Lord, Teach Us to Pray (Part 2)

II. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray," Part 2

A. Last week, we looked at the Lord's Prayer as a model prayer, and as a prayer we can use. Today, we look at the parables Jesus used to teach about prayer. Really, we have two parables with a promise of God sandwiched between them. The parables explain the promise.

B. We don't think of Jesus having a sense of humor. But both of the parables about prayer are really jokes. Sometimes we read the Scriptures so seriously that we miss the joke. "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

Nobody likes being awakened in the middle of the night. I've received phone calls in the middle of the night, someone telling me that someone had died. That's serious, and there's a good reason for the call. But in Jesus' parable, the reason isn't that good. Imagine someone at your front door at midnight asking, "Can I have some bread. I had a guest that just dropped in." You would have good reason to ask, "Why do you have to feed your guest now at 2:00 a.m.?" "Are you on a strange diet that you don't have any food in the house?" "Your guest will survive for five hours while you wait for the stores to open." Today we'd tell the person at the door to run to town and go to Kwik Trip or Econofoods. Jesus says, you won't give the person food because he's your friend, (or even because the request was especially urgent), but because he had the boldness to wake you and your whole family in the middle of the night.

C. A person with some restraint might say, "I can't ask my neighbor for bread at this hour." But the man is bold. He needs the bread, right then, and he asks, not worrying about any shame or embarrassment. Now- remember Jesus is teaching us about prayer. How do you pray? Are you bold, like the man who comes to your doorstep at midnight, asking for bread? Or are you ashamed to bring your requests to God, who has promised to hear you? Orson Welles once said, "I don't pray because I don't want to bore God" (http://www.comedy-zone.net/quotes/Human_... ). God isn't bored. Jesus told us that our heavenly Father isn't bored with providing for the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. He isn't bored with the prayers of the people he created, that he redeemed with the blood of his Son. He isn't bored with the prayers of the people he calls his children. Remember, he taught us to call on him as "Our Father." He has done a lot of work to make us his children. He is interested. We can make our requests boldly.

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