god's promise of answered prayer

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GET INTO THE STUDY 10 minutes

GUIDE: Direct the group to look at the picture (PSG, p. 46).

SESSION 4

GOD’S PROMISE OF ANSWERED PRAYER

DISCUSS: Question #1 (PSG, p. 46): When have you found it pays to be

The Point

persistent?

God always answers persistent prayer.

GUIDE: Direct attention to

The Bible Meets Life

The Bible Meets Life (PSG, p. 47). Note the author’s

The majority of Americans claim

illustration of the stonecutter

to pray. We seek God’s assistance

who keeps hammering and

or intervention for everything

hammering until the stone

imaginable, but not every prayer

cracks.

is answered as desired. God is not

GUIDE: Introduce The Point (PSG, p. 47): God always

reluctant to hear us or answer us, but He knows our hearts and He knows what we truly need. Jesus taught us to pray with persistence and trust that our

answers persistent prayer.

heavenly Father will answer.

SAY: “Some of us may have

The Passage

been praying about a certain

Luke 11:5-13

need or for a certain person for

The Setting

a very, very long time.”

In Luke 11:1, Jesus’ disciples requested that He teach them to pray, as John

GUIDE: Remind the group

the Baptist had taught his disciples. Jesus responded by teaching His disciples

that in the previous session,

the Model Prayer (Luke 11:2-4) and giving them a parable (vv. 5-8) and some

they learned they could trust

instruction (vv. 9-13). Both the parable and the instruction encourage disciples

in the goodness of God.

to pray persistently in light of the goodness of God and His willingness to give

Stress that persistent prayer is

good things to those who trust and believe in Him.

grounded in the confidence that our good God is always ready to hear and answer our prayers.

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S e ss i o n 4

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Luke 11:5-10

STUDY THE BIBLE

5 He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and

goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me

Luke 11:5-10 15 minutes

three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and

I don’t have anything to offer him.’

GUIDE: Before reading the focal passage, use the Bible commentary 1 to offer

7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me!

some brief background on

The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone

verses 1-4 in which Jesus’

to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him

anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s

disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Explain that beginning with verse 5, Jesus offered a brief

persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he

parable to help His disciples,

needs.

and us, understand that

9 “So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you.

Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who

effective prayer requires determination and persistence.

READ: Ask a volunteer to read Luke 11:5-10.

searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. KEY WORD: Persistence (v. 8)—Continuing in a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or weariness. In this instance, it refers to determined and diligent prayer. The Greek term carries the sense of shameless audacity, lacking any concern for what is considered proper etiquette or appropriate behavior.

Keep asking because God will answer. 1 In the first verse of this chapter, Jesus’ disciples had asked Him to teach them how to pray. The implication is that they were asking Him what they should say when they prayed—possibly the words and phrases they were to use. But Jesus knew they also needed more than that; they needed to know the proper attitude and approach to take when praying in order to be effective. In addition to needing © 2015 LifeWay

S U G G E S T E D U S E | W E E K O F S E P T E M B E R 27

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THE POINT

God always answers persistent prayer.

GUIDE: Focus on verses 9-10. Lead the group to identify the phrases that communicate persistence in prayer. (Keep asking; Keep searching; Keep knocking.) Stress that the first cousin of persistence is patience.

DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 49): What’s the connection between patience and persistence in our relationship with God?

SAY: “To be persistent in our prayers, we must be patient.”

