“LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY”
LUKE 11:1-4

I. Introduction
I have a problem with this morning’s passage, and I suspect some of you may as well. It’s the problem of familiarity. Or maybe I should say “over-familiarity.” We have it memorized. We know the words so well that we can spew them without giving them any deliberate thought at all.

In fact, the words to what is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” are so deeply imbedded in our brains that once we say, “Our Father who art in heaven…” we can pretty much shut off all conscious thought and in a moment or two out pops, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

Please don’t misunderstand. Scripture memorization is a wonderful and God-honoring thing. Many of you have engaged in it for your entire Christian lives. We should all do more of it. But even with something as good and God-blessed as memorizing His Word can be, there is a caveat associated with it. It is this: Something good can become so familiar to us that we get to the point that we don’t notice its presence. We take it for granted. It’s there. We know it. That’s enough. And that’s the problem.

Men, some of you treat your wives and children like that, don’t you? It’s not that you don’t love them. It’s not that you don’t care about them. It’s just that you’re so used to them. You know them so well. They’ve always been there and they always will. None of you get up in the morning and think to yourself, “I know my wife and kids so well that I’m just not going to give any conscious thought or particular consideration to them today. I’ll take them for granted. They’re there. I know it. That’s enough.”

But, of course, it isn’t. I’ve been guilty of that. No one knows it better than Ginny and our daughter Stacey. It isn’t deliberate. It isn’t even a conscious decision on my part. But I do it. You could say that because they’re so familiar, I’ve “memorized them.” I know them so well that I don’t need to concentrate on them. But I tell you that such “memorization” is contemptible.

Is your family so familiar to you that you’ve “memorized them?” How do you think that makes them feel? Being taken for granted hurts, doesn’t it? And this doesn’t apply sole-ly to husbands and fathers. Women and children have the very same problem. It may manifest itself a little differently, but it’s the same thing. You don’t do it on purpose, but you do it anyway. And it is contemptible.

I am convinced that godly Christians often tend to do the very same thing with the Scrip-tures that they know best. They’ve memorized them and they know them so well that they no longer have to think about them. Consider how easily you can rattle off verses like this:
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Psalm 23:1
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Psalm 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Hebrews 1:1
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

And that’s only eight of the hundreds of verses that Christians have memorized and know by heart. If we were to take the time to really ponder and meditate upon any one of these eight, we could find ourselves in a study of God’s Word that might last for months.

Consider the glory and magnitude of truth that exists in Genesis 1:1. What would be dif-ferent if that one verse were actually believed and received by a lost world? Have you ever meditated upon what it means? “In the beginning God created…”

Take a moment to think about Jesus’ words in John 14:6. “…no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” What would be different if that one verse were to penetrate the heart of each man, woman, and child on earth? Have you ever meditated upon it and allowed God’s Spirit to drive its truth deep into your soul?

What about the sheer weight of Romans 3:23. What would be different if that one verse were to convict the soul of every lost person? Have you ever meditated upon what it really means? “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

That’s just three verses. There are least 31,170 others for us to think about. But do we? Listen, God tells us to meditate upon His Word. He doesn’t tell us to memorize Scripture like children memorize their multiplication tables. Now again, I want to be very clear here so that there is no misunderstanding. It’s a good thing to have Scripture in your head. But it is a far better thing to have it in your heart.

The journey from your head to your heart isn’t far, but it’s one we need to make.
And that only happens when you pray and meditate upon God’s Word. What does it mean to meditate? It means to reflect upon something – to study it, and to ponder it.

How do you think God feels when you treat a verse or passage you’ve memorized like the multiplication tables? How do you think He feels when your head is in the game but your heart isn’t? I believe that when we do that we are treating His Word with contempt. Certainly we don’t set out to do that. It isn’t planned or deliberate.

It’s just that we’ve heard Genesis 1:1 so many times that we forget how truly awesome it is. We’ve heard John 3:16 so many times that we hardly hear it at all. We’ve heard Romans 3:23 so many times that it no longer convicts us.

We don’t want to take God’s Word for granted. We wouldn’t do that on purpose. But think for a moment – isn’t that the very core of the problem – we don’t do it on purpose?

