1. LUKE 11:1-13 EPHESIANS 1:17-20 With Christ in the School of Prayer Lesson 4

2. Lesson 1 We Must Pray  Jesus' Habit of Prayer - Luke 11:1a  Prayer Is a Necessity - John 5:19  Prayer Is Perfectly Natural for a Christian  Lord, Teach us to pray!

3. Lesson 2 We Must Pray in God's Will  The Lord's Prayer  Principles of Prayer  Prayer is based on relationship  Prayer involves responsibilities - Luke 11:2  Prayer involves requests - Luke 11:3-4

4. Lesson 3 We Must Pray as Children Coming to a Father  The Parable – Luke 11:5-8  Middle East Customs & The Contrasts  The Promise – Luke 11:9-12  Jesus' Promise to us regarding prayer: Ask and you shall receive Seek and you shall find Knock and it shall be opened unto you  What if the prayer is not answered the way we are seeking? Ask for bread --> stone? (worthless) Ask for fish --> serpent? (unclean) Ask for an egg --> scorpion? (dangerous)

5. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  Luke 11:13 (ESV) 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

6. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  The Holy Spirit: The Source of All Good Things  It is not necessary for us as God's children to pray for the Holy Spirit He was given to us the moment we trusted Christ When God gave us the Holy Spirit, He gave us all the good things we will ever need for our spiritual walk The parallel verse in Matthew 7:11 makes this clear: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”  The good things of the Holy Spirit are the best blessings God has to offer!

7. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  Asking for Ourselves: Petition  It is not wrong to ask God for bread for ourselves “Give us this day our daily bread” is a real and legitimate request for the child of God  It is not a sin to ask God to provide material needs  But this is not the highest kind of praying!

8. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  Asking for Others: Intercession  It is not wrong to ask for bread for others One of the greatest joys of the Christian life is to see God provide the needs of others in answer to our prayers The others may not even know that we prayed But God knows and we know, and He lets us share in the blessing

9. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  Asking for Things  I fear that too much of our praying is centered on things The average church prayer meeting, or prayer list emphasizes the physical needs and the material needs Let me state clearly - it is not wrong to pray for physical healing, or for money needed for the ministry, or for jobs or any other material need! But we must not stay on that level of prayer

10. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  The Highest Level of Asking!  Asking for the blessings of the Spirit of God These result in character and conduct that glorify the Lord

11. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  The Highest Level of Asking!  Paul prayed for the blessings of the Spirit His magnificent prayers are all centered on the blessings of the Spirit of God Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21 Philippians 1:9-11 Colossians 1:9-12 He prays about love, discernment, maturity, obedience, faith, power These are blessings that only the indwelling Holy Spirit can give us

12. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  The Highest Level of Asking!  Paul prayed for the blessings of the Spirit Surely Paul also prayed about bread, physical protection, mercies for travel, and all the other things that seem to play a large part in our own prayers But Paul went way beyond these things He asked God for the good things of the Holy Spirit You can be sure the good things of the Holy Spirit are the best blessings!

13. Lesson 4 We Must Pray for the Best Blessings  The Highest Level of Asking!  When we understand this level of prayer, we have a better appreciation of the meaning of unanswered prayer  Sometimes we pray for certain things (money, healing, a job) and God does not seem to answer It may be that He cannot trust us with these things until our Christian character has grown God cannot put things into our hands until first He prepares our hearts  God uses things and situations to build our Christian character to prepare us for the best things in our lives

14. Asking for the Best Asking for What We Need in Order to Ask for the Best Things  Ephesians 1:16-18a 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know...

15. Asking for the Best Asking for What We Need in Order to Ask for the Best Things  3 things are essential if we are to know the best things to ask from God  The Spirit of Wisdom  The Spirit of Revelation  That the eyes of your heart be enlightened  These things are so important that Paul prayed unceasingly for God to give them to the Ephesian church – the most spiritual church in the New Testament

16. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Wisdom  In order to know what God wants us to ask from Him, we must have the spirit of wisdom (sophia)  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Wisdom  Isaiah 11:2 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

17. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Wisdom  Wisdom can best be understood by the words what and how  Wisdom means knowing What something is What is behind it What can be done  It is knowing how to use or relate to something in your life

18. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Wisdom  Therefore, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit helps us in  Knowing who God is and how to relate to Him  Knowing the truth and how to use it  Knowing what to do and how to do it  Knowing how to ask the best for the glory of God James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

19. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Revelation  In order to know what the best is to ask from God, we must have the Spirit of revelation  “revelation” = apokalupseōs = to manifest, to reveal, to unveil  It is the Holy Spirit who reveals God and what He wants us to ask for the best in our lives  This is made abundantly clear by Scripture

20. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Revelation  1 Corinthians 2:9-12 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

21. Asking for the Best The Spirit of Revelation  Every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God  The Spirit of God dwells in us to teach us the deep things of God!  He is interceding for us even when we do not know how to pray and you can be sure he is asking from our Father in heaven for the very best things for us!