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S e ss i o n 4

to know what to pray, Jesus knew His disciples needed to know how and why they should pray. A key aspect of prayer is that it should be done with an attitude of bold perseverance. So after giving them a sample prayer in verses 2‑4, Jesus continued with an illustration—by way of a brief parable—about how to have the proper perspective in prayer. He gave this example no doubt to communicate to His disciples that saying the right words is not what ultimately makes prayer effective; prayer requires determination and persistence. Verse 5. Jesus told the story about any one of them who has a friend and goes to him at midnight to borrow three loaves of bread. The individual in need of the bread obviously went to his friend’s house because he was desperate to find bread at that late hour and felt that his friend was someone he could impose upon to meet his need. It is also important to note here that he was shameless in his approach; he was not shy or embarrassed about approaching his friend because his need was great. That is the same way we must go to God in prayer. Verse 6. This verse explains why the man needed to go to his friend’s house to borrow bread at that very late hour: “a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.” Hospitality was seen as a sacred duty in the ancient Near East of the first century. When visitors arrived, the host was expected to provide lodging and food. So even though the man had been surprised by an unexpected traveling friend, he had an obligation to be a good host according to the custom of that time. With his cupboard apparently bare and needing to provide his traveling guest something to eat, he saw going to another friend as the best option for meeting his need for bread, even though it was very late at night. While it would have been very unlikely because of the late hour for this man to have gone to his friend’s house to borrow something that was not necessary, in this instance he did so to borrow something that he really needed. It is easy to miss the point here that the persistent man was asking to borrow bread for his unexpected and hungry guest, not for himself. So the conclusion can be drawn that the story is an illustration about an individual interceding in prayer for someone else. But whether we are interceding for © 2015 LifeWay

someone else or praying prayers of petition for ourselves, the point is that we must persevere. And just as the man asked for bread, which he needed, we should also go to God for those things that we need. Verse 7. Even though the individual who was being asked for bread was a friend of the one asking, he responded, “Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed.” We can probably empathize with the neighbor in his thinking that the inconvenience of getting up in the middle of the night just because his friend had a crisis was more than should be expected of him. Since the whole family typically lived in a one-room house in that day, the friend at the door had most likely already awakened everyone. And if that were not bad enough, there was no way the man being bothered could get up, light a lamp, and get the bread without disturbing the whole household even further. Finally, if at that point the children still were not awake, opening the bolted door would surely have awakened them. It should be noted here that some of Jesus’ parables are told as comparisons, while other parables are used to contrast one thing with another. For example, in Matthew 13:44 the parable of the man who found a treasure buried in a field is used as a comparison to the kingdom of heaven. However, this parable in Luke 11 is one of contrast. As such, we would be mistaken if we understood it to mean that God is like the man in the story who did not want to get out of bed at midnight and give bread to his friend. On the contrary, God is completely loving and desires for us to knock on His door with our prayers. He does not find anyone who seeks Him to be troublesome and would never reply that it is too late at night and that He is not to be disturbed. So even though this parable is one of contrast, one thing can be applied as a type of comparison—that perseverance is necessary in prayer. Just as the man needing bread was not discouraged because what he needed from his friend was delayed, we also must persevere and not become discouraged when God does not answer our prayer requests right away.

GUIDE: To illustrate our human tendency to be impatient, recall the old TV commercial for Tootsie Pops® candy. The wise old owl is asked, “How many licks does it take to get to the chocolaty center of a Tootsie Pop?” The owl starts licking, “One, two, three …” Then he takes a bite from the hard candy shell, which reveals the chocolate center. And the wise old owl’s answer to the question? “Three.” Not exactly the picture of persistence or patience.

SAY: “That’s more an example of ‘I want what I want, and I want it NOW!’” (OPTION: Bring in a Tootsie Pop of your own and play out the scenario as you explain about the TV commercial. CAUTION: Don’t bite the hard shell if you think you may hurt a tooth.)

Verse 8. Jesus completed this parable by explaining that the man who did not want to get out of bed would eventually do so because of his friend’s persistence. Since the friend wanting bread simply would not take “no” for an answer, it would eventually come to the point where the annoyed man would get up and give his friend the bread he was asking for simply because he had grown tired of the persistent © 2015 LifeWay

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THE POINT

God always answers persistent prayer.

SUMMARIZE: On the surface, Jesus’ parable may look like a person is being rewarded for being demanding and impatient. But we need to look deeper to see Jesus’ focus on persistence. The goal of persistent prayer is not to try to convince God to see our point of view or to change His mind; instead, persistent prayer is a vehicle to move us into a position of humble submission and trust before God.

SAY: “Constant, persistent prayer places us in a position to rely continually upon Him.”

