Luke 11:1-13

11He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” 5And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If 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!”

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SERMON NOTES on Luke 11:1-13

Several weeks before she died, my mother called; she had something very important to tell me.  She revealed that everything she had prayed for in life had come to be and wanted me to be aware of the power of prayer!  “Some prayers took years, but they all came true. I want you to know that prayer really works.”  Now, my mother was not one to exaggerate nor did she share her personal thoughts easily.  I took what she said to heart.  I believed.

Years later, I received a call from my son-in-law that my 9 month pregnant daughter was in the hospital.  I hardly paid attention to him as I searched for my airline timetable.  However, when I heard the words that my gestational diabetic daughter had lost consciousness and was found on the floor after a seizure, I was struck with terror.  My baby….My sweet daughter was in trouble! 

There was only one plane left that late afternoon that linked to a connecting flight for her California city.  And I had less than 45 minutes to make it to the airport.  I made a reservation, grabbed my handbag, left orders with my secretary, called my son,  and drove like that proverbial bat out of .......all the while crying and praying.  I had never prayed as hard.  Within 15 minutes of the airport, I was suddenly flooded with the most peaceful feeling, my tears dried up…..I was in wonder.  During the connecting flight I called and learned it was at the time of that great peace my daughter gave birth to a healthy child.   

The Barna Group published the following survey on prayer in the U.S.:

           88% of Americans Pray

• 82% believe in the healing power of prayer

  78% say prayer is an important part of daily life

  63% pray often

  25% pray occasionally

  65% believe they have had specific prayers answered

A UK survey of Christian reveals experiences in and attitudes to prayer:

• Believe God answers prayer 93%

• Believe they have experienced answered prayer 86%

For more interesting statistics: http://www.eauk.org/slipstream/resources/prayer-life.cfm

Looking at these two findings, one gathers most people believe prayer works (U.S.-65%, U.K.-86%)

I wonder how many in your congregations believe in the positive results of prayer?  What about you? 

Great article on the efficacy of prayer:  Prayer for Rain 2006 in Lubbock Texas:

On July 30, 2006, Mayor Miller, the City Council, County Judge Head, and the County Commissioners Court called the South Plains to pray and fast for rain based on dismal summer projections for the cotton crop and other water concerns.  There was and undeniable turn-around:  The first 7 months of 2006 recorded an average of .69 inches below normal each month – August recorded .99 above normal.  Both of these statistics reflect an average of the 40 reporting stations on the South Plains.  Then, the rain on Sunday, September 3, 2006 set a record for that date in history of total rainfall.  It also was the wettest single day since June 2000.  Since records have been kept (1911) it is the 60th wettest single day on record in Lubbock! 

Recent scientific experiments fluctuate in their answer to the effectiveness of prayer.  Most showed positive effects:

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/prayer.html

In answer to the question, does God answer prayers, Wikipedia stated:

Yes. God answers your prayer.

A lot of time the answer is "NO".

A lot of time the answer is "Yes, but not right now."

Seems like my mom and the computer got it right.  I’m no spring chicken and some of my prayers have NOT been answered.  But then again, perhaps I wasn’t able to recognize the answer…or perhaps I didn’t place myself in the environment where the prayer could be answered.

I remember the joke on prayer:

Frank complained, “I have prayed and prayed that I would win the lottery.  Never happened!”

          Carolyn retorted, “Frank, you have to buy a ticket!”

Now, I'm not in favor of buying lottery tickets....but you get the gist.

It's like the story about the man caught in a flood.  He prayed that God would save him as he climbed onto his roof.  His son came by and shouted to his dad to jump down into the boat.  The man cried out, "Don't worry about me, God will save me."  As the water continued to rise, the police approached his house offering him a ride to safety.  Again, the man refused.  Finally when the water rose to the eaves of the roof, a helicopter flew overhead to rescue him.  "No," the man said, "I'll be all right."  Well, when he arrived in heaven, he asked God why his prayer went unanswered.  God said......"I did answer your prayer.  I sent your son, the police and finally the helicopter to save you....but you refused them."


How are you going to preach this sermon?  There is so much in the text this morning.  I chose just one aspect to discuss…..but an important one, I feel.  Please read the outstanding sermon on pg. 3.

Teach us to pray……….. Think about it.