Life is tough. God
never promised this life would be free from trouble, but He did promise
to walk with us every step of the way. With God on our side, we can
stand strong.
Building Your Life On God's Promises
Lessons:
- God's Promise of Faithfulness - God is faithful in every circumstance.
- God's Promise of Eternal Life - You were created for eternal life in Christ.
- God's Promise of Provision - For those who choose to live under His care.
- God's Promise of Answered Prayer
- God's Promise of Victory
- God's Promise of a New Home
I think it's so comforting to know that we can build our lives on the promises of God. Think about it, really think about it - God promises to be faithful to you in every circumstance you face; He promises you eternal life and that you were created from the start for eternal life in Christ; He promises to provide for you everything you need, if you choose to let Him; and this week He promises to answer your prayers if you truly want Him to. Jesus will tell us today to pray with persistence and trust that God will answer. Think about that!
The Bible Meets Life
What does persistence look like?
Jacob Riis was a police reporter who used photojournalism to document the deplorable living conditions of the poor in New York City during the late 19th century. The images he captured became famous, and Riis was celebrated for his passion and concern for the poor—eventually. In the beginning, however, his efforts to convince others of the problem were not accepted. He was ignored. Yet he kept after his goal.
Years later, he spoke about what he did when he felt discouraged: “I would go and look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before together.“
Many areas of our lives call for such persistence. As we’ll see in Luke 11, this is especially true of prayer.
The majority of Americans claim to pray. We seek God’s assistance or intervention for everything imaginable, but not every prayer is answered as desired. God is not reluctant to hear us or answer us, but He knows our hearts and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our heavenly Father will answer.
Jacob Riis was a police reporter who used photojournalism to document the deplorable living conditions of the poor in New York City during the late 19th century. The images he captured became famous, and Riis was celebrated for his passion and concern for the poor—eventually. In the beginning, however, his efforts to convince others of the problem were not accepted. He was ignored. Yet he kept after his goal.
Years later, he spoke about what he did when he felt discouraged: “I would go and look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before together.“
Many areas of our lives call for such persistence. As we’ll see in Luke 11, this is especially true of prayer.
The majority of Americans claim to pray. We seek God’s assistance or intervention for everything imaginable, but not every prayer is answered as desired. God is not reluctant to hear us or answer us, but He knows our hearts and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our heavenly Father will answer.
Luke 11:5-13 (ESV)
5 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,
6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
7 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’?
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.
9 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.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 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!”
Impudence
(v. 8)—Continuing in a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or weariness. In this instance, “persistence” refers to determined and diligent prayer. The Greek term carries the sense of shameless audacity, lacking any concern for what is considered proper etiquette or appropriate behavior.
Luke 11:5-10
In Luke 5:2-4, Jesus gave the disciples a model for prayer. In doing so, He noted the importance of focusing on God’s honor and His kingdom as we pray. He also encouraged the disciples, and us, to pray that God would supply our daily provisions, forgive our sins, and help us avoid temptation.
Then, beginning in verse 5, Jesus moved from modeling what we should pray to teaching how we should pray. Verses 5-10 can be summed up in one word: persistence. We are to pray—and keep on praying.
Our culture is full of people who know what they want—and they want it now! We’re not very good at waiting on anything. That impatience tends to carry over into our daily walk with God. We take our needs to God and want Him, expect Him, to meet those needs right away. “Fix it now, God!” But God doesn’t work that way. Jesus called us to keep asking, keep searching, and keep knocking.
In our previous session, we focused on Psalm 34 and the truth that our loving and gracious God provides for us. Since that is true, why would God “hold out on us,” wanting us to keep asking? Why doesn’t He simply answer the first time? For that matter, why do we even need to ask at all? After all, Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8).
The truth is that God supplies the answers to our prayers when we need them, not just when we want them. We can trust our omniscient God to know what’s best for us, and we can also trust His timing. For those reasons, let’s not look on prayer as trying to convince God or change His mind. Instead, let’s look at persistent prayer as a vehicle to move us into a position of humble submission and trust before God.
God knows exactly what we need, and He knows exactly when we need it. Granted, our human nature will always battle against the patience God desires, but God will always reward our diligence and patience with more than we could ever hope to experience.