The question I want us to ask ourselves this morning is this: Are we reflecting upon, studying, and pondering God’s Word when we recite it from memory? Of course, there are those times when we truly do meditate upon Scripture, but it’s probably less often than we’d like to admit. But listen to what the Psalmist says about the one who meditates upon God’s words.
*Psalm 1:1-3
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand it the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates (reflects, studies, ponders) day and night.
3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

*Psalm 19:14
14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

This morning’s passage in Luke presents us with a classic example of Scripture we know so well that we can, as the saying goes, “say it in our sleep.” So let’s take the time to meditate upon four verses. Let’s take the time to reflect upon, study, and ponder these amazing words from the Lord Jesus.
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II. Text
“The Lord’s Prayer” is not a scriptural title. The Bible doesn’t call it that. If there is anything that could rightly be called the Lord’s Prayer, it’s found in John 17 where Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples, and His church (you and I), before He goes to the cross.
However, for the sake of tradition, we will call Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 the Lord’s Prayer.
Jeff read it as it is recorded by Matthew in his gospel. Let me read the passage as it is translated in the KJV, the way most of us learned it and still recite it.
*Matthew 6:9-15
9 “After this manner therefore pray ye: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’”

What are we to do with that? Are we to memorize it? Well, most of us already have, haven’t we? Are we to recite it back to God? Well, it is Scripture. Of course, we can recite it. But is recitation the primary purpose for which it was given? No, no it is not. Jesus gave it is an example of how we are to pray, not what we are to pray. It provides us with a “blueprint,” if you will. Jesus gave it to us as a guide to help us frame and shape our prayers so that they will all be God-honoring and effective.

Yet many people see the Lord’s Prayer as some sort of a magic formula. They believe that the words themselves have some specific power or influence on God. But if we look at the context in which they are given, we immediately see that if anything, the exact opposite is true. Look again at the first part of what Jeff read to open the service.
*Matthew 6:5-8
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
7 “And when you are praying do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gen-tiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Therefore do not be like them; for your Father in heaven knows what you need, before you ask Him.

For devout Romans Catholics “Praying the Rosary” is a classic example of what Jesus is teaching us not to do. The Rosary contains no less than eighty-one separate, specific, and carefully scripted steps. The first and last step is “crossing yourself.” The other seventy-nine steps are required in a specific order and include single recitations of the Apostle’s Creed and the “Hail, Holy Queen…,” and six recitations of each of the Lord’s Prayer, the “Glory be…,” and the “O My Jesus….” Interspersed among those are no less than fifty three “Hail Mary’s,” and various and sundry other “announcements” and prayers that
have been prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church.

The so-called “complete Rosary,” also known as the “Dominican Rosary” requires all of that to be done three times.

But that has nothing to do with prayer as the Bible teaches it. When you and I pray, God is interested in our hearts, not in our ability to count and recite prayers that someone else has written. “…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 (Matthew 6:7).”

Listen, God calls us to pour out our hearts before Him. Here is yet another passage that I know many of you have memorized. If it is only in your head this morning, I ask you to pray and meditate upon it and let it make that journey into your heart.
*Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So Lord, teach us to pray.
*Luke 11:1-4 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
1 And it came about 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.”
2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
3 ‘Give us each day our daily bread.
4 ‘And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

There are a few major differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the “Lord’s Prayer.” For one thing, Matthew’s is longer and more detailed. It’s also somewhat more formal in that it reads much like a rhyming poem. Luke’s is less formal, more succinct and to the point, and contains fewer details.

The context in which the two accounts are found is also different. Matthew’s account has Jesus instructing masses of people during His Sermon on the Mount, but Luke’s is given solely to His disciples in response to their request to learn how to pray, not what to pray.

So how do we pray? What Jesus teaches His disciples (and us) in Luke 11:1-4 is the sim-plist pattern for how we’re to approach God. When we say, “Father,” we are acknow-ledging the fact that He is the Father of all who come to Him in the name of His Son, and apart from faith in His Son we have no access to Him at all. But how many people out there today think God will receive them into His presence some other way? How many people out there today think they can approach God in their own merit? But didn’t Jesus say, “… no one comes to the Father, but through Me (John 14:6b).”?
When we say, “Hallowed by Thy name,” we are simply saying that God’s very name is holy. But God’s name is more than merely what He is called. His name encompasses every aspect of His being, His character, His attributes, and His holiness. We are to always be careful to regard and keep His name holy in our lives and in our daily walk with Him. We are always to exalt God’s holiness and praise Him for it.
Psalm 111:9-10
9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant for-ever; Holy and awesome is His name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

When we say, “Thy kingdom come,” we may well think of Jesus’ Second Coming. I believe we should do that, but the words also carry with them the idea that we want God to rule in our hearts in the here and now, not just in the future. Isn’t the Lord Jesus our King right now? “Thy kingdom come” acknowledges our desire to humbly subject our-selves to Him and do His will, not ours.