22. Asking for the Best That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened  In order to know the best things to ask from God, we must have the eyes of our hearts enlightened  Understanding = heart = “kardia”  The NKJV translates it “understanding”  The Greek word is “kardia” from which we get our word, “cardiac”  Our spiritual heart must be opened so that the light of God can show us and help us understand the very best things to ask from God

23. Asking for the Best Ephesians 1:18-20 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

24. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Calling”  Today, a “calling” is an inviting, or a vocation  But in the New Testament, the word “calling” is “kleseos” The all ‑ inclusive word for God’s salvation We see immediately that this first “what” is infinitely bigger than it first appeared to be

25. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  Again, the word is vastly bigger and more meaningful than even our big word “hope” To us, hope is wishful thinking or the desire for something projected into the future But in the NT “hope” has another dimension to it It is “a sure and certain hope” There is no degree of uncertainty in the NT word “hope”! So the New Testament word would be accurately translated, “guarantee” or “assurance”

26. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  God wants us to see and understand with our heart the hope that is ours because of this calling When we were lost we were “without hope” (Ephesians 2:12) But in Jesus Christ we have a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) that encourages us day by day Our ultimate hope is, of course, the return of Jesus Christ for His church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:1-3)

27. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  What is the hope, the guarantee, the assurance of our calling? John 10:27-30

28. Asking for the Best John 10:27-30 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

29. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  What is the hope, the guarantee, the assurance of our calling? John 10:27-30 Jesus’ hand God the Father’s hand Ephesians 1:13, 4:30

30. Asking for the Best Ephesians 1:13 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4:30 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  What is the hope, the guarantee, the assurance of our calling? John 10:27-30 Jesus’ hand God the Father’s hand Ephesians 1:13, 4:30 Sealed by the Holy Spirit of God  God wants us to know that our salvation is guaranteed and secure!

32. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  This hope, guarantee, assurance of your calling should be a powerful and dynamic force in your life!  It should encourage you to be pure, to be obedient, and to be faithful  The fact that we shall one day see Christ and be like Him should motivate us to live like Christ today – “to know what is the hope of your calling”

33. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  So we should pray for the best things - that the eyes of our heart will be opened up and flooded with light, in order that we may “know by seeing” how absolutely guaranteed our salvation is in Christ  God wants us to know that every believer has absolute, unconditional, perfect assurance of salvation in Christ  We no longer have to prove ourselves, because God has provided perfect security for us in Christ Jesus!

34. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Hope of Your Calling  “The Hope”  The reason for this is vital! Only secure people will ever serve God Insecure people cannot serve God; they must serve themselves, always seeking the security that eludes them outside of Christ  Romans 8:29 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

35. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the Saints  This phrase does not refer to our inheritance in Christ, but to His inheritance in us  This is an amazing truth—that God should look on us as a part of His great wealth!  God will get glory from the church because of what He has invested in us  When Jesus Christ returns, we shall be “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6)  So what did God get when He got you?  He says that He got rich!  You are God’s precious treasure!

36. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the Saints  How significant are you to God?  Ephesians 2:10 says, “You are God’s workmanship”  “workmanship” = “poiema” = a work of art, a masterpiece! A poem is the nature, character, heart of the writer put on paper Read the poem and you find out about the writer When the world reads God’s poems, they learn what God is like! God stakes His reputation on you and me! That makes you very significant in God’s economy We may be the only Jesus some people will ever see

37. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the Saints  Just how much is a Christian really worth?  The value is determined by what the purchaser is willing to pay for it God paid for you and me with His own Son He believes we are that valuable! Every Christian on earth is exactly equivalent in value to Jesus Christ Himself ‑ in God’s eyes!  How do we know that? Because that is exactly what God paid for you and me ‑ Jesus Christ Himself! Many believers are discouraged because they do not understand this If God says you are valuable, then it does not matter what others say!

38. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Exceeding Greatness of His Power Toward Us Who Believe  God wants us to see with our hearts His power that is available to us!  “exceeding” = “huperballo” “huper” = beyond “ballo” = throw  All four Greek words for power: “dunamis” = power = inherent power “energia” = working = operative power “ischus” = mighty = endowed power “kratos” = power = ultimate power  This divine dynamic, eternal power, available to us for the asking!  God takes every excuse away from us for not getting things done!  He provides the power we need in every area to accomplish His work

39. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Exceeding Greatness of His Power Toward Us Who Believe  We Christians need God’s power!  “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41)  There are enemies who want to rob God of His wealth in us (Ephesians 1:21; 6:11-12)  We could never defeat these spiritual enemies in our own power, but we can through the Holy Spirit’s power in us

40. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Exceeding Greatness of His Power Toward Us Who Believe  Jeremiah 13:11 11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’  God wants us to know the greatness of His power so that we will cling to Him that we may become His people  For renown – God being highly honored  For praise of God  For glory of God

41. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Exceeding Greatness of His Power Toward Us Who Believe  The measuring stick of God’s power is the greatest act of power in the universe – the Resurrection of Christ!  In the Old Testament, people measured God’s power by His creation or by His miracle at the Exodus of Israel from Egypt  Today we measure God’s power by the miracle of Christ’s resurrection  When we ask, God gives us everything we need to accomplish the tasks He sets before us!

42. Asking for the Best That You May Know the Exceeding Greatness of His Power Toward Us Who Believe  God wants us to ask for the best – the good things of the Holy Spirit!  By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts, He wants us to see and understand these things in our lives as He reveals them to us  He wants us, by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, to use this in our lives and to pray this way!  He wants us to cling to Him, to pray for and to see God answer and manifest Himself in our lives! For His renown! For His praise! For His glory! What a great lesson for teaching us to pray!