Mt. Zion Church of the Holy Spirit - Sermons
Prayer and the Open Heaven
Luke 11:1 — "And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
I. The Disciples’ Request
This is one of the greatest passages of scripture. In this short prayer lies the secret to Jesus’ life of fellowship and communion with His Father. It reflects at its core the heart and mind of Jesus in relation to living a life of dependency upon God and relationship with Him. Secrets to a full life with God are found within this teaching. Oh, the depths of life that lie before us, if we only had the eyes to see it!!
The disciples had observed His ministry and life for some time now, and knew that His strength and life issued from a life given to prayer and intimate communion with His Father. The disciples yearned to be taught this way. So the disciples elected one of their company to approach Him as He was praying with a very simple request, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
Some of them had known and even followed the teachings of John and knew that he too was a man of prayer and also taught his disciples to pray. I wonder what those prayers of John must have been like? John was a Holy Ghost-filled man from his mother’s womb; he was a fiery preacher and prophet that saw a great revival of repentance. I am sure it came from his praying and the life he had in the Spirit. Nothing of eternal weight and value comes without men of prayer walking in the Spirit.
John was a holy man, a godly man that came in the spirit of Elijah. Elijah was a prophet of prayer who stopped the heavens, and through prayer, saw the fire fall on Mt. Carmel. John came in the same heated spirit of Elijah. Jesus said of John,
Matthew 11:11 — "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Yet John bowed his knee before Christ and said, "...the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose" and "I have need to be baptized of Thee" (Luke 3:16; Matthew 3:14). This shows us the supremacy and matchless glory of one man, Jesus Christ. It is good to be taught by good, godly, Holy Ghost-filled men to pray, but nothing compares to the Master. He is the Master in everything. If we need to know how to love and forgive, He is the supreme teacher. Whatever area we find ourselves deficient in, we can come to Him and say as the disciples, "Lord teach me."
Since the early days of the Church, there have been many men that have been men of prayer and communed with God and that have had the very life of Christ issuing forth from their innermost being. There are many books and teachings by these men that are wonderful and very helpful. Having said this, we must never replace the supremacy of Christ with that which has been experienced by others. It is never a substitute for the person and reality of Christ revealed to the heart of the individual believer. We must come to the Master ourselves, just as those have done who are great men and women of faith, and, like the disciples, ask the Lord, "Teach me how to live as You live. Teach me to pray as You pray." God will always answer this simple heart felt request.
Obviously the disciples' request is more than a request for learning to pray, but this is an invitation for Christ to teach them about truly living a full, spiritual life. Prayer is an extension of that life, just as godliness, loving others, or soul winning is. How did Jesus teach them? What did He tell them?
II. The Son’s Open Heaven
Luke 11:2 — And He said unto them, “When ye pray, say, 'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.'"
What Jesus gave them was a model, not to be prayed over and over again, but a prayer that reflected His heart and life. The first insight into Jesus’ life of prayer is found in the first line of His prayer, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father which art in heaven...'" That one line is worth more than the world with all its riches. It is filled with the eternal mind and purposes of God. This opens the life to prayer; it is the doorway to prayer. If we miss this one truth we will be prayerless and lifeless. It is the truth of the open heaven.
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was baptized in the river Jordan. When He came from the depths of Jordan, He came up under an open heaven; He heard His Father’s voice, and then the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.
Mark 1:10-11 — "And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, 'Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"
Three things are apparent when you read this verse. First, the heavens were opened, signifying that there was nothing hindering Christ’s access and fellowship with His Father. Secondly, God’s approval of His Son was made manifest by an audible voice, thus showing the pleasure of God is in His Son. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in full measure, signifying that God’s anointing comes from an open heaven on the Son that He approves of.
Jesus prayed and lived under this open heaven, in His Father’s approval and blessing. There was nothing in the way to hinder His prayers. There was nothing in the way to hinder His life flow. Nothing was impossible now, because of the open heaven above Christ. It gave Him His direction and clarity for ministry. He said, "If I want to know what to do, who to heal, where to go, I simply look through an open heaven and see my Father."
