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.
Does God Answer My Prayers?
Teach Us to Pray
Of all the spiritual practices the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them, they chose this one: prayer. Jesus himself not only taught them how to pray, but through stories and parables he showed how humble and persistent prayer can change reality. “Breaking through to heaven”, that’s how John Ortberg described prayer, and that’s what we’ll seek to learn alongside Jesus’ disciples during Lent.
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15 sermons
