Prayer / Luke 11:1 / Matthew 6:5-13

Well, welcome to those of you who might be joining us as guests today. Some of you know, but others may not, that we are a multi-site church, and so we have people joining us via video across our campuses and church plants around the valley. Welcome to all of you.

What I would like to do is take you on a little bit of a journey as we enter into this series on experiencing a paradigm shift. I want you to think for a moment about what it would have been like to live during the time when Jesus was on earth in His earthly ministry. Just imagine you are in the first century, walking around with Jesus. Think about how incredible that would have been.

You are walking with Jesus, and you pass a man who was blind from birth. Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, puts it on the man’s eyes, and suddenly he can see. You are walking by the temple near the pool of Bethesda, and there is a man who has been crippled for thirty-eight years. He wants to be made well. Jesus says, “Get up and walk,” and the man gets up and walks away. Can you imagine being on a boat in the Sea of Galilee when the wind and waves are raging, and Jesus hushes the storm with a single word? Or looking over at your buddy while Jesus comes walking across the water and asking, “Is He really walking on water?”

Think about sitting on a mountainside in Galilee with a massive crowd of people, saying, “Jesus, how are we going to feed all these people?” He looks at you and says, “Why don’t you give them something to eat?” You reply, “We don’t have anything except a little lunch, and that is not going to feed this crowd.” He tells you to sit everyone down. You come to Jesus, He hands you a full basket of food, and you go feed people. You come back with an empty basket, He fills it again, and you go back out. You are standing there wondering, How is He doing this? And He did that twice!

If you or I were watching someone do things like that, the very first question we would ask is, “How did you do that, and will you teach me?” But throughout the three-plus years the disciples spent around Jesus, seeing all these jaw-dropping miracles, they never once asked Him how to do any of them. They never asked how to walk on water. They never asked how to multiply loaves and fish. They never asked how to heal the blind.

In fact, there is only one time in all the Gospels where the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to do something. And it is not what you might expect.

The One Thing They Asked For

After experiencing all of these miracles, the disciples saw something even more awe-inspiring, something they desperately wanted to learn how to do just like Jesus.

Luke 11:1 (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.’

When I read that, my initial reaction is: Wait, what? Of all the supernatural things you saw Him do, that is what you want Him to teach you? Which begs the question: What did they see in His prayer life that was so captivating that they put miracles aside and said, “Teach us how to do that”?

Let’s look at the pattern Jesus demonstrated. Throughout His ministry, Jesus gave them an unmistakable model of prayer.

After a long, exhausting day of ministry—specifically after the miracle of feeding the five thousand—Matthew records what Jesus did next.

Matthew 14:23 (NASB)

After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

Mark records the exact same moment in his Gospel account.

Mark 6:46 (NASB)

After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.

Jesus modeled that after a long day of pouring out, you pull away to pray. He also demonstrated that prayer was His priority early in the morning.

Mark 1:35 (NASB)

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left [the house], and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

The crowds were hunting for Him, and Simon found Him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!” But Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhere else so I can preach there too; that is why I came.” His time with the Father clarified His mission. He wasn’t wooed by the demands or expectations of the crowd. He served an audience of One, and if the Father was pleased, that was all that mattered.

Jesus also prayed throughout the rhythm of His daily life.

Luke 5:16 (NASB)

But Jesus Himself would [often] slip away to the wilderness and pray.

It was as if Jesus blocked out time on His calendar, saying, “Hold my calls; I have work to do with My Father.” Before major decisions, Jesus prayed. In Luke 6, before choosing the twelve disciples, He spent the entire night on a mountain praying to God.

Luke 6:12 (NASB)

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

At the Transfiguration, He took Peter, James, and John up the mountain specifically to pray, and while He was praying, the glory of God was revealed. And in moments of intense crisis, Jesus prayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, facing the cross, He fell on His face in deep anguish.

