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Luke 11:1(NIV) begins, "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place." What place? In Jesus' life, it could have been anywhere! In Luke 5:16, Jesus goes to a "desolate place" to pray. In 6:12 and 9:28, Jesus prays on a mountain. In Luke 22:41, Jesus prayed just outside Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives. Jesus' own prayer life demonstrates that there is not a "best" place to pray; prayer can be offered from anywhere. From everywhere.
What should we pray about? In the next verses of Luke 11, Jesus teaches his followers to recognize the honor and power of God, to ask for needs of the Kingdom and for the needs in their own lives, both material ("our daily bread") and spiritual ("forgive us our sins" and "lead us not into temptation"). Some of the most satisfying public prayers I've ever heard were offered by a man who did not grow up in the church; in fact, he was at one point known as the "town drunk." When he became a Christian, he didn't have any memorized phrases and lofty language for prayer; he'd never been in church to learn about all that stuff! So instead of praying the way many Christians pray, he just talked to God like God was sitting there beside him and they were conversing about real life issues. All of us who were listening were carried to throne of God by his straight-forward, heart-felt prayers. His language wasn't "theological," it was real-life, and it worked for all of us! Just tell God about the needs of the world, and the needs of your life and you'll have the right content for prayer.
Using the "Parable of the Friend at Midnight, Jesus then instructed his disciples to be bold and persistent in prayer. In Jesus' parable, a family welcomed an unexpected and hungry houseguest. Having nothing to set before the guest, the father of the house went to a nearby neighbor asking, "Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him."
The request happens at midnight; the timing is terrible. The request is bold and specific - "three loaves." But the request is also complimentary. By asking, the father acknowledges that his neighbor has something he doesn't and that, despite the hour, he believes his compassionate neighbor will get out of bed and give him the bread he needs.
To drive home his point, Jesus concluded, "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. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10). In the original Greek of the New Testament, the words are present tense and should be understood as "ask and keep asking," "seek and keep seeking," and "knock and keep knocking." Prayer isn't just a "once and done," Jesus teaches, but a persistent and continuous conversation with God about the needs we experience.
Doesn't God hear the first time? Sure He does! God doesn't need to keep hearing, but He knows we need to keep asking! Prayer reminds us of our dependence on God; we need Him every moment of every day. Our prayers also prove our faith. Even when a need isn't immediately fulfilled, we believe that we can go to God again and again, knowing that He loves us and won't tire of our requests. We believe that, in His perfect timing, God will give His best answer.
In his book, When God Answers Prayer, preacher Bob Russell told about his six-year-old son's request for a cheap baseball glove from a drug store. Bob immediately said "no," to the request, planning to buy his son a much better glove for his birthday a few weeks later. Not understanding the delay, Bob's son began to cry and plead, "Please Daddy, let's buy this one."
Bob told that story in a sermon, emphasizing how God's immediate "no" sometimes leads to a much better "yes." A man who heard that sermon approached Bob more than a year later, relating how his girlfriend had jilted him and broken his heart. "But now, Bob, I want you to perform my wedding, because I've found "a better glove."
Pray and keep praying. "Ask and it will be given to you."
Mark Wilmoth
Pinehurst Christian Church, Marietta
Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org