Knock and it will be opened to you

Luke 11:1-13 NASB

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." And He said to them, "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 also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’"
Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"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. "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? "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?"


My thoughts -

I don't like to pray. That's not really true. I do like to pray, in a way. There's just ways that I don't like to pray. It's not necessarily that there's anything wrong with praying these ways. I am just not comfortable with them.

First, I don't like to pray in front of people. I don't know why. I just feel self conscious in front of others. If I'm with other believers I feel like my prayers are stupid, simple, and weak. They lack a certain sophistication you often hear. I don't do well with the flowery language. I don't "beseech" well.

When I was in high school we did events called "See You At The Pole" each year. Each year groups of believing students would meet at the flag pole before school and pray. It was at one of these events that I first discovered how inadequate my prayers were. I just couldn't keep up with some of these students. They used such beautiful language. They described God in a variety of ways. They prayed with intensity. They prayed with passion. I had none of these things. I probably prayed aloud for 15, maybe 20 seconds and then said "amen" and sheepishly walked away. I just couldn't hang with the "big boys and girls" of prayer there.

This problem has followed me over the years. Every time I am asked to pray in front of others I recall my own inadequacy. I wonder if everyone can see it. I fear they'll see right through me and know, when it comes to prayer, that I am a fraud.

But then look at Jesus's prayer here:

Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. ‘Give us each day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.

Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray with a prayer that is not that long. It's not that flowery. It's not that complicated. It's actually pretty simple. It's beautiful, sure, but it is beautiful in its simplicity.

Let's look at this same exchange as recorded in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:5-13 NASB

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
"Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

So all of those words I don't use, all of the flowery language I am uncomfortable with, the anxiety I feel praying in front of others, they don't seem to be that big of a deal here, do they? Sure, I should be more comfortable going to God in prayer. What others may think about how I pray shouldn't matter to me. I don't believe it matters to God. In fact, I get the impression here that if I pray to impress others then I'm doing it wrong. If my prayers are impressive to others that's all they're good for. That sort of thing does not impress God.

Now, the other issue I have with prayer. I hate to ask for things from God. I get the feeling that what I think I need, that what's troubling me, that all of my issues are cosmically insignificant. Doesn't God have better things to do than listen to my issues? Doesn't God have more pressing concerns?

Yet in this passage from Luke Jesus is telling his followers that not only should they, when they pray, go to God with their needs, but they should pester God. Sure, God is the Creator/Sustainer of the entire universe. But God is also our good and loving Heavenly Father. The author of time itself is not bound by time. It's not like, in hearing my prayers, God will somehow not have time to do other things. That kind of thinking is nonsensical.

Jesus is telling his followers to go to God with their concerns. To go to God with their problems. To go to God with their needs. And Jesus assures them, and us, that God will listen. And that God will, in love, give us good things. We who are sinners give good gifts to those we love. God, who is perfect and loves perfectly does so even more.

All of my hang ups about prayer, when tested against the teachings of Jesus, don't make much sense.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9