Matthew 26:39 (NASB)

And He went a little beyond [them], and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’

Jesus also prayed for others facing crisis. Look at what He said to Peter right before the betrayal and denial.

Luke 22:31-32 (NASB)

‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded [permission] to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’

Jesus knew what Peter was about to endure, and He fought for him in prayer before the crisis even hit.

What Jesus Taught About Prayer

Not only did Jesus model prayer, but He also gave specific instructions on how to pray. In the Sermon on the Mount, He directly addressed the religious culture of His day.

Matthew 6:5 (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.

Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t be like those hypocrites.” In that culture, certain rabbis would stand on the busiest street corners, projecting an image of spirituality so everyone would admire them. Jesus said they already received their reward in full—the fleeting applause of men.

Matthew 6:6 (NASB)

’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.

Instead of putting on a show, Jesus told them to go into a private room, close the door, and pray to the Father in secret. The reward isn’t human recognition; the reward is enjoying the presence of God.

Matthew 6:7-8 (NASB)

’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.

You don’t need to use big theological words or repeat formulas over and over. God already knows what you need. Jesus was confronting a religious system obsessed with external posturing. Then He gave them a model.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB)

’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].’

Can I point out a bit of irony here? Jesus explicitly said, “Do not use meaningless repetition,” and what did we do? We took this beautiful model and turned it into a recited prayer that many people rattle off on autopilot without thinking about the meaning of a single word!

Later, in Luke 18, Jesus taught on the posture of persistent prayer through the parable of the unjust judge.

Luke 18:1-8 (NASB)

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, ’In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. ’There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ ’For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’’ And the Lord said, ’Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? ‘I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’

Jesus’ point is simple: If an unrighteous, corrupt judge will eventually grant justice because of a widow’s persistence, how much more will our loving, righteous Father answer His children who cry out to Him day and night? Don’t lose heart. Pray persistently. Pour out your real heart to Him.

The Great Disconnect and the Paradigm Shift

So, the disciples saw Jesus pray, and they heard Him teach on prayer. But here is the fascinating question: What did the disciples’ prayer life look like during the Gospels?

It is practically nonexistent in the text. There is not a single passage in the Gospels that records the disciples actively praying. Isn’t that wild? They asked Jesus to teach them, yet we don’t see them doing it.

Why? Because when your Life Group leader is Jesus in the flesh, you don’t feel a desperate need to pray. When things get overwhelming, you just look at Him and think, Well, You’re God. You handle it. For three-plus years, they walked beside Him without feeling the urgent necessity of personal intercession.

Then everything changed. Jesus was arrested, crucified, buried, and resurrected. And then, He ascended into heaven. Before He left, He handed them the Great Commission: “Go make disciples of all nations. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses.”

The baton of responsibility was passed to them. Suddenly, they looked around the room and realized, We do not have what it takes to do this. And that realization sparked a massive paradigm shift. When they realized their absolute inadequacy, they finally recognized their desperate need to pray.

Acts 1:14 (NASB)

These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with [the] women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

They didn’t casually say a quick prayer; they continually devoted themselves to prayer. And look at what happened as the early church was established.

Acts 2:42 (NASB)

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Every time the church faced a major step, they prayed. When appointing leaders in Acts 6, they prayed before laying hands on them.

Acts 6:6 (NASB)

And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

When Peter was imprisoned in Acts 12 and facing execution, his Life Group gathered at Mary’s house to pray fervently for his release. When God miraculously opened the prison doors and Peter showed up knocking, a servant girl named Rhoda recognized his voice and ran to tell the group. They literally told her, “You are out of your mind!” Even in their imperfect faith, they were on their knees praying, and God answered.

Acts 12:12-16 (NASB)

And when he realized [this], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, ‘It is his angel.’ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened [the door], they saw him and were amazed.

When Saul—the persecutor of the church—was struck blind on the road to Damascus, God told Ananias where to find him. The identifying mark God gave was simple: “For behold, he is praying.”

