Luke 11:1-11 

"Dear Jesus. Amen."

Teach us to pray. 

You learn to pray by praying.

The more you do that, the better you get at it.

What we do when we're not here.

But the Christian life is so much more than.....

To know it like a scholar and live it like a saint.

Because that’s where the power is. 

Prayer is not just a religious ritual for the church service. 

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:18-19)

Because we're powerless without it, and the enemy is powerless against it.

1. Prayer becomes powerful when we pray about everything.

Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." 

(1 Peter 5:7)

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

Wait a minute, I haven't prayed about this. 

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 

(Mark 1:35)

"God, help me. Teach me. Show me. Guide me. Thank you." 

2. Prayer becomes powerful when we pray with persistence.

"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." (Luke 11:9)

Keep on asking, 

Keep on seeking, 

Keep on knocking. 

"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." (Luke 11:8)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)

Prayers become powerful when we pray with persistence.

3. Prayers become powerful when we pray with the right intent.

He's praying for the revelation of who God is. 

So That. 

So, what then should be our intent?

That people's lives will be changed by the power and the grace of God.

Because we're powerless without it, and the enemy is powerless against it.