TEACH US TO PRAY (9): GREAT EXPECTATIONS

(Luke 11:9-13)
March 15, 2015
Intro (Read Luke 11:9-13). In our study of vv. 5-13 we have seen that altho
He never really is reluctant, sometimes God appears to be reluctant. When
answers to prayer are delayed God seems apathetic or on vacation. Our
natural reaction is to give up get disillusioned. Jesus instructs differently. In
the face of silence He advises two things Persist and Expect. Dont give up.
Last week we saw how we persist (vv. 5-9). Today how to expect (9-13).
The key is how we view God. If we view God, as many have been taught, as a
Magic Dispenser Machine, we are doomed to disappointment because that is
not who He is. Many have isolated the ask, seek, and knock portion of this
passage and said, See, there you have it. Just ask, and Gods obligated to
deliver. If it doesnt happen, inevitably you will be told its your fault not
enough faith. God was willing; you didnt believe. This is the God as Santa
Claus approach to prayer. But that approach does irreparable damage to vv. 89. It rips them out of the context leaving jagged edges of misinterpretation.
Ask, seek and knock (the how) of prayer, are defined by vv.1-4 which show
the what of prayer to be God-centered, need (as opposed to desire) driven
and spiritually prioritized. Ask, seek and knock explain how to pray THAT
kind of prayer not my Christmas wish list. This is not depicting God as the
Magic Genie in the sky granting carte blanc wishes. Expectant prayer views
God not as sugar daddy, but as Father. Jesus model prayer addresses Him as
Father in v. 2. Further vv. 11-13 use the concept of Father to illustrate how
this all works. Seeing God as Father is key to this passage.
A good father loves to do for his kids. But we know that all requests must be
filtered through the fathers GREATER wisdom, right? A loving father often
does not give exactly what is requested. He sees danger the child does not
see. And he sees opportunity the child does not see. [repeat]. Thus when a 2year-old asks for a butcher knife, Dad says No. And when a 16-year-old wants
to marry the first guy who pays attention, Mom and Dad say, Wait. Parents
see danger where the child does not and they see opportunity where the
child does not. That simple premise will greatly inform expectations in our
prayer life, Beloved. Were not petitioning a magician, but a Father. Tim
Keller says it beautifully: Your father gives you what you would have asked
for if you knew everything He knows. There is a truth to live by!
1

But while we pay lip service to God as Father, we dont really believe it. Not
really. We doubt; we waver; we worry; we insist on our own way; and
consequently we live messy lives; we dont trust or obey. So how can we
change? Faced with seeming reluctance, what do we do?
I.

Expect An Answer

V. 10: For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to
the one who knocks it will be opened. Great verse, right? Wonderful verse.
But we know it has qualifiers. David says in Psa 119:67, If I had cherished
iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Unconfessed sin
stops prayer in its tracks. And Jas 4:3 says if we ask wrongly to spend it on
your passions the Lord will not hear. Our prayers must align with Jesus
example which confesses sin and is God-centered rather than me-centered.
But if our heart is pure then, we can pray expectantly. V. 9 urges us to pray
persistently and v. 10 tells why. Because an answer is coming. In fact, note v.
9 commands ask, seek, knock all present tense, indicating continuous
action. Its not ask once and sit back and wait for an answer, its keep on
asking. The lesson teaches a lifestyle of dependence. But look at v. 10. Two
out of three promises are also present tense. For everyone who [always]
asks, receives (present tense, is now receiving), and the one who seeks, finds
(pres), and to the one who knocks it will be opened (future). This is a
lifestyle, a process, not a one-time event.
In some ways, prayer is like an iceberg. What you see above water is only
about 10% of the whole thing, right? Prayer is like that. We pray; nothing
happens. Sometimes not for years, but when the answer comes we see how
little pieces were coming together the whole time to make the answer. Patty
and I have found it helpful when we are praying about certain things to thank
the Lord for what He is already doing with regard to that request that we
just dont see yet. Thats praying expectantly in the face of seeming silence.
Why dont we expect answers? Sometimes because we feel we dont deserve
them. Well, guess what, we dont! If answered prayed went by who deserved
it, it wouldnt happen. At our best, God owes us nothing. But Heb 4:15, Let
us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace. Why can we do
that? Because we deserve it? No because of Heb 4:14: Since then we have
a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,
2

