Do You Know Who You're Talking To? | Part 2

Prayer begins with relationship, not duty, checklist, or religious performance. Jesus invites God’s children to draw near because the Father draws near, because his love is better than life, and because joy is found in his presence. Luke 11 then pushes prayer beyond enjoyment into authority, asking whether God’s people really know who they are talking to when requests rise before the Lord. The one being addressed is not small, vague, or distant. God is the one who speaks creation into existence, the God of miracles, the Father who knows how to give good gifts.

Jesus’ disciples see something in his prayer life that makes them say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The life of prayer that follows is not tame, safe, or suburban. Prayer becomes frontier life, Wild West adventure, where God’s people find themselves out of their depth and sometimes speechless. Honest prayer does not deny grief, unanswered requests, miscarriage, cancer, loss, or the kind of pain that leaves someone crying out on an emergency room floor. Yet disappointment does not get the final word, because God’s goodness and faithfulness remain true enough to keep asking.

Jesus’ own words become anchors for prayer: ask, seek, knock; believe and receive; remain in Christ and ask in his name. These are bold claims from the Son of God, and they invite serious trust. Specific prayers get specific answers, because vague prayers often leave no room to recognize God’s hand. The blind man near Jericho moves from “have mercy on me” to “Lord, I want to see,” and Jesus gives sight. Specific prayer creates specific praise.

Bold prayers honor God because they admit human limits and put God’s power on display. Moses wonders how the people can be fed, and the Lord answers, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” That question exposes the size of a person’s view of God. A small view of God shrinks dreams and prayers, but worship, Scripture, and the stories of God’s power lift the eyes back to the King on the throne.

Persistent prayer adds grit. D. L. Moody’s list of one hundred lost friends shows prayer as a secret labor of love, carried daily and fought for over a lifetime. Jesus’ widow in Luke 18 teaches the same thing, that God’s chosen ones cry out day and night and do not give up. Prayer is a fight, sometimes the twelfth round with blood and sweat, sometimes like swinging an axe at a tree that has not fallen yet. The call is to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and refuse to settle for “this is the way it has always been.”

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Specific prayers invite specific praise Specific prayer gives faith a clear target without turning God into a machine. The blind man’s request became plain enough that Christ’s answer could be plainly seen, and the glory could be plainly returned to God. Vague blessing has its place, but a “bull’s eye” prayer trains the heart to watch for the Father’s hand with expectancy and gratitude. [12:47]
• 2. Bold prayers reveal God’s size Bold prayer does not begin with human confidence, but with a lifted view of the King on the throne. Moses’ question about lack met God’s question about power: “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” The size of prayer often reveals the size of the God being trusted, and Scripture keeps pulling the eyes above what seems possible. [16:55]
• 3. Persistence is holy grit Persistent prayer refuses to let delay become unbelief. D. L. Moody’s daily list was not a public performance, but a hidden fight for souls that Jesus died for. Love keeps names before God, even when years pass, because travailing prayer believes the Father is still at work beneath what can be seen. [20:03]
• 4. Disappointment cannot end prayer Unanswered prayer can leave the heart speechless, wounded, and confused, but loss is not the final interpreter of God’s character. The cross gives God’s people a place to fight from, not a place of denial, but a place of victory already won by Christ. Prayer keeps going because God is too good and too true to be abandoned after sorrow. [06:03]
• 5. Prayer fights from victory The life of prayer belongs inside a real war, so getting punched should not be treated as strange. Acts shows the church praying for Peter after James had already been killed, and that courage matters. Faith does not pretend every outcome is the same, but it keeps going to the Father with intensity because Christ has already triumphed over the enemy. [25:18]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:03] - Prayer Begins With Relationship
• [02:15] - Jesus Teaches Prayer In Luke 11
• [04:20] - Become A Person Of Prayer
• [06:03] - Praying Through Grief And Disappointment
• [07:49] - Jesus’ Bold Promises About Prayer
• [08:34] - Specific Prayers Get Specific Answers
• [12:47] - The Blind Man’s Clear Request
• [16:21] - God Honors Bold Prayers
• [18:26] - A Bigger View Of God
• [20:03] - The Power Of Persistent Prayer
• [23:13] - The Widow Who Would Not Quit
• [24:30] - Prayer As A Fight
• [27:11] - Putting Prayer Into Action
• [29:44] - Closing Prayer For Breakthrough

Bible Reading

Luke 11:1-13
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 us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” 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 nothing to set before 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 as much as you need. 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. 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 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!” [02:15]

Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” [23:13]

Numbers 11:23
The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” [16:55]

Luke 18:35-43
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. [12:47]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 11, what words does Jesus use to describe the posture of prayer, and what pictures does he give for how people should come to the Father? [02:15]
2. In the story of the blind man near Jericho, how does his prayer move from a general cry for mercy to a very specific request? [12:47]
3. In Luke 18:1-8, what details show the widow’s persistence, and what reason does Jesus give for telling that parable? [23:13]
4. What images are used to describe prayer as something active and strenuous rather than casual or passive? [24:30]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus teaches people to pray to “Father” and then tells them to ask, seek, and knock. What does that combination show about both God’s nearness and God’s authority? [01:46]
2. The blind man’s words, “Lord, I want to see,” are simple and direct. Why does clear, specific prayer often lead to clearer recognition of God’s answer and clearer praise to God? [13:53]
3. God asks Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” How does that question expose the difference between a small view of God and a faith-filled view of God? [17:42]
4. Jesus says people should “always pray and not give up.” How can persistence in prayer be an expression of faith rather than an attempt to pressure God? [24:14]

Application questions

1. Prayer begins with relationship, not performance. When prayer starts to feel like duty or a checklist, what usually pulls the heart away from enjoying the Father, and what helps bring it back? [00:46]
2. Specific prayers invite specific praise. What is one prayer in life right now that could be named more clearly instead of staying vague? What would it look like to put a real “bull’s-eye” on that request? [16:09]
3. Bold prayers reveal how big God is in a person’s heart. Where is there a temptation right now to pray small because the situation feels fixed, familiar, or impossible? [17:58]
4. Disappointment cannot be allowed to end prayer. How has pain, delay, or unanswered prayer affected the willingness to ask God for something again? What would it look like to keep praying without pretending the hurt is small? [06:03]
5. Persistence is holy grit. Is there a person, burden, or situation that needs to stay on a daily prayer list for this season? What would help keep that prayer in front of the heart consistently? [20:22]
6. Prayer is part of a real fight, and believers fight from Christ’s victory. Where does life currently feel like the twelfth round, and how can prayer become a way of standing firm instead of giving up? [24:30]
7. “This is the way it has always been” is not a good reason to stop asking. What long-standing situation has started to feel normal, and what would it look like to begin seeking God for change again? [28:41]