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S e ss i o n 4

man at his door. In fact, Jesus told His listeners that the friend will give him as much as he needs at that point in order to restore peace and quiet in his house. If persistence can accomplish the desired effect with a sleeping friend at midnight, just imagine how much more power prayer can have with God, who never sleeps and to whom we can always go with all our cares and concerns, even if it is in the middle of the night! The question as to why God often seems in no hurry to answer our prayers is no doubt an often asked question, typically when one is waiting on a prayer request to be answered. We are by nature impatient creatures, and we are easily frustrated when things do not happen for us quickly enough and on our time schedule. With this subject of perseverance and waiting on God in mind, the following are some things to consider when wrestling with this issue of being persistent when it seems that God is not answering our prayers. First, this parable is very similar to the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge found in Luke 18:1-8. While both parables seem to imply at first glance that we must continue praying so that we can persuade or convince God to answer our prayers, this is not the point of either of these parables. Instead, the key is that the need to persevere in prayer is not for God’s sake, but for our sake. So, the first reason God delays in answering our prayers and the reason we must persevere is that our diligent prayer causes us to spend more time fellowshipping with Him. His desire is always for our fellowship, and He no doubt sometimes waits to give us what we seek in prayer in order that we may have the opportunity to cultivate a deeper relationship with Him. The longer it takes for God to answer, the more opportunity we have to deepen the relationship we develop with Him if we persist in praying. And while this parable reminds us that just as the man’s desperate need for bread drove him to seek out his friend and our needs drive us to seek out God, we should not go to God in prayer only in “midnight emergencies”—as we are apt to do when crises arise—but to stay in a constant state of communication with our Heavenly Father. When that happens, a deeper relationship with Him results. Second, a similar benefit is that continuing in prayer causes us to become more like Christ. If the Lord does not answer our prayers right away, we must continue to ask, to seek, and to knock just like the man in the parable. The more © 2015 LifeWay

we do so, the more we become like Him. It isn’t that God is reluctant to meet our needs and must be persuaded; it is that our persistence in prayer gradually causes us to become more like Him and what is on His heart over time becomes more and more of what is on our hearts. Third, God desires for us to remain persistent in prayer because He wants to develop our faith. He allows us to persevere—and have the privilege of waiting on Him—for months or even years to develop our total dependence upon Him. Delays to our prayers are not necessarily denials; they are growing seasons for ripening our faith. Persistence makes our faith that much stronger and makes His answers to our prayers all that much sweeter when they come to fruition. God wants us to realize that we cannot obtain the blessing we desire any other way than to seek Him with perseverance. As a result, our faith in Him is strengthened. Fourth, God may delay in answering our prayers in order to see if we are sincere in what we are praying for. Our prayers certainly reveal what we believe to be the most important things in our lives. So if we quickly give up in praying for something, this is a clear indication that what we are praying for is not really that important to us and that we are not that serious about what we are asking for. But if we abide with God in and through prayer and do not grow weary, it shows that we are sincere about our specific desire and that it is very important to us. Finally, God sometimes allows us to wait on His answer because we are not truly ready to receive whatever it is that we are praying for when we begin praying for it. Even when we are not wise enough to realize it, God in His ultimate wisdom knows if we are ready for it or not. Sometimes, His answer is to withhold what we are asking for in order that we come to the place in our lives that we are ready to receive the blessings we seek from Him. At other times, He may not grant our requests because they are not in accordance with His will for us and/or those for whom we intercede. But even in such situations, we can trust that our perseverance will be rewarded with an answer that will be the best for us.

DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 51): What keeps us from praying more persistently? (Alternate: When has it been obvious to you that God’s timing was better than yours?)

TRANSITION: “We persist in praying because we trust that God will answer, and we trust that every answer we receive from God will be out of His goodness.”

Verse 9. Even though the parable about prayer ends in the previous verse, Jesus continued His teaching about prayer by encouraging His followers to keep praying with confidence. In this verse, Jesus said to “keep asking …. keep searching …. keep knocking.” The verse continues by proclaiming that those who ask will receive, those who seek will find, and those who continue to knock will find an open door. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the verbs used here in their original language refer to continuous actions, © 2015 LifeWay

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THE POINT

God always answers persistent prayer.

