Old Testament Reading: Psalm 32

“A MASKIL OF DAVID. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 11:5-13

“And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell 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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:5–13, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

I do love this portion of Luke’s Gospel. Here in Luke 10:25-11:13, we learn a lot about the Christian life. According to the Great Commission, the church is to be about the task of making disciples of all nations through the preaching of the gospel. Those who turn from their sins to trust in Christ are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And these baptized disciples are to be taught to observe all that Christ has commanded. 

And what has Christ commanded? What is the law of Christ that his followers are to be taught to observe? Answer: Disciples of Jesus are to keep God’s ever-abiding and unchanging moral law and the positive laws that Christ has added under the New Covenant – laws about the worship of God, and laws about the government of his church. The moral law, as you know, is summarized within the Ten Commandments. And the Ten Commandments are further summarized by the two great commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, ESV). Disciples of Jesus are to keep God’s law, not to be saved, but because they are saved. We are to obey God’s law, not to earn God’s love and favor, but because he has freely and graciously bestowed his love and favor upon us. Christians are to keep God’s law, not in thier own strength but with the strngth that God provides. God has regenrated his people and he gives them his Holy Spirit to make them willing and able to keep his commandments. 

Luke brought these two great commandments to the forefront of his gospel through the story of Jesus’ interaction with the lawyer as recorded in Luke 10:25-29. After this, we find the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which helps us to understand what it means to keep the second great commandment, to love neighbor as self. And after this, we find a story about the sisters, Mary and Martha, followed by Jesus’ teaching about prayer. As I have said in previous sermons, I believe that the story about Mary and Martha and Jesus’ teaching about prayer is meant to teach us something about what it means to love God and to stir us to do so from the heart. 

What did we learn about loving God with all the heart, soul, strength, and mind from the story about the sisters? Those who love God truly will love Jesus Christ. Those who love God will sit at the feet of Jesus to receive his teaching. The lawyer stood to put Jesus to the test (Luke 10:25). But Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to listen to his teaching. Furthermore, those who love God will serve Jesus and his disciples as Martha did. But in that story about the sisters, we are taught that sitting at Jesus’ feet to receive his Word takes precedence over devoting ourselves to service. Both Mary and Martha are to be commended. The Christian is to imitate Mary in her sitting and Martha in her serving. But sitting at the feet of Jesus to receive his teaching is the good portion that must not be neglected. Our service of Christ must flow from our communion with him. Considered in terms of the two great commandments, the command to love God is first and greater than the command to love neighbor. Neither should be neglected but the order must be maintained.

And what have we learned about loving God with all the heart, soul, strength, and mind from Jesus’ teaching about prayer? We have learned that those who love God will commune with him in prayer. More than this, Christ has taught us how to pray. He said, “When you pray, say, ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2–4, ESV). This prayer, which is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, is to function as a pattern or guide for us. Here the Lord directs us concerning the things we should pray for and in what order. Brothers and sisters, the Christian life is to be a prayerful life. And if we wish to pray well, we must not neglect this prayer that Christ has given to us as a pattern or guide.

Notice, that after Jesus presented his disciples with this pattern for prayer, he taught them more about the practice of prayer. Here in Luke 11:5-13, Jesus instructs us concerning the perspective we are to have while praying. Teach us to pray, was the request. First, Christ presented a model or pattern to follow. But here in the passage that is open before us today, Christ teaches us about the perspective we should have in prayer. What should we think and feel about God as we approach him in prayer? Does he hear us? Does he care for us? Is he eager to help us? These are the kinds of questions that Jesus answers here in this passage. 

Stated differently, I do believe that the main objective of this passage is to teach us to draw near to “draw near to God, with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, [who is] able and ready to help us…” (see Baptist Catechism 107). In a way, I see this teaching of Jesus, as found in Luke 11:5-13, as an explanation of what it means to pray to God as Father. If it is true for those in Christ Jesus that God is our Father in heaven, how then should we pray? What kind of mindset or perspective should we bring to prayer? Should we think of God as being distant? Should we think of him as disinterested? Should we feel as if we are a nuisance to him? Should we think that if we are to get what we want from God we must pester him with our prayers as if to twist his arm? No, when Christ taught us to pray to God as our Father in heaven, it was an invitation to “draw near to God, with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, [who is] able and ready to help us…” This is implied by the name “Father” (Luke 11:2). Here in the passage open before us, Jesus explicitly teaches this.  

