Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 11:1-13
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  August 18, 2019

When I consider my own prayer life, or prayers I’ve heard said by others, and the many conversations I’ve had about prayer, I’ve realized that, many times, we think of prayer as a sort of a divine vending machine. Think about how a vending machine works. You put in money, make a selection, and receive what you wanted. Kind of like prayer: “Ask and you shall receive.” That’s what Jesus said, right? We put in the coins of our wants and needs, our faith and good behavior. We tell God what we want and hope to get what we asked for. And all that works just fine…until it doesn’t. Vending machines are great until they take your money but nothing drops down. Or when you pressed the button for a Doctor Pepper and out comes Diet Peach Iced Tea. It can be frustrating. We push the button again and again. We walk away wishing we hadn’t wasted our time. It’s not so different with prayer, is it? Some people get angry. Some feel hurt or betrayed by God. Some lose faith and even leave the church.

I don’t know exactly how prayer works, but I know that it is not a vending machine. It is not a mechanical transaction between us and God. What is prayer? Well, on this side of heaven, I can’t quite explain it. From our limited perspective, perhaps the best we can do is repeat the words of the unnamed disciple in our lesson who simply said: “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Jesus’ response in Luke 11 is not an explanation of how prayer works. He doesn’t not offer a formula or magic words. He doesn’t tell us five-easy-steps to a better prayer life. He doesn’t give us the correct change for the vending machine. Instead, Jesus talks about who God is and encourages us to pray on the basis of our relationship with him.

On another occasion, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer, inviting his followers to call God in heaven “Abba” or Father. This is an incredible  reality. Before we even begin to pray we should take a moment to gasp in astonishment, because we are called children of God! That’s our relationship with God through faith! Sinful, mortal humans, and yet because of JEsus, children of the Almighty immortal God and King. That’s how Jesus begins his teaching. Prayer is about our relationship with God. We call on a Father who loves us. And the petitions of the Lord’s prayer all center around this relationship. If God is our Father, then we want to protect his reputation and hallow his name. If God is our Father, that means our life, our existence—all we need to live—comes from him. Jesus calls that our daily bread. Also note that this is the only petition of the Lord’s prayer that is concerned with earthly welfare. All the rest are spiritual. That should tell us something about correct prayer priorities in and of itself. Then there are lines about forgiveness, ours and others. Again, that’s about a grace-based relationship with God which then flows to others. We forgive as we have been forgiven. And finally, as any Father would, we ask that he continues to protect his children and deliver us from evil. The relationship is the basis for every petition of this prayer. The Lord’s Prayer isn’t a vending machine prayer. It focuses on who God is and what he has already promised to do for us. 

Next Jesus illustrates our relationship to God with a parable: He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,  because a friend of mine who is on a journey has come to me, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ This sounds ridiculous to us, but this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for the people in Jesus’ time. People travelled primarily by walking at night to get out of the extreme heat of the day. They also had no phones to tell people when they were going to arrive. So it wasn’t a crazy thought to have someone arrive very late, unannounced, in the night. Obviously it would be too late to start baking bread and so you’d have to get it from someone else, like a friend. Also, remember that hospitality was a huge priority in this culture. It was not wrong of this man to wake up his friend. He had an obligation to be a good host. Jesus continues, “And the one inside replies, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you.’ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his bold persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So even if the man wouldn’t give you the bread because he’s your friend, he would get up and hand over some bread so that you stop knocking and he can get his children back to bed. As a parent with young kids this certainly resonates with me. I would let them take my entire fridge  as long as they stop knocking on the door!

And now Jesus applies this parable to prayer in verses 9 and 10, “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”  Why compare answered prayer to a friend who is unwilling to get out of bed for the sake of friendship, but willing to get out of bed to stop knocking on his door? Is it to say that God is tired or irritable or stingy? That can’t be, because our Father is so ready and able to give in verse 13. Then what’s the reason for this parable? I think it is simply a striking way of saying, that while God has his reasons for waiting, in the end persistent prayer will be rewarded with an answer, where giving up won’t. If the friend had gone home after the first refusal, he would not have gotten the bread he needed. But since he stayed and kept on knocking, he got as much as he needed. The point for you and me? Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. This is a relationship, not a vending machine. If a vending machine doesn’t give you what you selected for the first time, you’re wasting your money if you try again and again. But God your Father, in his wisdom, will delay with good purpose, in order to see you prevail in faith through persistent prayer. God has blessings in mind even if it seems, for all the world, that he is not answering. 