STUDY THE BIBLE Luke 11:11-13 15 minutes GUIDE: Explain that in verses 11-13 Jesus showed us how God desires to answer our prayers.

READ: Invite a volunteer to read verses 11-13.

GUIDE: Emphasize the point that if a compassionate human father desires to meet the needs of his child, how much more will our Heavenly Father provide good things to us when we pray.

not one-time activities. Thus, when we pray about something, we are to keep on asking, continue seeking, and persist in knocking. And although not expressly communicated, the obvious implication here is that we are to ask, seek, and knock with passion and fervency, not by simply repeating a memorized prayer in a mindless manner. As a footnote here, we must understand that the asking of any prayer must be in accordance with God’s will. He does not honor our requests if our prayers are for things that are contrary to His Word, and we are warned in James 4:3 that some people’s prayers are not answered because they are asked with wrong motives or to be used with evil intent. Obviously, God has no pleasure in answering those types of prayers. However, He does delight in answering the ones that are offered by those sincerely seeking Him and that are in accordance with His Word and His will. Verse 10. Jesus reemphasized His words from the previous verse here regarding our prayers. “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Some Christians feel that when their prayers are not quickly answered that for some reason they did not get through to God. But the promise Jesus gave here should encourage us to believe Him in spite of appearances. It may be that we simply have not received our answer yet. So while it may not feel that we got through to God, Jesus has already told us here that we did.

DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 53): What kinds of results do you expect when you pray?

Luke 11:11-13 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give

him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to

your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Trust God to answer out of His goodness. 54

S e ss i o n 4

© 2015 LifeWay

Verse 11. While still teaching on the subject of prayer, Jesus turned His attention from praying steadfastly to the subject of how God desires to answer our prayers. The example He used is a son asking his father for something to eat. Obviously, a father with any compassion and thoughtfulness would desire to meet the needs of one of his own children who is hungry and asks for food. First, Jesus used the illustration of a son who asks for a fish. What father would give his son a snake instead of a fish? Any decent human father loves his own child and would never answer a sincere request for something good with something evil. And if that is the case with human fathers, how much more does our Heavenly Father desire to answer our sincere prayers with good things?

GUIDE: Use the Bible commentary 2 to clarify the reference to the Holy Spirit (v. 13). (ENHANCEMENT: Use Pack Item 3: “The Holy Spirit” to give some historical background.)

DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 54): What does this passage teach us

Verse 12. Jesus gave a second example of a child asking his father for an egg. Jesus asked if the father would give him a scorpion instead. Again, He made the same point as in the previous verse that our Heavenly Father desires to give us good things, just as a loving earthly father would do. An earthly father would not play evil tricks on one of his hungry children; God would certainly not do so either. In fact, God’s love for us—His children—is infinitely stronger than any love an earthly father has for his children.

about God?

Verse 13. Jesus concluded this portion of His teaching on prayer by making the point that if His listeners (who are evil because they are sinners by nature) know how to give good gifts to their children when they ask, how much more will the heavenly Father (who is perfect and holy) desire to give His greatest gift—the Holy Spirit—to those who ask Him. God always desires to pour out His Holy Spirit on us. The problem is with our seeking Him and desiring Him. As it has been said, we have exactly as much of Him as we desire. 2 Note that the disciples at that time had not received the Holy Spirit. In fact, they would not be able to receive Him until Pentecost, when He was sent after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to indwell believers (Acts 2:1‑4). Yet Christ encouraged them to seek (in the sense of waiting on) the Holy Spirit in prayer even at that time because God desired to give Him. Now that the Holy Spirit has come and lives in the heart of every believer, it is obviously not necessary for us to ask for Him again. We should thank God for the Holy Spirit and seek to walk in Him and be led by Him each day. Scripture reminds us that God is the Giver of every good gift (Jas. 1:17). And while He gives many good gifts to us apart from prayer, His greatest gifts come through prayer. The best gift God could give us is salvation and His very

requests to God. Sometimes

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(Alternate: How should the specific promise in verse 13 impact the way we pray?)

