Genuine, Heaven-Touching Prayer: 2016 Gospel of Luke #42
This is an exposition of Luke 11:1-13. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, January 8, 2017.
Intro:
They had seen it before. It was nothing new or novel. In fact it was a regular occurrence. Often He left them and went aside, alone to pray. He sometimes spent all night in prayer. And when He prayed it was far different from anything they had ever heard. Not that the words were all that different. Not that the form itself was strange or innovative. It was an intangible thing. They couldn’t put their finger on it – they didn’t know how to evaluate it – it was just different. Higher. Grander. Loftier. More powerful. They just knew that when He prayed Heaven took note of it. One day, after He prayed, one of His disciples said, “Lord teach us to pray.” That is the backdrop for our text this morning found in the 11th chapter of Dr. Luke’s Gospel.
Text: Luke 11:1-13
Prayer is beyond question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when he is on his knees before his God. In prayer we come face to face with the living God. We enter into the throne room of the universe and stand before the awesome, majestic God, Lord of heaven and earth. We all acknowledge that prayer is a lifeline. We acknowledge that our souls are fed, strengthened and encourage when we spend time before the Father. We just as quickly acknowledge that we have much to learn regarding the disciple of prayer. We all must acknowledge that we spend far to little time in prayer. We have all felt the same urging as this disciple. We’ve all found ourselves saying, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And this is important, “Teach us to pray” doesn’t mean teach us the words to say. It doesn’t mean teach us a formula, teach us the tricks of the trade. The disciple was asking, “Lord teach us to pray.” Teach us to desire prayer, teach us to be persistent in our praying, teach us have the same passion for prayer that You have. He is asking, “Lord teach us to touch heaven with our praying.”
Thus our text serves as a pattern for “Heaven Touching Prayer.”
In responding to the request, our Lord provides us with three principles of “heaven touching prayer.” Three principles that, when followed, can make a profound difference in our prayer lives.
- Heaven touching prayer follows a divinely established pattern. (11:1-4)
- Heaven touching prayer demonstrates a determined persistence. (11:5-8)
- Heaven touching prayer is anchored in the goodness of God. (11:9-13)
Conclusion:
Do you desire that your prayer life take on new dimensions? Do you want to know that your prayers touch heaven? Learn and apply these three principles from our Lord.
Heaven touching prayer:
- Follows a divinely established pattern.
- Demonstrates a determined persistence.
- Is anchored in the goodness of God.