Luke 11:11-13
God has blessed my wife and me with four wonderful children. Each time we brought one of them home from the hospital, we couldn’t believe we could ever love someone so much. One of the great desires of my life is to provide my children with everything they need, and to do so in a loving manner. I want them to know how very important they are to me.
God wants to do the same for His children. In verses 11-13, Jesus used the picture of a father’s love for his child to help us understand and appreciate how God responds to us.
In Jesus’ day, rabbis often argued a point by reasoning from “the lesser” to “the greater.” Jesus often used that same pattern: Since “A” is true, how much more is “B” true? If a human dad can do good for his child out of his love—even though he is a fallen human being—how much more can the perfect God of the universe love us?
A loving father would never do anything to intentionally scar or harm his child. In the same way, we need never fear God’s answers to our prayers. God’s perfect love for us far exceeds any love even the best human parent can offer. And when God gives to us, He does so out of His matchless love for us. Therefore, you can cast “all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7).
God not only provides for us as a loving Father, but He gives us His very best. “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (v. 13).
Jesus’ pronouncement surely surprised His disciples. First, the Jews did not address God as their Father. To pray to God as “Father” was to invite a relationship and intimacy not taught by the rabbis. Second, the presence of the Holy Spirit was seen in the Old Testament as a blessing for only a few special people. Yet now this wonderful gift—the presence of God Himself—would be available to all who sought Him and asked. How incredible!
God can give us no greater gift than Himself. When we approach Jesus by faith, we become part of His family: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Rom. 8:14-15).
Jesus invites us to bring our needs and requests to God through prayer. At times, we will need to keep asking, keep searching, and keep knocking. But we can do so in the confidence that, when God answers, He will answer out of His infinite goodness.
LIVE IT OUT
Are you ready to make a commitment to live as a person of persistent prayer? Consider the following suggestions for moving in that direction this week:
Use the model prayer.
Write out the model prayer found in Luke 11:2-4. Personalize the prayer with your name and the specific needs you’re currently facing. Use those verses as a guide for your regular experiences with prayer.
Start a prayer journal.
Keep a journal of your conversations with God throughout the day. Record your prayer needs, but also record what you hear from God during these conversations. Be sure to also keep track of how God answers your prayers. Over time, such a journal will become an encouraging reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Be a model of prayer.
Look for opportunities to pray with others throughout the week. Invite people to join you as you connect with God. In doing so, you can model what you have learned about effective and persistent prayer.
What does persistence look like? It looks like the children of God continually approaching their Father to express their needs and bask in His love. That’s the opportunity we’ve all been given, and that’s the opportunity we should all embrace.
Our Lesson Today:
Video: When I was little, Kellogg’s did a series of commercials for their popular Corn Pops cereal that featured an animated cowboy called Big Yella. As his name suggested, he liked everything big and yellow. He was actually a rather diminutive fellow, but he wore a big yellow cowboy hat and dressed in yellow clothing. The commercials showed him bragging about his assorted big and yellow possessions, and then he would say, “But the big yellow thing I like best is Kellogg’s Corn Pops!” One commercial showed a little boy sitting on his front step eating a bowl of Corn Pops. Big Yella walked up to him and offered to trade his assorted big yellow possessions for a bowl of the cereal. He offered the boy his flashlight, his radio, his guitar, but the boy declined.
Finally, in frustration, Big Yella asked, “What do I have to do get a bowl of those Kellogg’s Corn Pops?” The boy replied, “Just ask!” With obvious sarcasm, Big Yella said, “You drive a hard bargain!”
Many times we try to bargain with God. We make various promises to Him if He will just grant us some favor or another. We wonder what we have to do to get God’s attention. I often wonder if God shakes His head and says, “Just ask!” We try every little strategy and gimmick and trick under the sun, but we often forget to pray. If you have a special need in your life, lay it before God in prayer. Pray persistently – and keep on praying until God gives you a definite answer. He does not always answer prayers in the way we desire, but He does always answer prayers. We can always trust Him to do what is best.
The majority of Americans claim to pray. We seek God’s assistance or intervention for everything imaginable, but not every prayer is answered as desired. God is not reluctant to hear us or answer us, but He knows our hearts and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our heavenly Father will answer.
