Introduction
“Prayer is the key.” Earlier this year, says Rachel, one of the two senior pastors of Woodlands Church in Bristol, the leadership team sensed the Holy Spirit pressing that phrase on them. It is not a new revelation, she admits, but an invitation from God to enter a deeper relationship with him through prayer, and to put prayer back at the center of the life of the church.
This message is part of the “Foundations” series, on the foundations of the Christian life, and it opens the church's week of prayer. Rachel does not present herself as an expert: “I love prayer. I find it hard sometimes. I sometimes lack faith.” But she knows that prayer is a foundation for Jesus' disciples today.
Starting from Luke 11:1-13, she shows what Jesus teaches: know who you are talking to, pray every day, praise, and persevere. Then she names three obstacles that drain the “battery” of prayer.
Outline of the Message
1. Where Are You in Prayer?
- Rachel begins with a personal question, to keep to yourself for a few seconds: “Where are you in prayer today? Be brutally honest with yourself and with the Lord.”
- You may be motivated, or lost. Perhaps you are new to the faith, or not yet a Christian, wondering what prayer is. Perhaps you are disappointed because God has not answered the prayers you have been praying for a long time, or you are frustrated.
- Wherever you are, she is confident, not in her own words, but in the fact that God wants to rekindle prayer in us. He loves it when we pray, and prayer is essential for the kingdom of God, for the transformation of the world and for our own.
- The church, she reminds us, was built on the prayers of many who went before: Rob Scott-Cook, the founder of the church, often describes himself as a “man of prayer.”
2. Before the How, the Who: You Pray to a Father
- The disciples already prayed. They had grown up praying. But they saw in Jesus a relationship with God that they envied, and they asked him: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
- Jesus' answer starts with the one we are speaking to: “You have to get the who right before the how.” The one you pray to is your Father, God in heaven, who loves you.
- The first picture is relationship. According to Rachel, the word used is not a formal “father”: it is a toddler's word, “daddy.” Now a grandmother, she describes her fourteen-month-old grandson starting to say “dada” to his father: an intimate, loving, close relationship. Thanks to Jesus, you do not need to knock and ask permission to come in.
- The second picture is power. When they called God Father, the disciples were probably thinking of the Exodus, when God told Moses to declare to Pharaoh: “Israel is my son, my firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). The plagues, the miracles, the crossing of the Red Sea: the whole story shows God's power.
- “We are not praying to someone whose power is limited.” Rachel invites us to keep both pictures in mind, relationship and power.
3. “When You Pray”: Not If, but When
- Jesus says in verse 2: “When you pray.” Not “if.” For him, prayer is a normal, daily part of life.
- It is not a religious activity reserved for certain people or certain hours, nor something a priest does on behalf of others.
- Jesus withdrew to desolate places, moved away from the crowds, and got up early to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16). He sought the Father's direction, strength and wisdom, and he invites us into the same relationship.
- In practical terms, that might mean getting up earlier, “which means going to bed earlier,” downloading an app like Lectio 365, or joining the prayer times during the week. “It means doing something, taking a step.”
4. “Hallowed Be Your Name”: Praise Puts God Back in His Place
- To hallow is to treat as holy. God is worthy of our praise at all times, however he answers our prayers.
- Praise shifts our attention from ourselves to him. “I am pretty much the center of my universe, and I think you are too.” When we worship, we get back to our true size, and it is a relief.
- In praise, faith rises: this God opened the sea, set the stars in place, and transforms lives.
- Rachel tells a recent story, with her son's permission. He had received a rejection email for a job he really wanted. The whole family was downcast. A few days later, during a time of worship with the young adults, she felt a “nudge” from the Holy Spirit, a thought: to pray that he would receive an email saying there had been a mistake and that he was back in the process.
- She resisted at first: “That's not going to happen, it's all automated. That kind of thing never happens to us.” Then, as faith rose, she prayed specifically, for that very week. The next morning, her son called: there had been a mistake, he was invited to the next stage, with an apology thrown in.
