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Luke

Back to Basics: Praying with Shameless Audacity

Speaker

Pastor Troy Ingersoll

Date Published

Scripture: Luke 11:2–10; 1 John 5:14–15; Genesis 32

Topic: Prayer, The ACTS Model, Persistence, and Faith

I. Announcements & Opening

  • Operation Christmas Child: This month’s collection is school supplies. Please drop them in the box at the back of the church.
  • Deacons Meeting: Monday at 6:30 PM.
  • Next Sunday Potluck: The ham is provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
  • Movie Night: Friday, August 21st at 5:00 PM. We will be watching War Room. Soup and sandwiches will be provided; please bring a side or a dessert.

II. Introduction: Getting Back to the Basics

  • The Professionals' Secret: Even the greatest athletes in the world—like Jack Nicklaus in golf or Tom Brady in football—start every single season by going back to the very basic fundamentals (how to grip a club, how to take a step).
  • Spiritual Application: Just like athletes get sloppy in their form over time, Christians can lose their form in their spiritual disciplines. We must regularly return to the fundamentals: prayer, scripture reading, worship, and meditation.
  • Relax in Prayer: Stop gripping your prayer life too tightly out of frustration. Relax, breathe, and give it to God.

III. The Model Prayer and A.C.T.S.

  • Jesus’ Prayer: When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2-4). This is a model prayer for us, as Jesus Himself would never need to ask for forgiveness for sins.
  • The A.C.T.S. Model: A foundational guide for a healthy prayer life.
    • Adoration: Praising God for His greatness, holiness, and love. It is deeply personal awe and gratitude.
    • Confession: Doing a self-evaluation and asking God for spiritual cleansing. This includes acknowledging our shortcomings and asking for forgiveness for how we treat others.
    • Thanksgiving: Thanking God for His blessings and provisions, even when going through hard times. God often blesses us by shutting doors to protect us.
    • Supplication: Making requests and petitions for ourselves and, importantly, interceding for others.

IV. The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-10)

  • The Parable: A man goes to his friend's house at midnight to ask for three loaves of bread for an unexpected guest. Though the friend is in bed and the door is locked, he eventually gets up to give the bread.
  • Shameless Audacity: The friend doesn't get up just because of the friendship; he gets up because of the knocker's shameless audacity and persistence.
  • Spiritual Application: God values persistence. Don't knock on heaven's door once or twice and give up, assuming God doesn't care. Be bold. Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.

V. God Hears and Answers (1 John 5:14-15)

  • He is Listening: Unlike people who might be physically present but mentally miles away, God actively hears us when we pray according to His will.
  • Opening the Unexpected Door: God promises to open the door, but it might be the fourth door—the one you least expected Him to open.
  • Wrestling with God: Like Jacob in Genesis 32, we need to hold onto the Lord in prayer and say, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

VI. Conclusion & The Lord's Supper

  • We cannot let ourselves be distracted by the busyness of life or focus solely on our own needs. We must lift up the lost, the hurting, and our church family.
  • Communion: We participate in the Lord's Supper as believers, remembering that Jesus Christ shed His blood and gave His body so that our sins could be forgiven.


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