SUMMARIZE: Jesus invites us to bring our needs and we will need to persist, but we can do so in the confidence that, when God answers, He will answer out of His infinite goodness. God will take care of us because He never neglects His children. Note that God often meets our needs through the gracious acts of other believers.

DO: Invite volunteers to share their responses to the activity, “I Must Tell Jesus” (PSG, p. 54).

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THE POINT

God always answers persistent prayer.

presence in our lives, which He does through the presence of the Holy Spirit. And while our needs, situations, and prayer requests may change from day to day, there is one thing that remains constant: our need for a healthy and vibrant relationship with God. And an important aspect of that relationship is living a life, through the Holy Spirit, of consistent, persistent prayer.

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS One prayer God certainly answers is the prayer of confession and repentance. When we turn from our sin and turn to Him, He saves us and gives us a new life

Both ruach and pneuma have a

in Christ.

similar range of meanings. Both

Each week, make yourself

can mean ‘wind.’ The wind (ruach)

available either before or after

from God parted the waters of the

the session to speak privately who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. See the article, “Leading Someone to the Greatest Decision of All,“ on page 2 for guidance in leading a person to Christ. Remind group members that page 2 in the PSG offers guidance in how to become a Christian. Encourage believers to consider using this article as they have opportunities to lead others to Christ.

Red Sea (Ex. 14:21). Likewise, Jesus ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/LOUISE KOHL SMITH

with anyone in your group

contrasted the free movement of the Holy Spirit with the wind (pneuma) that blows where it pleases (John 3:8). Ruach and pneuma can also refer to the ‘breath’ of life, as in Ezekiel’s vision When the Spirit came upon Samson, he chased the Philistines to Ashkelon and slew 30 of them. Shown, ruins at Ashkelon.

The following excerpt is from the

(Ezek. 37:9-10), and Jesus’ giving up his dying breath on the cross (Matt. 27:50).” Previous articles, “Evil: The

Spirit: A Biblical Overview” (Sum.

Meaning” (Spr. 2001), and “Hosting

2012), which relates to this session

a Friend” (Sum. 1991), relate to this

and can be purchased at www.

session and can be purchased at

lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator.

www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator.

Hebrew word ruach to refer to God’s Spirit; in the New Testament the corresponding Greek word for the Holy Spirit is pneuma.

S e ss i o n 4

when God breathed upon them

article, “The Work of the Holy

“The Old Testament uses the

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of the dry bones coming alive

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LIVE IT OUT Praying is not an easy endeavor. It requires patience, persistence, faithfulness, and discipline. The temptation to give up will always be nearby. Yet Jesus reminded us that our Heavenly Father loves and cares for His children. How will you respond to what you have studied? Consider one of the applications below.

>> Form the habit of prayer. If you have not had the habit of praying regularly or have fallen out of the habit, begin this week. Write out the Model Prayer found in Luke 11:2-4. Personalize it with your name and specific needs. Use this as a guide as you begin each day to help you form the habit of daily prayer.

LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes DO: Emphasize The Point: God always answers persistent prayer. GUIDE: Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 55; see text to the left). Encourage group members to follow through this week with one of the

>> Keep a journal. Keep a daily journal of your prayer

needs and add notes about how God answers each prayer. Discipline yourself to pray persistently for each need until you receive God’s answer. Your journal will become an encouraging reminder of God’s faithfulness to answer persistent prayer.

>> Pray with someone in need. Offer to support at least

one other person by praying persistently for a need in his or her life. Meet with this person regularly to pray together until God provides what is needed. Be sure the person knows you will be standing with him or her in prayer for as long as it takes.

application ideas.

Wrap It Up GUIDE: We may have been praying for many years. And we may still be praying for a need that we started praying about a long time ago. Call attention to the quote from R. A. Torrey (PSG, p. 51). “Oh, men and women, pray through; pray through! Do not just begin to pray and pray a little while and throw up your hands and quit; but pray and pray and pray until God bends the heavens and comes down.” PRAY: “Father, strengthen us to persist in our prayers, trusting in your goodness to provide all we need when we need it. Amen.”

© 2015 LifeWay

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