GOD’S PROMISE OF ANSWERED PRAYER
The majority of Americans claim to pray. So this means many seek God’s assistance or intervention for everything imaginable but many of these people are not Christians. Many may not even believe in God. But as I have written before, not every prayer is answered as desired. God wants us to pray and He will always answer persistent prayers. He knows our heart and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our heavenly Father will answer. Luke gives us some important incite about the proper attitude and approach to prayer to be effective.
Read Luke 11:5-10
In Luke 11:1 Jesus’ disciples requested that He teach them to pray, as John the Baptist had taught his disciples. Jesus’ response was to teach Hid disciples the Model Prayer (Luke 11:2-4) and giving them a parable (vv. 5-8) and some instructions (vv. 9-13). Jesus was encouraging disciples to pray persistently because of God’s goodness and His willingness to give good things to those who trust and believe in Him. However, Jesus knew the disciples (and us) need more than the words to pray. Jesus was teaching that all who pray need the proper attitude- from the heart- and the proper approach- humbly. Jesus knew His disciples needed to know how and why they should pray. One of the key aspects of prayer is that it should be done with an attitude of bold persistence.
Matthew’s account of the Model Prayer is longer and more familiar. The setting is also different; Matthew 6:9-15 is part of the Sermon on the Mount. The shorter version of the prayer in Luke was given by Jesus in response to the disciples’ request that He teach them to pray. This shows that the Model Prayer was given primarily as a model for praying rather than as a formal prayer to recite. It is important to remember that both accounts were given by Jesus.
Luke’s account of the Model Prayer (NLT) 11:2-4: Jesus said this is how you should pray. “Father, may your name be kept holy; May your kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. God has forgiven our sins; we must now forgive those who have wronged us. To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. Think of some people who have wronged you. Jesus would ask: Have you forgiven them? How will God deal with us if He treats us as we treat others?
After teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus turned to a more difficult task: to teach them the need to pray. This is the point of the parable of the friend at midnight (vv.5-8). The disciples had asked Jesus to teach them to pray, which may imply that the main need is to know what to say when praying. The key, however, is recognized the need to pray. We learn to pray by praying. The one who prays out of a sense of need is the one who truly learns to pray. The main sense of need was great. Hospitality was a sacred duty in that society; and the host had nothing to set before the hungry traveler, who arrived unexpectedly and late. The host’s sense of need was so great that he disturbed his friend and neighbor’s sleep to ask for help. “Importunity” (NRSV) in verse 8 refers to his shameless knocking at his neighbor’s door so late at night.
Verses 9-10 apply the story in verses 5-8. Just as the man’s deep need drove him to seek help from his friend, so should our need drive us to God. When it does, we can be sure God will hear us. The parable of the friend at midnight has much in common with the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. Each teaches the need for continuing in prayer. Each is told in a form which on the surface seems to imply that God must be persuaded to answer our prayers by our continual and persistent requests. This, however, misses the point in both parables. The need for persistence in praying is our need, not God’s. The point, therefore, is definitely NOT that God must be persuaded to hear our prayers by our persistence. The man in the parable was persistent because (1) his need was desperate and (2) his relationship with his neighbor was good. Prayer is persistent for the same two reasons. When the need is real, no one needs to tell us to keep praying about it. Likewise, because we know that God loves us, we continue to pray to Him even when the specific requests do not seem to be answered.
Persistence, or boldness, in prayer overcomes our insensitivity, not God’s. To practice persistence does more to change our heart and mind than God’s, and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our need. Persistence in prayer helps us recognize God’s work. So the goal of persistent prayer is not to try to convince God to see our point of view or to try to change His mind. Instead, persistent prayer is to put us in a position of humble submission and trust before God.
What kinds of results do we expect when we pray?
Read Luke 11:11-13
While still teaching on the subject of prayer, Jesus turned His attention from praying steadfastly to the subject of how God desires to answer our prayers. The analogy in verses 11-13 is like a parable. Verses 5-8 and 11-13 are “how-much-more” parables. If a friend inconvenienced himself because of persistent cries for help, “how much more” will our loving Father give us what we need? If an earthly father does his best to respond to his child’s request for something to eat, “how much more” will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (v.13).
God is the giver of every good gift. He gives many of His gifts apart from prayer, but our deepest needs can only be met through prayer. The best gift God ever gives if the gift of His presence to be with us. The gift of His Spirit’s presence and power in our lives is the best answer to prayer, and this gift is continually given even when many of our requests seem to have gone unanswered. Even though good earthly fathers make mistakes, they treat their children well. How much better our perfect heavenly Father treats His children! The most important gift Jesus could ever give us is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), whom He promised all believers after His death, resurrection, and return to heaven (John 15:26).
This points up another reason why genuine prayer is persistent. Some needs change from day to day, but communion with God is an unchanging characteristic of a life of faith. Whatever the urgency of specific petitions, the need for daily communion with God remains constant.

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