Luke 11:1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to 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; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
You’ll remember from last week, we have to be careful when we try to connect things too quickly in the Gospels. The Gospel stories and teaching are still within the time frame of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant doesn’t begin until the Crucifixion.
So if we take a benefit of a later event and try to make it fit before it happened, we have a problem.
An example is with the word given that Jesus used in this passage. In typical usage the word given means given. We didn’t have something and then someone gave it to us and we now have it in our possession. But when it comes to how this verse is written: Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" we can’t use the typical definition.
The promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit as the permanent gift to Believers wasn’t to happen until Pentecost. So how could Jesus say God might give them the Holy Spirit if they ask Him? Because He’s not talking about the Holy Spirit as the Indweller but as the method by which God responds to our asking.
In the New Covenant, the Spirit is the abiding presence of God in our lives that seals us as His Children and empowers us to live the Christian life. He is given in salvation as a permanent presence of God within us. At the same time, The Holy Spirit remains the power of God to accomplish the work of God in and through our lives.
What’s the issue with what Jesus said? The Disciples wouldn’t be given a permanent possession before it was time for that to happen, which is what Pentecost is all about. Also, their lives changed dramatically after the Spirit came. There was no evidence they had experienced that change before Pentecost.
So what was Jesus saying when He said: the Father will give the Holy Spirit if we ask Him? Go back to OT times, before Pentecost, the Spirit came into the lives of people to help them accomplish God’s work. He would come upon them, there would be some demonstration of His presence and a need would be met. Then He would withdraw. It was a temporary filling, temporary power, temporary insight. But still, it was God sending His Holy Spirit to answer their prayers. The Father was answering the requests of His people through giving the Holy Spirit to meet the need, not as a permanent gift.
Today, we have both the abiding presence within us and the Holy Spirit sent for special work. Whenever we have a need and ask God to meet that need He gives or sends the Holy Spirit as the power that accomplishes His work. Even though the Holy Spirit indwells each Believer, He comes in a different way to minister to our needs.
The Spirit has always been the power of God’s dealings with us. He draws us into Salvation. He empowers us to live the life God has saved us to live. He teaches us the things we need to know to love, trust and follow God more specifically. He comforts us with the presence of God in our lives. He accomplishes God’s will, He produces miracles, and He delivers the answer to our prayers. Since this is what Jesus was talking about, what is He telling us to do? Pray expectantly.
Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to 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; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
What is prayer? In simplest terms it is talking with God. Whether we are asking, seeking or knocking, it is a conversation with the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider, the Lover of our souls, Our Father, who art in Heaven. It is consciously standing in His presence, speaking with Him.
What do we do in prayer? Lay our lives open before Him. We express our love. We surrender our lives. We submit to His will. We give Him our burdens. We ask for direction and help and hope.
What is our promise? He hears us. He responds to us. He answers us. He considers our request and does what is best.
What does prayer compare to? A child asking a father to meet a need.
What happens when we pray?
- He takes our cares and gives us release.
- He takes our anxiety and gives us peace.
- He takes our burden and what weighs us down and gives us rest.
- He takes our hunger and thirst and satisfies them.
- He takes us out of the darkness and into the light.
- He accomplishes what concerns us
What kind of things concerns you today?
· Your health?
· The health of someone else?
· Your finances?
· The finances of someone else?
· Your spouse?
· Your kids?
· Your grandkids?
· Loneliness?
· Emptiness?
· Disillusionment?
· Lostness?
· Politics?
· Society?
· The future?
· The past?
· The present?
· Your age?
· Death?
· Life?
· Concern for someone else’s problems?
· Salvation of a loved one or a friend?
· Temptations?
· Addictions?
· Fears?
· Regrets?
· Your marriage?
· Your kids’ marriages?
· Your grandkids’ marriages?
· The unknown?
What does Jesus offer us? The privilege of trusting Him to take what’s pressing us down and free us: 2Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Phil 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
What is peace? The release we discover when we realize we are no longer carrying the burden.
What can I expect when I pray? God will answer and do what’s best.
I can tell you all day how God can do this. Let me tell you about times He did do this.
New missionary nurse was feeling how desperate things were at her compound. All she saw were needs and no supplies to meet those needs. A baby born during the night needed an incubator to stay warm but there wasn’t one available. She thought maybe a hot water bottle might work. There wasn’t one available. Knowing the baby would die without out some source of warmth, she cried out to God. Later that same morning a package came from the states. The box was filled with a variety of supplies. Before she went through the box, she read a note that lay on top which said: “This box came from our Sunday School class. But when I was about to get it sealed and ready to ship, my daughter brought a water bottle. She said God wants this for a little girl. She also gave me a doll. She said I think the little girl might want a doll, too. We hope this helps meet your needs there.” Underneath a layer of gauze was a hot water bottle and beside it a small doll. The missionary realized God had answered her prayer well over a week before she even prayed it.
A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan...While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time witnessed to him of the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled one day, camped overnight, and arrived home without incident the next day.
Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by same the young man I had treated. He told me, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards." At this I laughed and said that I was all alone out in that jungle. The young man said, “My friends also saw them and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid, and left you alone."
At this point one of the men in the congregation interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day that this happened. The missionary told him the date, and the man told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?" The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary counted how many men stood. There were 26.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time witnessed to him of the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled one day, camped overnight, and arrived home without incident the next day.
Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by same the young man I had treated. He told me, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards." At this I laughed and said that I was all alone out in that jungle. The young man said, “My friends also saw them and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid, and left you alone."
At this point one of the men in the congregation interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day that this happened. The missionary told him the date, and the man told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?" The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary counted how many men stood. There were 26.
When Corrie ten Boom was a prisoner at Ravensbruck, at the beginning of WWII, she woke up one day with a bad cold and runny nose. Her sister said, “Why don’t you pray for a hankie?” Corrie said, “If I were to pray for anything it would be for something big, not something like that.” Her sister prayed, “Father, in the name of Jesus, I now pray for a hankie for Corrie, because she has a bad cold.” Corrie shook her head and walked away. As she walked a friend and fellow-prisoner who worked in the camp’s hospital approached her. “Here you are,” the woman said in a matter-of-face tone. She handed Corrie a package and said, “I bring you a little present.” Corrie opened it and there was a handkerchief. “How did you know? Did Betsie tell you I had a cold?” The woman shrugged, “I know nothing. I was busy sewing handkerchiefs out of an old sheet and a voice in my heart said to take a hankie to Corrie. So here is your gift from God.” Corrie realized no need is too small for God to meet.
Collapse: http://www1.cbn.com/video/ATP41v3/sons-miraculous-survival-proves-the-power-of-prayer?show=700club
Heb 4:13 There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
I Fall on My Knees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIb4IwB_vkM
Jer 33:2-3 Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, 'Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'
TAKEAWAYS:
- The greatest privilege we have as Believers is prayer.
- The greatest assurance we have is God hears and answers our prayers.
- The greatest treasure we have is God’s Holy Spirit.
- The greatest turning point we have is when we give our problem to God.
- The greatest result God can give us is peace.
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