ has taught us to pray, call for faith, they call for trust that God hears you, that God truly is your father in heaven, and that he will answer your prayer, even if that answer takes years to come.

Right. And the way we know this is because of what Jesus said, the text continues, he said to them, so which of you 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.

I have nothing to set before him. The scenario, by the way, in a Middle Eastern culture where houses are quite close to each other, where you can hear what's going on in your neighbor's house or in the house above you, right?

It's quite a silly scenario. And this is an honor culture. We don't quite get that as Americans, but if you've traveled anywhere in the East, honor is a big thing. Shame is a terrible thing to happen.

And for you to invite somebody and they show up late and you don't have something to set before them. Well, you've dishonored that person by doing that. So that's your scenario. Which of you has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, friend, let me three loaves.

It's kind of like you have a friend coming in from out of town. Their plane arrives at Fargo at 1030 at night, because weather delays, you pick them up, you get them home and you got nothing in the fridge and not putting something before them is to shame them, to dishonor them.

So what do you do? Well, you tell, why don't you go in the restroom and take a quick shower and freshen up and, and they close the door and then you're right. Run next door. Quick. Do you got some food?

I don't have anything in my fridge. We've got somebody who came in from out of town. All right. That's your scenario. So Jesus says about this, he says, he will answer from within. Don't bother me. The door is shot.

My children are with me in bed. Yeah. They did. Kids didn't have their own rooms back then. That just had to be really awkward. Right? Go away. It's midnight. Right? I cannot get up and give you anything.

Jesus says, I tell you, though, he will not, will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend. Friendship doesn't come into play here. He says yet because of his impudence, because of the outrageousness of what's being asked for, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

Notice the need is given begrudgingly, but this is not how God works. God doesn't give begrudgingly. God isn't like your neighbor. God is not like them at all. Jesus says, I tell you ask and it will be given to you.

Seek, you will find. God isn't like that. Knock and the door will be opened. God desires for you to ask. He desires for you to seek and he wills for you to find everyone who asks. Jesus says, receives the one who seeks, finds the one who knocks.