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When You Pray, Draw Near To God, As Children To A Father, Who Is Able And Ready To Help Us

I have drawn three points from this text. The first is this: When you pray, you must draw near to God, as children to a Father, who is able and ready to help us. 

Good fathers love to give good gifts to their children. Good fathers are accessible to their children. Good fathers are delighted when their children approach them for assistance. Good fathers will give good gifts to their children according to their ability. And your heavenly Father is a good Father.  He is ready and willing to give good gifts to his adopted children. And he is able. I wonder, is this your perspective? When you pray, do you see God like this? Do you know him to be your good Father in heaven, who is ready and able to give good gifts to you, his beloved child?

Jesus teaches us to pray with this perspective by presenting us with a couple of illustrations. 

The Story Of The Impudent Friend

First, in verses 5-8 we find a story about a man in need approaching a friend for assistance. Jesus asked his disciples, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’…” (Luke 11:5–6, ESV). 

Can you picture the scenario? A man has a friend arrive at his home unexpectedly. This friend of his has been on a long journey and he is hungry. The right thing for this man to do is to receive this friend of his into his home to feed him and show him hospitality. By the way, we should not forget the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the story about Martha serving Jesus and his disciples as they journeyed. The importance of showing kindness and hospitality to those in need in obedience to the second great commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself, has just been stressed in Luke’s gospel. And so, this man’s need was real. His friend had come to him. It was necessary to show him hospitality. And he did not have daily bread to share. And so he went to another “friend” to ask for help. 

In verse 7 we find the response of the “friend” who was awakened at midnight. He answered from within the house, “Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything?” 

Notice a few things about this story. One, the reluctant friend was sleeping. He was tired. He was warm in bed. Selfishly, he did not want to be disturbed. Two, as was common in those days, his family in bed with him. To get up to fetch his friend some bread would disturb the whole household. Certainly, it is understandable that he was somewhat annoyed with the request. Three, nevertheless, I think most people would respond to this story by saying, some friend this is! With friends like this, who needs enemies? And that, I think,  is the point. Though it is true that we humans grow tired and sleepy and can sometimes be selfish and self-serving, most would happily jump out of bed even at midnight to meet the legitimate need of a friend. If we are shocked by the selfish and begrudging response of this friend – stated differently, if we would expect more kindness and generosity from a friend – how much more should we expect kindness and generosity from our Father in heaven?

The story does not end here, though. Jesus goes on to say in verse 8, “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs” (Luke 11:8, ESV). The word impudence means shamelessness. The idea here is that the man shamelessly knocked and knocked, asked and asked until his selfish and begrudging friend finally got out of bed to meet his need. 

Friends, the point of this story is not that God is like this “friend”, as if he were annoyed by the prayers of his people, begrudging, and withholding, and that if we wish to get anything out of him then we must pester him with our prayers until he finally gives in. No! The meaning is the opposite. God is not like this friend. He does not sleep or slumber. He does not grow tired or weary. He is not selfish but is most generous and kind. He is not begrudging but is most benevolent. He does not withhold but freely gives good gifts to his beloved children. If we are willing to persist with impudence in asking a selfish friend to meet some need of ours, how much more should we persist in prayer with our Father in heaven?

This is the point that Christ makes in verse 9, saying, “And I tell 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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:9–10, ESV). Notice the repetition. It is there for emphasis. And notice how open our access is to the Father and how generous he is said to be. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

This story that Jesus tells about the two friends and their midnight encounter teaches us to be persistent in prayer. And this is not the only place in Scripture where we are taught to be persistent in prayer. Christians are to “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2, ESV). We are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, ESV). We “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1, ESV). Yes, we are to be persistent in prayer. And this story about the impudent friend encourages us to do this very thing. But more than this, I do believe that this story is meant to affect our perspective of God in prayer.  God is not like this sleepy and selfish friend! No, he is our Father in heaven. He never sleeps or slumbers. He is ready and able to give good gifts to his children and to help us in our need.   

Good Fathers Give Good Gifts

This brings us to the second illustration. In verse 11 Jesus asks, “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13, ESV).

