Prayer that Persists to Honor God

Luke 11:1-13

The Model Prayer

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

2 So 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.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one."

A Friend Comes at Midnight

5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

9 "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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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 are given a model prayer to follow not in rote but in form and intent of the heart.  The form is an outline of areas to consider when talking with our heavenly Father (we have no man on earth we spiritually call our father) and petitioning Him for our need of forgiveness and need to be forgiving to those who offend or oppose us.  Jesus gave this example prayer after praying Himself and the disciples wanting Him to teach them how to better pray after His example.  We do well to consider these elements in our own times before God.  We should initiate the time by extolling our Lord as our heavenly and only spiritual Father who is in heaven above, for no mere mortal can lay claim to this title in any church or other area of life because He alone is our Creator and the one who has made us also loves and cares for us as no other can.  We are to pray that His name is known and kept holy as set apart from all others including those who would claim otherwise as if a mere priest could ever take our Father’s place.  We are therefore to revere God alone and call no other “father” here on earth (Matthew 23:9) to acknowledge the holiness and uniqueness of God above to hallow His name and identity that is His alone.  We are also to pray that God’s heavenly will come to fruition as planned by Him and through we who are His own.  This means we should petition our Father to work His works for His own honor and glory according to the providence and predetermined plan which He alone knows fully.  This also means we do not attempt to make or force what we believe that will to be without the clear revelation of His word according to His Spirit in us who provides understanding and direction to walk (Isaiah 30:21).  This is how we pray for His kingdom to come to us on earth as a refle of the heavenly kingdom above where He rules with the angels that serve His will and worship Him there.  Only then should we ask for our needs such as the already promised food and shelter (Matthew 6:31-32) as we seek His kingdom (Matthew 6:33-34) and will to be done among us.  We are then told to forgive the offenses other do when sinning against us just as we consider how our Lord has forgiven and continues to forgive each of us.  Matthew 6:14-15 adds a disclaimer to this by stating that we will not find forgiveness if we are unwilling to forgive others.  Therefore the final thing we should pray for is that our Lord keeps us through temptations (James 1:12, 14-15) and brings us away from the hands of the roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) set on our destruction for our testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).  We are then to take these elements and pray not the exact words but their meanings and implications with persistence.  He uses a parable of a man who wakes up a friend late at night asking for food to feed a friend who arrived unexpectedly.  The man will eventually rise from bed to answer the request because of his persistence.  We are to keep asking, seeking, and knocking on heaven’s door as well as we serve others, knowing our Heavenly Father will provide in His time as we continue to ask for these needs according to His will (1 John 5:14-15).  Ask. Seek. Knock.  If we ask according to His revealed in the scriptures we will find it given to us in His time and in His way.  If we seek in persistent prayer we will find the answer provided to us as well.  We must keep knocking in prayer for heaven to open to us on earth for these petitions and intercessions.  We can trust our Father to give good gifts and not as men do with their spite and ill-will; God only provides what is good for us and others (Romans 8:28) for His glory to keep His name holy as a hallowed thing of infinite value and holiness.  The most important and holy gift, of course, is His Spirit given every believer (Ephesians 1:13-14) as a seal on our calling and proof of all His answers to prayer.  This is the pattern of prayer that persists to honor and glorify God our Father in the name of Jesus Christ His Son in the power and presence of His Spirit in us as sealed identification of His children whom He gives only good gifts to.