Wow. It’s amazing how a whole week flies by. Anyways, I reckon it’s time to finish up this series before I forget what I said.
Just for review, we are looking at 4 reasons why we pray:
Let’s look at reason number four:
4. Because God Answers Prayer
In this section we looked at the parable from Luke 11:5-13. If you’re in a hurry, skip to the last few paragraphs to read about exactly how God answers our prayer.
But first, we looked at the nature of our prayer by looking at the example n verse 8. Here we see a word that gets translated as “impudence” or “boldness.” The best way to describe what this word conveys is the word “importunate - Troublesomely urgent or persistent in requesting; pressingly entreating.”
This indicates shamelessness, like a child boldly pressing and insisting his demand upon his father.
We talked a bit about the historical significance of this man’s persistent plea to his neighbor, but we spent more time talking about the promise, the principle and the premise of this parable. (Again, I borrowed heavily from MacArthur’s oulines (1, 2). He has articulated the point more clearly than I ever could.)
The Promise: (v9 - 10): “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.”
The greek here supports this idea of persistent shamelessness in our prayers. It is in the present imperative which basically reads “Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking”. In one of MacArthur’s sermons, he quotes Thomas Goodwin, the English Puritan:
“‘When you pray… you literally can go to God and say what’s on your heart and claim His promise. In fact, you can demand that He be faithful to His promise. …Sue Him for it.’ Wow! Don’t leave Him alone, pester Him with His own promise. Tell Him what He has said He’s going to do. Quote the scripture to Him, says Lloyd-Jones. And you know God delights to hear us doing it, as a father likes to see this element in his own child who has obviously been listening to what his father has been saying. It pleases him.
Lloyd-Jones goes on and says, ‘The child may be slightly impertinent. It doesn’t matter, the father likes it in spite of that and God is our Father and He loves us and He likes to hear us pleading His own promises, quoting His own words to Him and saying in the light of this, can You refrain? It delights the heart of God, sue Him.’”
It is important to remember, of course, that this is not a blank check to demand of God whatever it is we want. We are praying for His will to be done – not ours.
The Principle (v11-12): Fathers do good to their children, and God is our Father. How much better will he give to us?
If we look at the examples in this text, as well as those in the Sermon on the Mount, of how earthly father’s give to their sons, we learn that by asking of God, we will not be put in danger, you will not be mocked, and your need will be met.
The Premise (v13); “How much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
On Sunday, we talked about how this statement is different than the one he makes in Matthew 7:11 - Matthew 7:11 – “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Here, it doesn’t say that he gives good things, but rather, He gives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit? What does that have to do with anything? I’d rather have the “good things!” Wouldn’t I? Is this statement limiting the one made in Matthew?
Absolutely not. In fact, it is rather a more specific statement. Earthly fathers provide for the immediate symptom, whereas God provides the cure. I’ll close with this, as quoted directly out of Mac Arthur’s sermon:
“When you go to ask God for whatever you ask God for, whatever it is, God gives you the Holy Spirit. Let me show you what I mean. You ask for comfort, He gave you the Comforter, right? You ask for help, He gave you the Helper. You ask for truth, He gave you the Truth teacher. You ask for power, He gave you the Spirit of power. You ask for wisdom, He gave you the Spirit of wisdom. You ask for guidance, He gave you the Guide. You ask for love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control and He gave you the Spirit whose fruit was released in your life.
You see, this is the generosity of God. You ask for the gift, He gives the giver. You ask for the effect, He gives the cause. You ask for the product, He gives the source. Is that generosity? He gives you according to His riches, not out of His riches. You ask God, as it were, going to the bank, you ask for some money, He gives you the bank. That’s the point. I’ll just give you the Holy Spirit, then you’ve got it all because out of the Holy Spirit comes power. Out of the Holy Spirit comes the anointing which teaches you all things. Out of the Holy Spirit comes the giftedness, out of the Holy Spirit comes the fruit, out of the Holy Spirit comes the direction and the guidance. From the work of the Holy Spirit comes everything.”
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