I trust you can see why I said this entire passage is about the perspective we are to have of our Father in heaven. Most earthly fathers, sinful as we are, are eager to give good gifts to their children. If a child asks his earthly father for something good and reasonable like a morsel of bread, a fish, or an egg, he will gladly and freely give that good thing. No earthly father would give something dangerous or damaging instead. This is even true of very wicked men. Even they, though they might be very cruel to others, will show kindness to their own children.  “How much more”, Jesus says, will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

“How much more…” That is the phrase that binds these two stories together. If a sinful and selfish man will rise up to give bread to his impudent friend in the middle of the night, how much more will your heavenly Father freely give to those who ask, seek, and knock at his door? And if sinful, earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will the heavenly Father give good gifts to his children when they ask?

Application

Brothers and sisters, what is the perspective that you have of God when you come to him in prayer? What do you think of him? I do hope that you pray according to the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer. I hope you pray that God be glorified, that his kingdom come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I hope you pray for daily bread, for the forgiveness of sins, and to be kept from, or given victory over, temptation. But your thoughts concerning God must be right and true. When you call him Father, you are to think of him as loving, accessible, and kind. You must know that he is ready and able to help you. He is eager to give good gifts to you as you come to him in prayer. If your thoughts concerning God are amiss – if you think of him as distant, cold, or begrudging – worse yet, if you think of him as cruel – as one who would give a scorpion instead of an egg, or a snake instead of a fish – it is time for you to repent of these wrongheaded notions of God and to replace them with the truth as revealed in God’s Holy Word.       

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When You Pray To God The Father, Be Sure That You Are Asking For Good Things

My first point drawn from the text is, that when you pray, you must draw near to God, as children to a Father, who is able and ready to help us. My second point is, that when you pray, you must be sure to ask God the Father for good things. 

Never should a Christian ask God for evil or sinful things. That is so obvious it hardly needs to be said. 

And neither should Christians ask God for good things so that they might spend it on their passions. James warns against this. First, he says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” And then he adds, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:2–3, ESV). It is good to have work and the wisdom, health, and strength to do it. It is good to have money, food, clothing, and shelter. There are many things in this life that are good gifts from God. But to ask God for these good gifts so that we might spend it on our passions is to ask amiss. 

What does it mean to ask for good things from God, then? Well, those who are godly will pray from the heart according to the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. Not only will they pray for the variety of things that Christ has taught us to pray for, but they will also pray for them in the order in which they are given to us by our Lord. The priorities of the Lord’s Prayer will match the priorities of their hearts. 

Those who are worldly will sometimes pray, but when they pray they will often pray only for bread. And rarely will it be daily bread that they pray for, but an abundance of bread. And when they pray for an abundance of bread, it will not be to share it with those in need, but to feast upon it themselves being driven by gluttonous passion. 

When the goldy pray, they will not pray first for daily bread. Their first and highest to concern will ber to give thanks and praise to God. After this, they will express their concern for the furtherance of Christ’s kingdom. After this, they will ask the Lord to make them ready and willing to obey his revealed will, as the elect angels do in heaven, and for contentment and humility to submit to God hidden will for them, as Christ did in the garden, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42, ESV). And only after praying that God be glorified, that his kingdom come, and his will be done, will the godly be concerned with bread. And it is to be daily bread that we are concerned about. Give us, O God, what we need to live so that we might worship and serve you in thankfulness all the days you have ordained for us. Can you see the difference between praying for daily bread so that you might spend it on your passions and praying for daily bread so that we might be sustained in the worship and service of God?  

Dear brothers and sisters, God does invite us to pray for daily bread. He invites us to bring our cares and concerns to him. It is right that we pray for things like work, health, food, shelter, and clothing for ourselves and those we love. It is right that we pray for peace and prosperity in the land. These are good things to pray for. But followers of Jesus Christ must know that these things are not the best things. The very best things have to do with the glory of God, the furtherance of  Christ’s eternal kingdom, obedience to his revealed will, and the accomplishment of his hidden will, that is to say, his eternal decree. 

To illustrate I’ll ask, when you pray, what do you spend more time praying for? Health concerns or growth in holiness? And when you pray for healing, do you also pray that God would be glorified through the suffering and that men and women would be sanctified in the trial? 