let us hold fast our confession. Jesus represents us to the Father who doesnt
answer because we deserve it but because He deserves it! We expect in Him.
A 17-year-old girl was seeking her first job. She asked her uncle if hed be a
reference. He agreed. A few days later she called and asked if he could meet
her at the restaurant. Why? He asked. The manager wants me to come in
for an interview, and she told me to bring my references! So that was a bit
of overkill, but she had the right idea. Bring your references. Thats the only
reason we can come bold to Gods throne. Not because of what weve done,
but because of what Hes done! We come with great expectations because His
blood compels an answer. So come bold. Come expecting an answer.
II.

Expect a Good Answer

So, expect an answer, but heres the kicker! The answer may not look like you
think. Why? Because it will be a good answer. You say, Well, surely what I
am praying for would be good. So we think! But we dont know all the
circumstances. God does. We dont know the true needs of our heart. God
does. We dont know what might be. God does. We dont know the end from
the beginning. God does. Taking all that into account God crafts the perfect
answer. That may look exactly like we ask, or it may not look at all like we
ask. But it will be what we need, not necessarily what we want.
V. 11-12, What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a
fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
Mt adds in 7:9, Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give
him a stone? Fish, eggs and bread -- common food in Palestine. And the key
to interpreting the passage is to see that a serpent might look like a fish, a
coiled up scorpion might look like an egg; a stone might look like a loaf of
bread. Jesus point is if a child mistakes a stone for bread and says, Give me
that loaf, Dads not going to do that. Now will God. God doesnt play tricks.
I was walking in a homeless section of SF one night. A young man came
along, dug into a bag he was carrying and tossed some coins to one of the
people. The man caught the coins and began to shriek bloody murder. The
coins were red hot, a practical joke. But God doesnt do that to His children.
He doesnt give scorpions as a joke! Or if a child sees a scorpion coiled in the
corner and says, Dad, I want that egg. Will Dad give it to him? Of course,
not. He sees danger the child does not see; and He sees opportunity the
3

child does not see. He answers according to His greater wisdom and
goodness.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one
who knocks it will be opened. The prosperity gospel preachers love this
passage. Taken out of context it makes no qualifications. So the name it and
claim it guys say, You want a Maserati? Just ask. When you come next
week and say, But Pastor Benny, I didnt get my Maserati, the answer is,
Oh, you didnt have enough faith. If you believed, youd get your car.
Thats how those charlatans work. But that is not at all what Jesus means. He
is urging us to persist in prayer. And to expect an answer. But expect an
answer in keeping with the Fathers greater wisdom and goodness!
Thats the point of the illustrations. God would never give us something that
would be bad even tho we ask! His greatest gift is to give what we need rather
than what we want. Do you see? Were like children at the checkout: Mom,
please. I need 10 boxes of Dove bars. Mom loves the kids so she gets them,
right? No! Because she loves them, she doesnt get all those Dove bars.
Parents filter requests. So does our heavenly Father. Thats why we must see
God as Father so when the answer isnt what we asked for, we know its
actually better! Get your arms around that! Think this way. God either gives
what we ask for or something better! His answers are always good, even when
it doesnt look like it.
Calvin says it this way, God does not answer our prayers as we pray them,
but as we would pray them if we were wiser. In fact, this is exactly what
happens when we pray. Paul tells us in Rom 8:26 ff: For we do not know
what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is
the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to
the will of God. So when we pray and it doesnt come back the way we
expected, what has happened? Our request has gone through the HS filter! He
retrofits our request to conform to the Fathers will and then passes it on.
Heres an example. Jacob, had a dysfunctional family. Too many wives; too
many kids and too much favoritism. He loved Joseph best. Gen 37:4 says,
But when [Josephs] brothers saw that their father loved him more than all
his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Joseph
loved the Lord, so likely he prayed for peace in the house. Were not told that,
but I suppose he did. In any case, God did bring peace. But not the way you
4

would expect. Joseph didnt just wake up one morning to find that everyone
suddenly loved him. Instead, his brothers tried to kill him, then sold him into
slavery in Egypt. Years later came the famine came that eventually drove his
brothers to come to Egypt for food, little knowing Joseph was in charge of the
whole thing. When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers were told
in Gen 45:2-3, he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the
household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph!
Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were
dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me,
please. And they came near. Is that the way you would have answered
Josephs prayer for family harmony? Me neither. But Gods ways are not our
ways, are they? No but His ways are best always good, always right,
always perfect for what we really need. Our Father gives us what we would
have asked for if we knew everything He knows. Expect good answers.
III.

