Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name…
And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs…
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…” (Luke 11:1-13, NKJV)
God is your Father - you are His! I know Jesus is alive, I talked with Him this morning! The reality of our relationship with Christ is not in repeating prayers and phrases, it’s in knowing Him. I talk to Him, He talks to me!
In Luke 11, one of Jesus’ disciples came to Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray!” All my life I’ve been seeking to understand the power of prayer, prayer that gets an answer. Anyone can pray. In a crisis even unbelievers will cry out and pray. It is easy to pray like this, but it is harder to have a relationship with God. All my Christian life, I’ve not only wanted to pray - I learnt to pray as a child - but I wanted to know how to get an answer to prayer, how to find power with God, so that when I pray, God will answer.
So many people know the Lord’s Prayer, they can say the prayer, they can sing it - but they don’t know the reality. I want you to read Luke 11, because Jesus did not end with the ‘Amen’ of the prayer, but actually continued, “Which of you has a friend and shall go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come and I have no food in my house to give him.’” Remember, Jesus is still talking about prayer! Jesus says, you have no food, you go to your neighbour, you bang on the door - the neighbour says go away, it’s late, the children are asleep, go away, you’ll wake the baby. But you keep on banging, and the more you knock, the more your neighbour says, go away! Then, Jesus says, eventually, because you keep on knocking, your neighbour will get out of bed and give you what you want, not because you are a friend, but because you make so much noise in asking, because He cannot keep you quiet. Jesus said, “I say to you, ask, and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.” I want to show you the greatest lesson in prayer: don’t take no for an answer, keep on calling to God. Don’t take no for an answer, keep on asking, God will give you what you need. That applies to sickness, to every problem in your life.
I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live… The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. (Psalm 116)
We can all have this relationship with God. If you are sick, or crippled, in despair, alone, whoever you are, wherever you are - God will hear you; He will answer your prayer. The miracle of my release from a communist prison was an answer to my prayer. For 12 months I prayed. I had no ‘proof’ that God heard, other than a conviction in my spirit that He had. The miracle was so big, because of the media publicity, it changed my life. I was asked to travel all over the world, people wanted to know my story because I have a God who answers prayer - I know how to worship Him, how to praise Him. I have never been the same because of that experience. It is not about religion; it is not about ceremony. In that prison I found a new reality, a new relationship with Jesus. I know my God is alive. I know He answers prayer!
‘You Answered Me’ used by kind permission of www.vinesong.com