Passionate Prayer

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: Concluding the Journey of Praying with Jesus

Today, we are concluding our message series “Praying with Jesus.” In this series, we’ve looked in detail at each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. If you’re putting what you learned into practice, I can assure you that you are praying more powerful and effective prayers.

Today, my message is entitled “Passionate Prayer.” We’re going to be looking at another teaching of Jesus on the Lord’s Prayer found in Luke 11 that gives us further insight into prayer. What is passionate prayer? First, let’s look at what passionate prayer is not.

Passionate prayer is not prayer where you can barely keep awake while you’re praying. Passionate prayer is not prayer where you’re thinking about something else while the words of prayer come from your mouth. Passionate prayer is not prayer done because you feel guilty, but you’d rather be doing something else.

To see what passionate prayer is, let’s look at what Scripture teaches us about prayer that is effective and alive.

James 5:16b–17 (NIV) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

In this series, we are learning to pray powerful and effective prayers. James uses the prophet Elijah as an example of someone who prayed powerful prayers. In case someone thinks that God no longer works as He did in the days of the Bible, James says that “Elijah was a man just like us.”

He was no different in nature than people today, which means you and I can pray just as powerfully as Elijah did. God has not changed in the last 2000 years, and prayer still works. Elijah was a righteous man, righteous not perfect, because he lived according to God’s Word and believed God.

What did Elijah do? He prayed earnestly, fervently, and passionately, and miracles happened. First it didn’t rain and then it did rain, showing that Elijah’s prayer controlled the weather for God’s purposes.

God wants your prayers to be passionate. He wants you to care about what you pray for and believe that He is going to answer your prayers. He wants you to get emotionally involved in your prayers, and Jesus wants to teach us today about passionate prayer.

Luke 11:1 (NIV) 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."

On this occasion, the disciples heard and saw Jesus praying. When He was done, the disciples wanted to pray in the same way He prayed. So they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

As Jesus taught them then, He is able to teach those who want to learn today. Here, Jesus gave them a slightly shortened version of the Lord’s Prayer, which will serve us today as a summary of what we’ve learned in this series.

Luke 11:2–4 (NIV) 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.'"

So let’s review this pattern of prayer. We begin by worshipping our heavenly Father and seeking to honor His name. Then we pray for the kingdom of God to come in and through our lives.

Next, we ask God to meet our daily needs. Importantly, we ask for forgiveness of our sins and extend forgiveness to others. Finally, we ask for God’s protection from falling into temptation in the future.

In Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11, He goes on to expand on how we should pray, what I call passionate prayer.

Pray Boldly

Bold prayers are prayers that we know are according to God’s will. Bold prayers are prayers where the answer will have an impact for eternity. Bold prayers are prayers for God’s kingdom to come.

Jesus wants His followers to pray boldly, so He told a story to illustrate what bold prayers are all about. It’s interesting that in Jesus’ story, the prayer request is not for the person praying, but for someone else. So while it is certainly not wrong to pray for yourself, we need to be sure to pray for others.

Pray for Others

Luke 11:5–6 (NIV) Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'"

Jesus’ story begins with you going to a friend at midnight to ask for some food. The request is not for yourself, but for another friend who has come to visit. In Jesus’ day, this would have been a genuine need because there were no 24/7 stores.

To grow in our prayer lives, we need to move beyond praying only for our own needs and spend more time praying for the needs of others. As we’ll see, God loves to answer those kinds of prayers. When we pray, we ought to pray persistently.

Pray Persistently

Luke 11:7–8 (NIV) "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

When the friend knocks on the door for the first time at midnight, it doesn’t open. He yells through the door that he needs three loaves of bread to feed a friend because he has nothing in the house. The man inside yells back that the door is locked, the family is in bed, and he is not getting up.

So the man at the door has a decision to make. He can go home without his request being answered, or he can keep pounding on the door and yelling through it. Jesus says that even though the man would not get up because of friendship, because of the requester’s boldness and persistence, he will eventually get what he needs.

Jesus is explaining how we ought to be bold and persistent in prayer. If a human friend will eventually answer our request, how much more will your heavenly Father answer your request when you are bold and persistent until the answer comes.

Growing Through Delayed Answers

You might be wondering why God does not answer our prayers immediately. There are many reasons, but many of us have learned that some prayers take time to be answered. If you are not persistent and bold in prayer until the answer comes, you may never see the answer.

