2005 Ligonier Conference: How Should We Pray?

• thank you well I’m not sure there’s much to be said after ligan Duncan’s message what a rich rewarding treatment of the great truths of prayer my own heart was so encouraged by it but RC says I have to speak anyway so so here we go I would invite you to turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 11. I have really been asked to direct our thoughts toward how to pray and in particular that takes us to how the Lord taught us to pray and I want to choose the more brief version of this instruction by the Lord we find in Luke and I want to choose it to make a point which should become
• clear in a little while Luke chapter 11 verse 1. and it came about that while he was praying in a certain place after he had finished one of his disciples said to him Lord teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples he said to them when you pray say father Hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation a little bit of background on what’s going on in this context
• the reality of personal access to God himself on an intimate level was somewhat convoluted among the Jews in Jesus day they had been taught by the rabbis that God was far off that God was so Transcendent that they could not really experience any kind of intimate fellowship with him he was frighteningly unapproachable and they were used to realizing that no one could actually enter his presence except the high priest on the day of atonement and that only with the proper preparation God appeared on Mount Sinai the Israelites had seen his presence there
• accompanied by frightening displays of thunder and lightning and smoke and because God is after all the writer of Hebrews says a consuming fire but this had been stretched to I I think an unfair point in the Time of Our Lord because if you go back into the Old Testament it was very clear in the writing of the Old Testament that God was approachable by his people we just heard about that with regard to Daniel in that great prayer which he prayed the rabbis even said the Holy One yearns for the prayers of the righteous
• Psalm 50 and verse 15 says call upon me in the day of trouble and I will rescue you and you will honor me Psalm 91 15 when he calls to me says the Lord I will answer him Psalm 145 18 the Lord is near to all who call upon him Psalm 18 6 in my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God for help he heard my voice out of his temple in My Cry for Help before him came into his ears Psalm 65 2 says oh thou that hears prayer unto thee shall All Flesh come and there is an indication that access to God was broader even than just the Jews a midrash commentary