Expect a Divine Answer

V. 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! Matts account says, how much more will your Father
who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Mt 7:11). This is
an argument from the lesser to the greater, common in Jesus time. If you who
are less than perfect, still protect and give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your perfect heavenly Father give to you good things, the best
of which is the HS. In other words, when we ask in good faith for something,
God ultimately gives not just the gift but the Giver not just the blessing,
but the Blesser. What we dont see is that anything we are asking for is
ultimately a desire for God Himself. The only thing that can ultimately fill our
hearts desire is not something, but someone. It is God Himself.
Psa 37 4) Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of
your heart. This verse is so often misunderstood. It is taught if you just
delight in the Lord, you can get any other thing you want. But thats not what
it means at all. It means if you delight in the Lord, He will give you what you
delight in Himself.
Remember Jacobs wife, Leah. Always looking for love. Her husband loved
his other wife Rachel better and Leah knew it. But Rachel was barren; Leah
saw children as a way to win her husbands love. Gen 29:32, And Leah
conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben (see, a son), for
5

she said, Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my
husband will love me. 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said,
Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.
And she called his name Simeon (heard). 34 Again she conceived and bore a
son, and said, Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I
have borne him three sons. Therefore his name was called Levi (attached).
Her hopes were always dashed until she got the message: 35 And she
conceived again and bore a son, and said, This time I will praise the LORD.
Therefore she called his name Judah [Praise, the Lord be praised]. Then she
ceased bearing. Thats what God wants, Beloved. That we desire Him above
all. And thats exactly what she got because guess what? It was thru the line of
Judah that Messiah came not from the beloved Rachel, but through the
unwanted one, the unloved one. When she began to desire God above her
husbands love, God gave her Himself in a powerful way.
Conc Some see prayer as Aladdins lamp. But imagine that power in the
hands of your 5-year-old. Here, Jamie, make any three wishes and they are
yours, good or bad, smart or stupid. With that scenario, all you know for
sure is that disaster looms, right? Well, prayer has that kind of power. It does.
But fortunately, it is addressed to a heavenly Father who applies a safety valve
a foolishness filter because we are toddlers. He sees danger we dont see,
and opportunity we dont see and answers in light of His greater wisdom and
goodness. If prayer were Aladdins lamp without the filter, wed all be dead.
Wed have killed ourselves long ago.
A pastor tells of his daughter, Jackie, who became close friends in high school
with Matt, a drummer in the worship band she sang with. They became close
and began to plan attending college together, but then Matt was diagnosed
with lymphatic cancer. Jackie says, I had great faith that God would heal
Matt. He had such a passion to be a pastor, teaching others. I knew God
wouldnt take his life because Matt could make such a difference in this
world. She prayer urgently for his healing. But in September of her senior
year, Matt died. Jackie responded with anger and disbelief. She said, Initially
I blamed God. Later I blamed myself, thought I didnt pray hard enough, or
maybe I accidentally missed praying one day.
After graduation, Jackie went to a Christian college where she began to
release the pain and grief locked inside her. She said, Once I actually
voiced my suffering, the healing began, and I
experienced Gods love again. Matt taught the family that
6

he valued his eternal relationship with God more than any

temporary life on earth. They prayed for Matt to live and God
answered Yes, not in the way they expected life on
earth but an infinitely better life with Him. Meantime, in
college, Jackie met Michael, another young man who loved the
Lord, became a Bible teacher and plays in the backup band
when Jackie sings. Why Mike and not Matthew? God knows
but thats the point God knows. Trust Him. Hell give you
what you would ask for if you knew as much as He
does. And thats a great thing. Lets pray.