Prayers aren’t always answered immediately because God wants to work in our lives during the process. He may be building your faith, drawing you closer to Him, or working out circumstances you cannot yet see. If you know a prayer is God’s will, do not give up.

Be bold, be persistent, and eventually the answer will come. To help you pray passionately, you need to understand prayer levels.

Understand Prayer Levels

There are levels of passion in prayer, and Jesus recognized that. His illustration of the friend at midnight pounding on the door represents the highest level of prayer. Yet it also shows how we ought to pray at every level until the answer comes.

Jesus concludes the story of the midnight friend by teaching us to ask, seek, and knock. Each level builds on the previous one and requires increasing persistence. The first instruction Jesus gives is to ask until you receive.

Ask Until You Receive

Luke 11:9a, 10a (NIV) "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; … For everyone who asks receives;"

The first level of prayer is simply asking. Many people do not receive because they never ask, believing they can handle life on their own. The truth is that you cannot handle life on your own and you need God’s help.

When you ask God for what you need according to His will, it will be given to you. Asking is important, but it is the lowest level of prayer. You will likely have many prayers in this category for yourself and for others.

Seek Until You Find

Luke 11:9b, 10b (NIV) "… seek and you will find; … he who seeks finds;"

Seeking is a more intense type of prayer. You may be seeking wisdom for an important decision, unsure of the right direction, and asking God for clarity. Seeking generally requires more effort and more persistence than simple asking.

You will not have as many prayers in this category, because they require deeper focus and commitment. Many people do not find answers to their seeking prayers because they give up too soon. Jesus instructs us to keep seeking until we find.

Knock Until the Door Opens

Luke 11:9c, 10c (NIV) "… knock and the door will be opened to you … and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Knocking prayer is illustrated by the midnight visitor in Jesus’ story. This is the most intense type of prayer and requires great passion and perseverance. You cannot have many prayers at this level at the same time because of the effort involved.

These prayers often occupy your thoughts throughout the day. They are prayers for big things that can alter the course of your life or the life of someone else. You must knock boldly and persistently until God opens the door.

Discerning When to Escalate in Prayer

Jesus wants you to understand the three levels of prayer He teaches here. At every level, we must be bold and persistent while seeking God’s guidance. Sometimes God will lead you to escalate a prayer from asking, to seeking, to knocking.

For example, you may have been asking God for the salvation of a family member. As you pray, you may sense God prompting you to speak to them about the Lord, which moves you into seeking. As you see God working in their life, you may begin knocking, praying intensely until their heart opens to Jesus.

As you pray, you must also trust your heavenly Father.

Trust Your Heavenly Father

Faith is required to receive answers to prayer. You must trust that God hears you and that He will answer. Some people hesitate to pray because they fear they may not like God’s answer.

Jesus assures us that we can trust God completely because God only gives good gifts.

God Only Gives Good Gifts

Luke 11:11–12 (NIV) "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?"

The answer is obvious: no good earthly father would give his child something harmful. In the same way, you do not need to fear that God will give you something dangerous or destructive. God only gives good gifts to His children.

Finally, Jesus teaches us about the best gift we can ask for.

Ask for the Holy Spirit

Luke 11:13 (NIV) 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!

Jesus specifically points to the Holy Spirit as the good gift our Father wants to give. While believers receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, Scripture teaches that believers should continue to seek to be filled with the Spirit throughout their lives.

Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time experience. We should ask God to give us more of His Spirit again and again. This is one of the greatest gifts God offers to His children.

Living in the Power of the Spirit

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, it makes a difference in every area of your life. The Holy Spirit helps you pray more effectively and teaches you how to pray. He helps you witness to those who need Jesus and understand God’s Word.

The Holy Spirit enables you to hear God speaking and apply His truth to your life. For these reasons, Jesus teaches us to seek more of God’s Spirit. This is essential to living a life of passionate prayer.

Conclusion: Living a Life of Passionate Prayer

Today, we conclude our series on Praying with Jesus. We have explored Jesus’ teaching on prayer through the Lord’s Prayer and His instruction in Luke 11. This teaching gives us a clear pattern for developing a powerful prayer life.

I encourage you to set aside at least fifteen minutes each day to read God’s Word and pray. Scripture also teaches us to pray without ceasing, something we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit. Think about what you have been asking God for and do not give up.

God says to you today to keep praying boldly and persistently. Remember the friend knocking at midnight who refused to stop until his request was answered. God has good gifts He wants to give you, so let us receive everything He has for us.

📘 Continue the Journey

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