What is an Answered Prayer?
The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them how to pray
Lesson Point: God always answers persistent prayer.
I. Keep Asking because God Will Answer
Luke 11:5-10 (NIV) Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
An illustration. Jesus told a parable about a friend knocking on one’s door at midnight to request three loaves of bread.
Why would anyone make such a request at that hour?
Why did the other man not want to help him?
Why did the friend eventually grant the man’s request?
What three cause-and-effect connections did Jesus use in verses 9 and 10?
Why was the man persistent (bold) in this passage?
What’s the parallel between this man’s persistence and why we should be persistent?
Pray persistently - God often makes us wait.
a. Sometimes He delays to see if we are serious about our requests.
b. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of waiting for His timing.
What keeps us from praying with persistently and patiently?
II. God’s Answers Are Good – You Have To Trust That
What kinds of gifts have people given that appeared to be good but turned out to bring harm to the recipient?
Listen for examples of good and bad gifts.
Luke 11:11-13 (NIV) "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
What is the contrasting point Jesus makes with this parable?
What descriptive words or phrases are given about human fathers?
The snake and scorpion, which Jesus suggests a parent would not give … what do these represent?
So what does this suggest that God does not give us some of the things we might ask for?
What characteristics of God make it likely that He will give His praying children what they need?
Trust God to answer out of His goodness. (verses 11-13)
God always answers prayer, but not always as we desire.
a. Sometimes He fails to answer our prayers because our hearts and our motives are not right (James 4:3).
b. Sometimes our prayers are not according to His will. We must remember that we are His servants, not the other way around.
We don’t always know what’s best for us, but He does.
a. Even the most loving father does not give his children things that he knows will harm them. b. When God doesn’t give us what we want, we have to trust that He knows what He is doing.
Conclusion – God is not capricious. He still answers prayers. If it seems that all of the answers you get are “no” or “wait”, perhaps you are asking for the wrong things. Maybe you’ve been praying for the right thing for years or even decades; don’t give up! There may be a lesson for you in the persistence of your prayer. Trust that God will do the right thing.
See you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
Our Lesson Today:
GOD'S PROMISE OF ANSWERED PRAYER
Click Here to Watch
Video: When I was little, Kellogg’s did a series of commercials for their popular Corn Pops cereal that featured an animated cowboy called Big Yella. As his name suggested, he liked everything big and yellow. He was actually a rather diminutive fellow, but he wore a big yellow cowboy hat and dressed in yellow clothing. The commercials showed him bragging about his assorted big and yellow possessions, and then he would say, “But the big yellow thing I like best is Kellogg’s Corn Pops!” One commercial showed a little boy sitting on his front step eating a bowl of Corn Pops. Big Yella walked up to him and offered to trade his assorted big yellow possessions for a bowl of the cereal. He offered the boy his flashlight, his radio, his guitar, but the boy declined.
Finally, in frustration, Big Yella asked, “What do I have to do get a bowl of those Kellogg’s Corn Pops?” The boy replied, “Just ask!” With obvious sarcasm, Big Yella said, “You drive a hard bargain!”
Many times we try to bargain with God. We make various promises to Him if He will just grant us some favor or another. We wonder what we have to do to get God’s attention. I often wonder if God shakes His head and says, “Just ask!” We try every little strategy and gimmick and trick under the sun, but we often forget to pray. If you have a special need in your life, lay it before God in prayer. Pray persistently – and keep on praying until God gives you a definite answer. He does not always answer prayers in the way we desire, but He does always answer prayers. We can always trust Him to do what is best.
The majority of Americans claim to pray. We seek God’s assistance or intervention for everything imaginable, but not every prayer is answered as desired. God is not reluctant to hear us or answer us, but He knows our hearts and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our heavenly Father will answer.
What is an Answered Prayer?
- Is an answered prayer only when it’s answered our way?
- Is this why you don’t think God answers prayer?
The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them how to pray
- He gave them the model prayer … and …
- Told a story about persistence in prayer.
Lesson Point: God always answers persistent prayer.
I. Keep Asking because God Will Answer
Luke 11:5-10 (NIV) Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
An illustration. Jesus told a parable about a friend knocking on one’s door at midnight to request three loaves of bread.