Acts 9:11 (NASB)

And the Lord [said] to him, ’Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,

Paul went from hunting Christians to crying out to God in his brokenness. And that same Paul would later write some of the most profound truths about prayer in all of Scripture.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote those words from a prison cell! He told Timothy that prayer must be of primary importance in the church.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB)

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties [and] prayers, petitions [and] thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 2:8 (NASB)

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

To the church in Thessalonica, he gave a clear command.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

“Pray without ceasing” doesn’t mean you walk around with your eyes closed all day; it means you live in continual, uninterrupted communion with God, knowing you have open access to Him at all times. In Ephesians, Paul describes prayer as the very engine of spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6:18-20 (NASB)

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and [pray] on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in [proclaiming] it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Our Need for a Paradigm Shift

When you put all of this together—what Jesus modeled, what Jesus taught, what the early church practiced, and what the apostles commanded—how does that compare to our prayer lives today?

If we are honest, most of us default to routine, repetitive, or self-centered prayers. We pray, “Lord, keep us safe, take away this sickness, remove this difficulty, make my life comfortable.” We pray as though God’s primary goal is to build a cozy, trouble-free bubble around us. But have you ever prayed, “God, if this hardship is what it takes for Your glory to be seen in my life, give me the grace to endure it well”? Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”

Many believers don’t pray at all. They would never pray out loud in a group because they don’t pray in private. And why don’t we pray? Because just like the disciples before the ascension, we often don’t feel like we really need God.

If you never share the gospel, why pray for boldness? If you never step out of your comfort zone, why pray for supernatural strength? If you never carry the spiritual weight of discipling someone or caring for the lost, you will never feel the urgency to seek God’s face. A prayerless life is ultimately a prideful life because it assumes we can manage just fine on our own.

I share this not to point a finger at you, but by way of personal confession. I am not standing here claiming to be on my knees for hours every morning. The Lord is convicting my own heart in this area. We need a collective paradigm shift. We need to become a praying church.

What would that look like practically?

• What if you showed up to church five minutes early, sat in a seat, and prayed for whoever would sit in those chairs that day?
• What if you prayed over the connect cards in the seatbacks, asking God to minister to the broken hearts who will fill them out?
• What if, when you drop your kids off at Kids Co, you prayed for their teachers and for the gospel to take root in their hearts?
• What if you took an entire service once a month, walked the campus, and just interceded for what God is doing here?
• What if our Life Groups didn’t just use prayer as a quick transition at the beginning and end, but spent real time wrestling in prayer for each other and our city?
• What if you turned off the radio on your commute and spent that time talking to God, or prayed during lunch, “Lord, put someone in my path today who needs the hope of Christ”?

It all starts with a humble heart. In Luke 18, Jesus described a Pharisee boasting in his own righteousness, while a broken tax collector beat his chest and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” It is the humble heart that God hears.

Luke 18:13-14 (NASB)

’But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ‘I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.’

Because of Jesus, we have direct access to the Father.

Hebrews 4:16 (NASB)

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we don’t know what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

Romans 8:26 (NASB)

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for [us] with groanings too deep for words;

And when we pray according to His will, we have absolute confidence that He hears us.

1 John 5:14 (NASB)

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Jesus invites us to come boldly.

Matthew 7:7-8 (NASB)

’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.

In the Old Testament, God gave King Solomon a promise that captures the enduring heart of God for His people.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB)

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

If we want to see God move in power in our families, our church, and our community, it will not happen through clever programming or great communication. It will happen when the people of God humble themselves and pray.

Let’s pray together.

Father in heaven, we come before You with honest conviction. Lord, as a pastor, I confess my own need to grow in prayer. Forgive us for our self-reliance and our pride. Stir in us a desperate hunger for Your presence. Teach us to pray. Make us a church that intercedes with boldness, persistence, and humility. We ask that You would move in our hearts, our families, and our valley in ways that only You can. We commit ourselves to seek Your face. In Jesus’ name, Amen.