Luke 15:1-13 - 17 th January 2016, 11.30a.m. The Lord s Prayer - Ask Last week we began a 4-part series on the Lord s Prayer - a model of prayer that Jesus gave us to use when we are talking to God. And as we return to that topic, have a listen to these prayers written by different kids: Dear God, thank You for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Dear God, did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident? Dear God, please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. I love the way kids pray often, they remind us how to pray with their straight-forward, practical faith! Now last Sunday we thought together about how an essential aspect of prayer is adoration that instead of rushing to God with our agenda we stop and take time to praise Him. We focus on who He is and how great He is. And today, I want to talk about asking God for things and that wee phrase which is so familiar: give us this day our daily bread.
Remember last week, we thought a bit about the significance of how the Lord s Prayer opens Our Father in heaven. Jesus teaches us that we should pray to God as our Father. And to help us wrap our heads around that, Jesus told parables such as the Lost or Prodigal Son in Luke 15 - which shows us the kind of loving father God is. God watches over us; He longs for us to be with Him; when we turn towards him, He runs to embrace us; He always wants the best for us. Karl Rahner writes then: to lead a truly Christian life is to place one s whole being into the hands of God as confidently as a child takes the guiding hand of its father. And it s with this knowledge of God s unlimited love for us and with an attitude of humble dependence that Jesus teaches us to present our requests to God. So lets try to get to the heart of Jesus teaching, by looking at that phrase - give us this day our daily bread - word by word. First of all, give us this day our daily bread. Give. We recognize our utter dependence on God. The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it! Now, it s difficult for us with our full fridges and having probably never felt a pang of hunger to pray this with real meaning, isn t it? Unlike many in the world, we have no fear of not having anything to eat. But the truth of this prayer is that whatever
abundance may be ours, we are truly dependent upon God for everything we have and are. In asking God to give us bread for this day, we acknowledge our complete dependence upon the care and providence of God, even for the smallest things in life. In saying the word give, we are acknowledging that we are not independent, selfmade people, in control of everything, we are saying that we actually need God. Is this how you pray in humility, knowing that you need God? Next - give us this day our daily bread. It is not give me, my but give us, our. We cannot come to God for ourselves alone. It s not just about me, God has designed us to live in community - we need others, and they need us. And so we ask God to provide for others - even for our enemies. We especially ask God to provide for those who are in difficult situations or great need.and so far as we have opportunity and are able we try to answer our own prayer for others, by sharing our plenty with those who don t have. Remember what 1 John 3 says: How does God s love abide in anyone who has the world s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
I heard a lovely story this week of a shy, unassuming little guy called Billy. One February before Valentine s Day, Billy came home and told his mum he wanted to make Valentine s cards for everyone in his class. Her heart sank for Billy as he told her because she watched every day as the children from Billy s class walked home from school, talking and running, and playing, but never including Billy in their fun. She chose to remain silent, though, and to help Billy with his plan to give his classmates Valentines and for nearly three weeks, Billy and his mother made up thirty-five different cards. Valentine s Day finally arrived, and Billy excitedly loaded his hand-made Valentine s cards into his bag and bolted out the door. Mum thought it was going to be a tough day for Billy so she made his favourite biscuits for his return from school, and waited and worried - as parents do! Soon she heard children outside so she looked out the window, and sure enough, here they came laughing and playing. Billy was following behind all alone, as always. He was walking a little faster than usual, though. She waited for Billy to burst into tears as he made it to the door, but Billy walked in, right past her, and all he could say was: Not a one not a single one!
Mum s heart sank. Then Billy added, I didn t forget a one, not a single person in my class! Little Billy got it. The bottom line is: we are not to live purely for ourselves. A genuine relationship with God will compel us to look out for others. Its not all about us, so when we present God with our own needs, he wants us to include the needs of those around us also! Thirdly, give us this day our daily bread. Jesus teaches us to pray for what we need for today. Now look Jesus is not saying that we can be reckless and unwise in terms of planning for our future. But what he is emphasizing is that we are to live in faithful dependence one day at a time. Do you remember that awful song Daniel O Donnell used to sing One day at a time sweet Jesus? Well even if it was not to my taste, it was theologically spot on. God authorizes us to ask Him to give us enough for the present day. And do you know, if we would actually live this way, it would save us an immense amount of worry and anxiety. Most of us try to carry tomorrow s burden and next week s burden and next year s burden - along with today s burden. And it breaks us down. Instead, God wants us to live in the present to do today s tasks today; to endure today s struggles; to enjoy today s blessings. Look to him for what you need this day.
And fourthly, give us this day our daily bread. Bread was a staple in the diet of the Jews, and was also a powerful symbol of God s provision. Do you remember how God miraculously fed His people with bread from heaven? So Jesus is teaching us to ask for our basic physical needs. But clearly, Jesus was not telling us His disciples to pray only for bread. Good parents provide not only what their children need physically, but also for their practical, emotional, and relational needs. James tells us that God is the giver of [all these] good gifts! It is significant though that we pray for our daily bread. Not for more than we need, not for luxuries. In Janis Joplin s famous song, Mercedes Benz, she asks God not only for a luxury car, but also for a colour TV and a night on the town. And perhaps when we first approach prayer we think it s about asking for the good things of life for ourselves Lord help me win the Lottery. Greed shapes so much of our modern culture that the Lord s Prayer is actually an antidote to this wanting more and more. Paul says, My God shall fulfill every need of yours, according to his riches in glory. This assures us of a very abundant provision. Our Father does everything generously. He is never stingy in caring for his children
and often he supplies far more than we need. But we are taught to ask only for enough, daily bread ; and to be truly content with that. So we re called to live, remembering that our heavenly Father loves us with an infinite and everlasting love! Each one of us is personally dear to him. The bible says that the very hairs of our head are numbered. Not one of us is ever forgotten by God even for a moment. And this asking section of the Lord s Prayer, teaches us to come to God in a spirit of humble dependence, asking Him to provide what we need and to sustain us from day to day. We are not given license to ask for great riches, but we are encouraged to make our needs known to Him, trusting that He will provide. Daily bread is a gift from our Father in heaven - it is a sign of God s provision and love. And do you know, as we pray in this way, our perspective changes. Our Christian faith is not only about part of our life for example, Sunday mornings instead our Christian faith should be about the whole of life. Pouring out our hearts to God in this honest way enables us to see the reality of God s presence in all of our lives more deeply.
Now very quickly before I end - how are we to understand those promises in verses 9 and 10 of Luke 11: Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Does this mean that God will give us everything we ask for? In a word no. We do not get everything we ask for and we should not, and we would not want to. God is god not us. We do not have infinite wisdom well I don t; we simply don t know enough to decide how every decision will turn out and what the impact of each event in our lives, let alone in history, should be. But notice that Jesus goes on to say in verses 11-12 that a good father will not give his child a stone if he asks for bread, and will not give him a snake if he asks for a fish. Jesus draws out this truth from these illustrations in v.13: If 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! Listen we can and we need to trust God. Ask your Father for what you need and trust him to give you good things - only good things, and
to with-hold things which ultimately aren t for your greater good. As I finish remember that challenge I set us over these few weeks - to set an alarm or something each day and to take a few minutes and slowly pray The Lord s Prayer - using each line like a spring-board into other prayer. So this week, when you pray, give us this day our daily bread, honestly and fully present your needs to God. What is it that you need right now in order to continue and grow in your life as a follower of Jesus? Tell God everything the whole works and allow God to be there with you and for you each day. Let us pray.