Teach Us To Pray

Teach Us To Pray

 Luke 11.1-13

The word teach:

1. to impart instruction
2. instill doctrine into one
3. to explain or expound a thing
4. to teach one something
   
   
   Root words of prayer: To take advantage of, to draw near, be close by and to wish.
   Prayer is getting close to God and conversing with Him. It is talking to Him.
   
   
   
   
   

1. The Desire. V.1

Jesus’ private prayer life

*They had observed it

In this verse one

They no doubt noticed the closeness Jesus had with the Father

They saw the tranquility and the contentment and the joy of prayer in Jesus praying.

They saw the joy.

They longed to reach out to God.

Genesis 4.26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

*It made them hungry

I told you about my Nana on that summer morning over 50 years ago. It lodged in my mind and made me hungry... my cousin Lori also. Just spoke to Helen Pawson about that on Wednesday.

*Spontaneous

*Unrehersed

Not recited but conversation with His Father.

Intimacy with Jesus

Friendship With Jesus

Friendship with Jesus!
Fellowship divine!
Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
Jesus is a Friend of mine.

2. The Model. vs.2-4

The LORD’s Prayer

First concern- The Glory of God

First Petition or Request His Kingdom Come

3. The Components.   vs.2-4

Our Father in Heaven

God’s Glory

God’s Kingdom

God’s will

God’s Provisions

God’s Forgiveness

Our relationships

It is interesting that we have one main section of scripture devoted to instructions for praying for the healing of our bodies when we are sick (James 5.13-16). It is not mentioned in the LORD’s prayer directly, although if His Kingdom comes people will be healed. We have numerous places including John 3.16 where salvation in preemminent. We have numerous places where we are directed to pray for the spread of the Gospel.

Luke 10:2

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord ofthe harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Ephesians 6.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Colossians 4.2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Pray for the Spread of the Gospel

We read that the early Christians "continued steadfastly… in prayers." (Acts 2:42)

Pray for a specific individualPerhaps a person you know well, or even someone you have just met today. We know so many who still need God’s salvation. Pray earnestly for their soul, that God will deal with them as he has with us. We probably little realize how many prayed for us.

Pray for a missionary or evangelistMany men and women have left family and friend behind to go forth and preach the message of God’s salvation. They need our prayers as they face difficulties we may never experience. Pray regularly for them by name, asking God to meet their specific needs. Pray for the missionaries in Haiti.

Pray for an area of need
It may be a country far away, or a little town nearby. Remember the multitudes in need, many of whom don’t have the privilege of hearing the gospel message preached. Ask God to raise up those to go among them and present Christ as Saviour.

Pray for a specific workIt may be that your first encounter with the gospel was someone preaching or handing out papers on a street corner. Ask God’s continued blessing of this work. Pray that the many Bibles and New Testaments handed out will be read and used of God. Remember the texts and pamphlets given door to door. Seek God’s blessing for the gospel being presented on the Internet

And yet far too often our prayers are just centered on those sick in body and not those who need to come to Christ.

What We need to change

What we are asking for... 

V. 13 Asking for the Holy Spirit

Be filled and keep on being filled Ephesians 5.18 Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit

Not for spectacular but very practical and empowering.

A prayer for us:

Acts 4.23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

We all need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

He is the Breath of the Church. Without Him working we are just going through the motions.

In this account by R.A. Torrey there are things that we need to hear, particularly the power (the dunamis) that the Holy Spirit brings upon people when they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. I believe we need a revival in the Church of the Nazarene of this type of preaching , teaching experience and testimony:

Time and again Mr. Moody would come to me and say: “Torrey, I want you to preach on the baptism with the Holy Ghost.” I do not know how many times he asked me to speak on that subject. Once, when I had been invited to preach in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York (invited at Mr. Moody’s suggestion; had it not been for his suggestion the invitation would never have been extended to me), just before I started for New York, Mr. Moody drove up to my house and said: “Torrey, they want you to preach at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. It is a great, big church, cost a million dollars to build it.” Then he continued: “Torrey, I just want to ask one thing of you. I want to tell you what to preach about. You will preach that sermon of yours on ‘Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible to be the Word of God’ and your sermon on ‘The Baptism with the Holy Ghost.'” Time and again, when a call came to me to go off to some church, he would come up to me and say: “Now, Torrey, be sure and preach on the baptism with the Holy Ghost.” I do not know how many times he said that to me. Once I asked him: “Mr. Moody, don’t you think I have any sermons but those two: ‘Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible to be the Word of God’ and ‘The Baptism with the Holy Ghost’?” “Never mind that,” he replied, “you give them those two sermons.

Once he had some teachers at Northfield–fine men, all of them, but they did not believe in a definite baptism with the Holy Ghost for the individual. They believed that every child of God was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and they did not believe in any special baptism with the Holy Ghost for the individual. Mr. Moody came to me and said: “Torrey, will you come up to my house after the meeting tonight and I will get those men to come, and I want you to talk this thing out with them.” Of course, I very readily consented, and Mr. Moody and I talked for a long time, but they did not altogether see eye to eye with us. And when they went, Mr. Moody signaled me to remain for a few moments. Mr. Moody sat there with his chin on his breast, as he so often sat when he was in deep thought; then he looked up and said: “Oh, why will they split hairs? Why don’t they see that this is just the one thing that they themselves need? They are good teachers, they are wonderful teachers, and I am so glad to have them here, but why will they not see that the baptism with the Holy Ghost is just the one touch that they themselves need?”

I shall never forget the eighth of July, 1894 to my dying day.  (124 years ago to this day!)

It was the closing day of the Northfield Students’ Conference–the gathering of the students from the eastern colleges. Mr. Moody had asked me to preach on Saturday night and Sunday morning on the baptism with the Holy Ghost. On Saturday night I had spoken about, “The Baptism with the Holy Ghost, What it is, What it does, the Need of it and the Possibility of it.” On Sunday morning I spoke on “The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, How to Get It.” It was just exactly twelve o’clock when I finished my morning sermon, and I took out my watch and said: “Mr. Moody has invited us all to go up to the mountain at three o’clock this afternoon to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. It is three hours to three o’clock. Some of you cannot wait three hours. You do not need to wait. Go to your rooms, go out into the woods, go to your tent, go anywhere where you can get alone with God and have this matter out with Him.” At three o’clock we all gathered in front of Mr. Moody’s mother’s house (she was then still living), and then began to pass down the lane, through the gate, up on the mountainside. There were four hundred and fifty-six of us in all; I know the number because Paul Moody counted us as we passed through the gate.

After a while Mr. Moody said: “I don’t think we need to go any further; let us sit down here.” We sat down on stumps and logs and on the ground. Mr. Moody said: “Have any of you students anything to say?” I think about seventy-five of them arose, one after the other, and said: “Mr. Moody, I could not wait till three o’clock; I have been alone with God since the morning service, and I believe I have a right to say that I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.” When these testimonies were over, Mr. Moody said: “Young men, I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t kneel down here right now and ask God that the Holy Ghost may fall upon us just as definitely as He fell upon the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Let us pray.” And we did pray, there on the mountainside. As we had gone up the mountainside heavy clouds had been gathering, and just as we began to pray those clouds broke and the raindrops began to fall through the overhanging pines. But there was another cloud that had been gathering over Northfield for ten days, a cloud big with the mercy and grace and power of God, and as we began to pray our prayers seemed to pierce that cloud and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. Men and women, that is what we all need–the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2.38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

This week we wll meet on Wednesday. Even if you are not part of a Bible Study, come!

This is for the whole church.

You can join in as a silent partner, no one will be forced to pray.

We will call upon God for His Spirit to be outpoured.

We will pray for His Will to be done here on the Island and around the world.

We will pray for souls to be saved.

We will look to heaven for Him to forgive and heal our land.