Being a Disciple Who Prays Effectively

We know that the disciples were intrigued by Jesus’s prayer life because they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This scenario is illustrated in Luke 11:1–4:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive our sins, for we forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

Jesus taught them what to pray. Notice what happened next. Jesus then taught them how to pray. According to Luke 11:5–8,

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you all you need.”

“Shameless audacity”? What is that? The words that immediately come to mind for me are “reckless abandon.” The Amplified version of the New Testament renders Luke 11:8 as, “yet because of his persistence and boldness . . .”

We have the “what” to pray, and now we have the “how.” But Jesus wasn’t finished. Oh no, he punctuates these points by adding two other important nuances he does not want us to miss. The first is found in verse 9 and 10: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Jesus specifies three additional ways to pray: ask, seek, and knock. These are repetitive with slight differences. To ask is to make a request; to seek is to continue on a journey of discovery; and to knock implies that we identify a door that we know has the answer on the other side, a door that will surely be opened as we continue to knock.

Then Jesus points to the next element, God’s character. Luke 11:11–13: “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

In other words, we have the needed information on what to pray, how to pray, the ways to persist, and the character of the Father in heaven, who longs to give good things to us, his children. In Mathew 7:9–11 Jesus says the same thing in a slightly different way, exchanging “Holy Spirit” for the words “good gifts.” God gives us the “good things” by giving us the Holy Spirit—in other words, himself—with his power, presence, and wisdom. We receive immeasurably by asking, seeking, and knocking. So then, how do our prayers work? How does God receive our prayers, and what does he do with them?

There is a beautiful picture in Revelation 5:7–8 that clarifies what happens with our prayers. Jesus “went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (emphasis added).

Do you understand the significance of the scene in heaven? Our prayers—the prayers of the saints, for that is who we are—fill golden bowls and become incense, a sweet fragrance before the Lord of heaven. Our prayers ascend upward, and he receives them! More prayer, more incense, more effect in heaven and more effect on the earth as the Lord receives more and more of that prayer incense and responds. This is an amazing truth depicting how precious and powerful our prayers really are: they are incense before the very throne of God in heaven! We need to persist in prayer as Jesus taught us because our prayers are getting through! So, don’t stop . . . don’t quit! They continue to expand, and their sweetness permeates the throne room of God!