However, the perception of unanswered prayer, resounding silence from God, can be so difficult to understand or accept. I know that prayers are often answered, but that’s not when people come talk to me. No one ever asks, “Pastor, why did I receive exactly what I asked for?” People want to know why they asked but did not receive, why they searched but did not find, why they knocked over and over but the door never opened. We all do. A friend told me how he prayed hard one night as he drove his wife to the hospital. They prayed with words and with tears. With each mile their prayer became more desperate. More coins were slid in…Push the button again. “Please, Father, if it possible…” they prayed over and over. But when they got to the hospital, the baby was dead. “Everyone who asks receives?” That wasn’t their story; it’s not always mine, either. 

I don’t know why God chooses to do what he does. He is God, I’m not. I don’t have any good answers or explanations, but I have heard some bad ones. They sound like this: “You don’t have enough faith. You didn’t pray hard enough. You were just asking for the wrong thing.” These explanations do nothing but bolster a vending machine understanding of prayer. We’ve got to let that go, because it’s wrong. It hurts people and it misrepresents who God is and how he relates to us. When I hear those kind of answers and explanations I can’t help but remember another man praying desperately at night. He prayed with words and with sweat that dripped like blood. “Please, Father, if it is possible…” he prayed over and over. But they crucified him the next day. And because God said “no” to Jesus, he was able to say “yes” to us. Through Jesus’ death he forgave our sin and called us his children. So obviously, our Father has good reasons when he doesn’t say “yes” to a prayer. And remember, even though Jesus’ request was denied, God did send an angel to strengthen him. We never know what blessings will come through persistent prayer. 

The truth is that Jesus didn’t say that the one who asks will receive the answer that they want. He didn’t say that the one who seeks will find exactly what they set out to find. It is purposely ambiguous. He says, …everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened.” The answer might not be what we expect, we may struggle and strain, we may pray repeatedly with no sign of response, but in all this we will receive. We will find something. A door will be opened by our Father.

This is the comfort we have when we pray based on our relationship with God. No matter, the answer, he is our loving Father in heaven. Listen to the last verses of our text today. What father among you, if your son asks for bread, would give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, would give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, (evil here meaning sinful, not that we are mean to our kids) 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?” Parents, have you always given your children exactly what they wanted? I hope not! I can’t imagine where I’d be today if my parents let me have whatever I wanted. Or, perhaps worse, if God had said “yes” to all my foolish prayers. No, earthly parents know what to give to their children. And this is infinitely true of our heavenly Father. If we knew all that he did, we would understand. One day in heaven we will, but until then we trust our heavenly Father.

Finally, did you catch what Jesus said at the end there? It was incredibly important. He said “…how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” You know, perhaps the greatest issue with our prayers is that we sometimes don’t want God. We want something from him. We want God to change our circumstances. And while God can and sometimes does change circumstances, I am increasingly convinced that, more often than not, he changes us through our relationship with him. And the truth is, if prayer, as Jesus teaches it, is all about a relationship with our Father, then the best answer to every prayer must be God. He, himself is the greatest gift. When our Father sends the Holy Spirit, he is giving us the best answer we could ever imagine, because the Holy Spirit is truly God, living and working in our hearts. He enables us to grow in faith. He helps us better hold onto the promises of the Word and grasp the forgiveness of our Savior Jesus. He helps us trust our heavenly Father. My friends, pray for the best gift of all: the Holy Spirit. His strength will empower you to remain strong. His patience will enable you to endure the circumstances of life. His love will give you joy even in sorrow. His salvation will give you peace in the face of death. 

So whether in joy and gratitude, or in times of pain and loss, we pray with the certainty of receiving what is good from our Father. And let us pray persistently, knowing that we may not receive exactly what we ask for, but God will bless us. No matter the answer, let us trust that his grace is sufficient, that he, himself, is more than enough. “Lord, teach us to pray.” 

Amen.