- Does that mean he will get the job? “I don't think so.” But the whole family's faith has grown, and she now prays more specifically. Faith came during praise: “Him first, everything else after.”
5. Ask, Seek, Knock: Don't Give Up
- The parable of the friend who comes at midnight to ask for three loaves is about perseverance and patience. The friend finally gets up because of his persistence (Luke 11:8).
- If you have been praying for something for a long time without seeing a breakthrough, Rachel encourages you to keep going. “I know it's hard. I've been there.”
- Jesus tells this parable because he knows we are prone to give up and say: “It will never happen, God can't do that.” So ask, ask again, and keep knocking on the door until the neighbor gets up.
- And the passage ends with this promise: if imperfect parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13).
6. The Three D's That Drain the Battery of Prayer
- That morning, Rachel arrived late: the battery of her son's car, which she was driving, was flat. For many people, she says, the battery of prayer is flat too. She names three “D's” so that we can spot them.
- Distraction. Before we have even put a foot on the floor, we have checked our emails, Instagram, the news, the weather and WhatsApp. “Phones are wonderful, but they are real scourges.” Take control of them: they are there to help you, not to hinder you. Airplane mode is “a real gift” for prayer. And if it is your children who distract you, “they are a blessing from the Lord, they have every right to.”
- Disappointment. Rachel speaks frankly: she lives every day with the disappointment of one prayer, her most important, that God has not yet answered. The worst thing, she says, is to drift away from Jesus and live in bitterness: prayer then runs short of oxygen and you cut yourself off from your source of power. Hand your disappointment to Jesus, again and again, and let him meet you in it.
- The devil. He hates you, he hates prayer, he hates Jesus, and he will do everything he can to stop you praying, through distraction and disappointment, because prayer is where the power is. But he is no equal to Jesus, who defeated him. “I'm not saying this to scare you, but to equip you.”
7. A Church That Grows in Prayer
- Rachel ends with a question: this week, how will you grow in prayer and recharge your battery?
- “We want to be a church that grows in prayer, not a church that stands still in prayer.”
- She invites those who are disappointed with God, those whose relationship with an earthly father has damaged their image of God as Father, and those who want to receive the Holy Spirit in a new way, to come and receive prayer during communion.
- Her closing prayer: that Jesus would nourish everyone's prayer life, wherever they are, through the Holy Spirit he sent to equip us.
Key Takeaways
- Before learning how to pray, know who you are talking to: a close Father you can call “daddy,” and an almighty Father.
- For Jesus, prayer is not optional: he says “when you pray,” not “if you pray.”
- Praise shifts the focus from you to God and lifts your faith: him first, everything else after.
- Ask, seek, knock: Jesus encourages us to persevere because he knows we are prone to give up.
- Distraction, disappointment, the devil: spot what drains your prayer battery so you can face it.
Personal Application
- Where are you in prayer today, if you are brutally honest with yourself and with the Lord?
- When you pray, are you speaking to a distant God, or to a Father who is both close and powerful?
- What concrete step can you take this week to pray regularly: getting up earlier, putting your phone in airplane mode, joining a prayer time?
- Is there a prayer you stopped praying out of weariness that you could take up again?
- What disappointment do you need to hand to Jesus rather than let it turn into bitterness?
Verses Cited
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you need to know who you are praying to before learning how to pray?
For Rachel, you have to get the “who” right before the “how.” Jesus teaches his disciples to call God Father: a close Father you can approach personally and intimately, and a powerful Father, the one who delivered Israel from Egypt. These two pictures, relationship and power, change the way you pray.
What does “hallowed be your name” mean in prayer?
To hallow God's name is to treat it as holy. God is worthy of praise at all times, however he answers our prayers. According to Rachel, praise shifts our attention from ourselves to him, puts things back in their right place and lifts our faith: him first, everything else after.
What drains the battery of prayer?
Rachel names three “D's”: distraction, fed by the phone and a hurried world; disappointment, when prayers go unanswered; and the devil, who hates prayer because that is where the power is. She does not want to scare but to equip, so that everyone can grow in prayer.
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