I do believe that one of the secrets of a powerful prayer life is to first align our heart with the heart of God. What is God doing in the world? What is he most concerned with? What promises has he made? What is the mission he has given to us? These are the things we ought to concern ourselves with in prayer. 

I could pile up many passages of Scripture to prove the point.   

Matthew 6:31-33 comes to mind. There Christ says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33, ESV)

There are many passages of Scripture that invite followers of Christ to pray boldly knowing that they will receive what they ask for. Carnal, worldly men think this is a blank check – an invitation to approach God as if he were a genie in a bottle. The thing they overlook is that it is the disciples of Jesus who are invited to pray with such boldness. And what is assumed in all of these passages? The assumption is that disciples of Jesus will have hearts, minds, and wills surrendered to God and Christ. 

In Matthew 21:22 Jesus speaks to his followers, saying, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” 

In Mark 11:24, Jesus speaks to his disciples, saying, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

In John 14:13 we hear our Lord say, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” 

In John 15:7 he says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 

In John 15:16 Christ speaks to his followers, saying, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

1 John 3:22 says, “and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” 

In prayer, we do not bend God’s will to bring it into conformity with ours. To the contrary, when we pray, we must first surrender our will to his! Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, we say. And then, having surrendered to God and having conformed our desires to his, we offer up our heartfelt desires to him. 

Baptist Catechim Q. 105 asks, What is Prayer? Answer: Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, believing, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies. Are we free to bring our desires to God in prayer? Yes, of course. But we are to do so being led by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to help us pray for things agreeable to God’s revealed will. And we are we are to pray in the name of Jesus, that is to say, by his power and under his authority. Friends, those who truly love God and have Christ as Lord will bring their desires to God and prayer and it should be no surprise that their desires, plans, and purposes will align with God’s desires, plans, and purposes. 

Perhaps another way to say this is that the Christian is to pray for good things, but a Christian’s understanding of what is truly good will be different from that of one who is worldly. The worldly person will only be concerned with the things of this world – health, wealth, prosperity, and pleasure. But the true Christian will see other things as being of supreme value and importance. When the Christian is exhorted to pray for good things, their mind will, by God’s grace, naturally go to things having to do with the glory of God, the furtherance of his eternal kingdom, the salvation of sinners, and the sanctification of saints.      

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When You Pray, Know That God Always Gives Good Gifts To His Children

My third and final point is, that when you pray, you must know that God always gives good gifts to his children. 

Again, to see this you must adopt God’s perspective concerning what is good. The carnal man will only think of earthly goods. The godly, spiritual man will think first of the heavenly and eternal goods that are ours in Christ Jesus, and of earthly goods second.   

This point is brought out powerfully at the very end of our passage. Verse 13 says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13, ESV). Instead of saying “good gifts” Christ says “the Holy Spirit”. What is the meaning of this? By inserting the phrase “the Holy Spirit” in the place of the phrase “good gifts” Christ directs our attention to the greatest gift of all – the Holy Spirit and all of the benefits he bestows. 

John Calvin comments on this, saying, “Instead of good things (ἀγαθὰ) in the last clause, Luke says the Holy Spirit. This does not exclude other benefits, but points out what we ought chiefly to ask: for we ought never to forget the exhortation, Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all other things shall be added to you, (Matth. 6:33.) It is the duty of the children of God, when they engage in prayer, to strip themselves of earthly affections, and to rise to meditation on the spiritual life. In this way, they will set little value on food and clothing, as compared to the earnest and pledge of their adoption, (Rom. 8:15; Eph. 1:14:) and when God has given so valuable a treasure, he will not refuse smaller favours” (John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, vol. 1, 354).

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Conclusion

I have said this passage is about the perspective or view that we have of God when we approach him in prayer, and so it is.  We must view him as our heavenly Father who is ready and able to give good gifts to his children and to help us in our need. It seems to me that one of the greatest challenges is when we bring good and reasonable requests to God and they seem to go unanswered. It is in moments like these that God’s people are tempted to think that God is absent, distant, disinterested, or unable to help us. In reality, God’s plans might simply be differnt than yours. Or maybe his plans agree with yours, but his timing is different. Whatever the case may be, by faith, we confess that God’s plans are always perfect, holy, wise, and good. And so we must rest in him. We must trust that our heavenly Father will give good gifts to his children in this life and in the life to come.