The petition to “Give us this day our daily bread” is self-explanatory, isn’t it? We are in constant need and with this statement we acknowledge God as the One who supplies all that we require to sustain our physical lives as well as our spiritual lives. But do you see something else here? The request to “give us this day” at least implies that we’re to pray for the coming day when we rise in the morning, doesn’t it?

Luke 4:4 begins with a petition for forgiveness. “And forgive us our sins, for we our-selves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” The idea is this: It is only those who have received God’s forgiveness that are able to understand it. Since God grace has for-given our offenses against Him, He expects us to understand that and extend the same grace and forgiveness to others’ for their offenses against us. That’s a whole lot easier said than done, isn’t it? But it’s what we are all called to do.

Finally, “…lead us not into temptation” acknowledges that we are sinners and prone to sin. It seems to refer to anything that could catch a careless believer unaware and lead to sin. It might be paraphrased, “Please don’t let us fall into a sin that could destroy us.”

So Jesus is teaching us that these things are the basics of all Christian prayer. We begin by acknowledging who God is, we worship and praise His absolute holiness, we submit ourselves to Him, and then and only then, do we ask Him for what we need and what we want. (How often do our prayers begin there?)

I know that Matthew 6:8 says, “…your Father in heaven knows what you need, before you ask Him.” But we are to ask Him anyway. Our doing so acknowledges that every-thing comes from Him. Finally, we are to ask Him for spiritual protection from Satan and sin. If you can take those elemental truths from Luke 11:1-4 to heart your prayer lives will instantly and dramatically improve.
III. Conclusion
I don’t want to end without reemphasizing one thing about memorizing Scripture. I’m sure that at one time or another every one of you have found yourself in a situation like this: At some point you learned a verse or a passage that went into your memory banks. It went into your head, but you never really took the time to reflect on it, to study its true meaning, or to ponder the depth and richness found in it. It’s very possible that since the day you learned it you’ve never given it another conscious thought.

You may have learned it in AWANA, or you may have heard it in a sermon that made a powerful impression on you. Maybe you read it in your devotions, or maybe you don’t even remember how you learned it, but you did.

It really doesn’t matter how it got into your head, but one way or the other, the Holy Spirit of God put it there. Then time goes by and you need a verse to help a friend, or a situation arises where you need God’s counsel, or you run headlong into a major crisis.

And all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, God speaks. The verse or passage you memorized is right there. The Holy Spirit has brought it from the deep dark corners of your mind right up to the forefront. You say, “Where did that come from? I had forgot-ten I knew that.”

God had put it in your subconscious memory, and at the right moment He brought it out. But even God’s Spirit won’t bring something from the back from the recesses of your mind that He had not previously put there.

Did you ever take an exam for which you were not prepared? Regardless of how bright you may be, you can’t remember something you never knew. I remember a Physical Geography exam I took when I was in college. We were given a map of the world that was blank except for the outline of the continents. We had to fill in the national bound-aries, the names and relative positions of the capital cities, sketch in major rivers, moun-tain ranges, and deserts. I had studied and knew it all pretty well. I was able to reach into my memory and pull out everything I needed.

But there was another part of the exam for which I wasn’t prepared. We were required to name and sketch in the major ocean currents. I hadn’t studied that. I couldn’t recall what I never knew. And neither can you! That goes for memorizing the ocean currents or the multiplication tables. And it goes for memorizing God’s written Word too.

If you don’t know it, it won’t help you. You cannot recall what you do not know. So memorize all the Scripture you can. You’ll never be sorry.

When Jesus promised the disciples that He would send His Holy Spirit after He ascended to heaven, He told them that there would be a great benefit that would accrue to the Twelve and ultimately to all of God’s people.
*John 14:23-26
23 (Jesus said), “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you.
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

God will bring to your remembrance that which you know, not that which you do not know. So again, memorize all the Scripture you can. You’re never too old to learn. But please don’t memorize verses just so you can rattle them off without thinking about them. Get them into your head so you can get them into your heart and meditate upon them.

Let me close with one other verse that is very good to memorize. “Your Word have I hid in my head that I might not sin against You.” You know it doesn’t say that.
*Psalm 119:11 (KJV)
11 Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.

Look at that verse. Think about that, reflect upon it, study it, and ponder it. Would any-thing change if you meditated upon it? What might happen if you began to consciously and deliberately hide God’s Word in your heart?

~ Pray ~

“Father, You are holy.”

“I submit myself to you and to your will.”

“Please supply everything I need.”

“Forgive me in the same way that I forgive others.”

“Keep me from sin.”