Once we’ve committed to pursuing the “musts” in our life and acknowledged that we can’t do them without God’s input, our next step involves figuring our how to ask for that help. In other words, we can’t go forward without engaging in prayer. But, it turns out that most of us feel at a loss about how to pray.
Not to worry – we’re in good company! According to Luke 11:1-4, Jesus provides the Lord’s Prayer (a shortened version) in answer to one disciple’s request that He teach them to pray.
The interesting thing about Luke’s presentation is that Jesus goes on after giving the Our Father to talk about the need for perseverance in prayer. He cites the example of the neighbor you wake up in order to borrow some bread for a late arriving guest. What the neighbor won’t provide out of mere neighborliness, he’ll give you to keep you from bothering him late at night (Luke 11:5-8). In contrast, how much better will God provide for those who actively ask, seek, and knock at the divine door (Luke 11:9-13).
Peterson’s rendering of Luke 11:10 in the Message helps us here to see what Jesus is getting at: “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need.” In other words, this is not about buttering God up so that the Lord will feel appeased, or so that the Deity can get some other good works out of you. Instead, it hangs on acknowledging our own inadequacies and committing to recognizing that whatever success follows hinges on divine assistance.
It’s not so much that God cares about getting the glory; we need to want to give God the glory. The quality of humility we gain when we know we couldn’t have done something without the Lord is essential in our transformation into a true Kingdom builder.
On the other hand, the Lord also needs determined workers – people who won’t weary of the task despite a series of obstacles. I imagine that when you’re working around human free will, there can be a lot delays. God wants us to demonstrate a patient persistence by keeping up with prayers even when they seem to go unanswered.
Answers will come. God looks forward to proving faithfulness to each of us.
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