Why would anyone make such a request at that hour?
- A friend had come to visit him. In those days people often traveled at night to avoid the heat of the day.
- The host did not have any food to set before his guest. That was a serious breach of social etiquette.
Why did the other man not want to help him?
- His door was already shut. People usually left the door open all day and closed it at night with a heavy bolt.
- He and his family were in bed. In those days families usually slept in one room, so it would have been difficult for the man to open the door without waking his wife and children.
Why did the friend eventually grant the man’s request?
- The man was said to be bold, he was also persistent
What three cause-and-effect connections did Jesus use in verses 9 and 10?
- ask and it will be given
- seek and you will find
- knock and the door is opened
Why was the man persistent (bold) in this passage?
- his need was desperate (he had to feed his late arriving guests)
- he knew his neighbor well enough to impose on him
- he knew his neighbor would have what he needed
- he knew if he asked long enough, the neighbor would relent
What’s the parallel between this man’s persistence and why we should be persistent?
- our needs are often desperate
- we know that God wants us to come to Him
- we know that God has what we need
Pray persistently - God often makes us wait.
a. Sometimes He delays to see if we are serious about our requests.
b. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of waiting for His timing.
What keeps us from praying with persistently and patiently?
- Apathy, busyness, insecurity, fear, doubt, entertainment, sin, anger, ignorance, or work
II. God’s Answers Are Good – You Have To Trust That
What kinds of gifts have people given that appeared to be good but turned out to bring harm to the recipient?
- a fast and fancy car for a reckless teen
- a gift of money meant for college that got squandered on a vacation
- a set of golf clubs that ended up becoming an obsession for the golfer
- a new computer that introduced the user to internet porn
Listen for examples of good and bad gifts.
Luke 11:11-13 (NIV) "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
What is the contrasting point Jesus makes with this parable?
- Even though the man did not act with the best of motives, he still helped out his friend simply because his friend was persistent.
- If a sinful human being can be persuaded to help a friend, how much more can our loving Father be persuaded to help us?
What descriptive words or phrases are given about human fathers?
- Basically we are evil, even so we know how to give good gifts to our children
The snake and scorpion, which Jesus suggests a parent would not give … what do these represent?
- dangerous gifts, gag gifts, stupid replacements gifts which fool the child
- things not only not needed, but also dangerous
So what does this suggest that God does not give us some of the things we might ask for?
- we don’t really need some of those things
- we might not need it now
- God has some different lessons for us to learn while we persevere in prayer
- God’s timing is better than ours … our requests are better answered in a different sequence, with different timing
What characteristics of God make it likely that He will give His praying children what they need?
- God is loving and kind
- God has the power and the resources to meet our needs and has said He wants to
- He tells us to come to Him in prayer
- He demonstrates His willingness in Biblical examples and in the current events of our lives
Trust God to answer out of His goodness. (verses 11-13)
- We do not need to fear the answers God gives. The parable that Jesus gives to illustrate prayer demonstrates that God knows how to answer our requests. We can trust that He knows us and knows our future. Just because we don’t understand His answer doesn’t mean that it isn’t the right one for us.
- God gives us His Holy Spirit as a seal or promise of redemption. He has given us the best, so we can trust Him to give us all good things. James tells us “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)
God always answers prayer, but not always as we desire.
a. Sometimes He fails to answer our prayers because our hearts and our motives are not right (James 4:3).
b. Sometimes our prayers are not according to His will. We must remember that we are His servants, not the other way around.
We don’t always know what’s best for us, but He does.
a. Even the most loving father does not give his children things that he knows will harm them. b. When God doesn’t give us what we want, we have to trust that He knows what He is doing.
Conclusion – God is not capricious. He still answers prayers. If it seems that all of the answers you get are “no” or “wait”, perhaps you are asking for the wrong things. Maybe you’ve been praying for the right thing for years or even decades; don’t give up! There may be a lesson for you in the persistence of your prayer. Trust that God will do the right thing.
Prayer of Commitment
Father, I come to You in confidence in my time of need, knowing that You promise to hear me and to answer my prayers in the best way for me. I begin by asking that Your Holy Spirit fill my life. Amen.See you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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