| “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 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. There are many lessons in the Scriptures concerning the nature of prayer. From the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples to the striking illustrations and parables He uses to drive His points home, Jesus clearly wants His disciples to know how to pray. It may seem peculiar to read throughout the Scriptures of how much time Jesus spent in prayer. After all, Jesus is God. He is divine. So, was Jesus just “talking to himself” when He prayed? No, Jesus is not only God; He is also fully man. As the perfect man, He was utterly dependent upon His heavenly Father. But a careful examination of the Scriptures reveals something more. Jesus’ submission to the Father didn’t begin when He became a man; he has been in submission from all eternity. Within the Trinity, where there is absolute oneness, there is also a perfect relationship of submission and hierarchy. We follow the devil when we grasp for equality. We’re told in Philippians: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Jesus was absolutely totally submissive to the Father. He didn’t try to prove that He is just as good as the Father, just as strong, or just as smart. Instead, His joy and delight was to do the will of the Father. Jesus only did what the Father said to do and only said what the Father said to say. This is why Jesus had authority. Authority comes from submission to God. In the prayer Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, He teaches first and foremost to pray humbly. Disciples must begin by recognizing our position in relationship to God. Hallowed be your name means, “I want your name to be glorified; my reputation isn’t what matters. My priority is not my comfort, success or glory. My desire is for your glory, Lord.” This is how our prayers should start. We must put ourselves in a position of submission to God. Prayer is not about persuading God to do what we want; prayer is about getting in line with what God wants to do. We must submit to God. Once we’re in a position of humbly submitting to God, then we can talk to Him about our needs. “Daily Bread” spoken of in this model prayer is what we would use as a heading for our grocery list. As we receive our daily bread, we receive everything we need. Some of us feel we don’t have enough; even when we’ve received more than we need. Jesus wants us to remember our daily needs. We don’t need enough for the next ten years. We don’t need enough for the next year; we just need enough for right now. When we bow in humble dependence on God for our daily needs, then we are ready to pray. Are you ready to submit to the Father? Perhaps your experiences with authority figures have made you terrified of submission. God isn’t like the people who have wronged you. Humble yourself before the One who loves you best. Humble yourself by depending on Him. Bow in His presence and ask Him to do what He wants with your life. Real prayer is born in humility. Don’t let pride or fear hold you back. Will you ask Him to give you courage? Will you reach out to Him in faith and submit to His will?
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