Does prayer change anything, and is anyone on the other side even listening? Following the disciples’ request in Luke 11, “teach us to pray”, this sermon presents prayer as a conversation with the Father that, contrary to our instincts, has to be learned. The pictures of the persistent neighbour knocking at midnight and the father who would never hand his child a stone instead of bread lead to a surprising answer: God gives more than we ask for, because he gives himself. Listen if you have been knocking for a long time and no one seems to open.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- The disciples had prayed several times a day since childhood, yet they ask Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." What does this request reveal about the difference between knowing prayers and knowing how to pray?
- In Luke 11:5-13 Jesus uses the picture of a friend at midnight and a father who would not give his child a stone instead of bread. What do these two pictures teach about the character of the God we pray to?
- The speaker points out that the Lord's Prayer says "we" and "our," not "I" and "my." How does this communal perspective change the way you think about prayer and about the church?
- Sometimes we say, "I won't bother God with my own problems." Why, according to the sermon, can this attitude be an expression of pride and unbelief rather than humility?
- Jesus promises that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. What does it mean to you that God's answer in a time of trial is above all His presence, and not always what we ask for?
- What have you been praying about for a long time without a visible answer, and how can you keep "knocking" this week while also asking God for His presence?