Now obviously it does not mean that He looked up into heaven to see God. It simply means that the Holy Ghost had complete liberty in Christ’s life to reveal, show, and speak to Him. Jesus was completely obedient to the Father; He laid down His earthen will and did only what the Father asked Him to do. He obeyed every Holy Ghost-impulse; He spoke everything that God told Him without fear of man. He did not care if people approved of Him or not, because there was one thing that consumed Him and that was the fact that He had full unhindered access to the Father, and the Father was pleased with Him.
In the Gospels you never see Jesus sweating because He did not have enough food to feed thousands of people. There was not a sickness or malady that was too big for God to heal. There was no false accusation that could take it from Him, no storm He could not rest in, and no circumstance that was impossible for His Father to fix. What does Jesus’ open heaven have to do with me and my prayer life and my life in God?
III. The Believer’s Open Heaven
Christ says to the disciple that came to Him, "When ye pray say, 'Our Father which art in heaven…'" At this moment Jesus is not speaking to all of the disciples. He is speaking to only one. Jesus looks at this disciple and in essence says, "Through Me and with Me you can have the same privilege of approaching God as Father."
At this point you might look at your life struggles and say, “How is this possible? Jesus was the only One that has God’s approval to live in that manner. He is the only One that has obeyed every Holy Ghost-impulse, spoken every Word without fear; He alone perfectly pleased God. When it comes to my life, forget it. I could never obey God enough and please Him enough to be granted unhindered access and call God, "Father”. You’re right! That is the first lesson of prayer that Jesus is trying to convey to the heart of His disciples and is still trying to convey to us today.
You see, prayer and God’s pleasure has nothing to do with our performance. In fact, the more that our prayers are offered to God on the basis of our own performance, the less they are pleasing to God. Jesus gave an illustration of how God views the prayers of those that come in their own merits, and those who come to God in seeking His favor and approval in humility.
Luke 18:10-14 — "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Jesus astonished the people when He gave this example. He says that, for all intents and purposes, the heavens are closed to the one that comes in his own merits to gain God’s approval. Yet many Christians are caught in the trap of this praying Pharisee. Some feel they are so obedient that they gain God’s approval through their own strength, but for most of us the reality is that we live at the other end of the spectrum. We feel we cannot obey enough or do enough to gain God’s approval, and so we grow discouraged and do not pray at all. If you have a good day, you pray and if you have a bad day, you do not pray. Both extremes are very wrong, because they offer prayers to God based on human performance. You can never know the joy and satisfaction of God’s approval looking at yourself.
Then how do we enjoy this privilege of the open heaven? Let’s look to the scriptures for the answer. When did Christ find this open heaven and hear God’s approval of Him? It was after He humbled Himself, laid down His own will and was baptized. When He came up He had an open heaven. Jesus is a pattern and forerunner of all that would come after Him.
We too enter the place of God’s favor through baptism into Christ. Paul makes it clear that this is not just a sacramental baptism only, but it is a true baptism when we lay down our own wills and put on Christ’s righteousness by faith.
Colossians 2:12 — "Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead."
Galatians 3:27 — "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
Many people are ceremonially baptized, but they have never been baptized into Christ. Some have never been formally baptized by man, but they are baptized into Christ because they have identified themselves with Him in submitting their will to God the Father. They have claimed the merits of Christ’s blood as their own righteousness. This, in essence, is the true born again experience and salvation.
After baptism we are then hidden in Christ, and God sees His righteousness, obedience and life as pleasing.
Colossians 3:3 — "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
When we go into the baptismal of death to self and faith in Christ, we are raised with Christ under an open heaven. God then looks through this open heaven and says, "This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased." This is the ground of all prayer; this is the key to a life that is God pleasing. It renounces all self-righteousness and piety; it comes in the merits of Christ and then receives the acceptance and blessing of the Father.
Ephesians 1:6 — "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved."
The open heaven has nothing to do with our performance but everything to do with our relation to Christ. Are you hidden with Christ through faith and baptism? Are you under this open heaven that is yours by experiencing the new birth? God beckons all of His children to see the open heaven above Christ, for in Christ is all of God’s pleasure. Have you made that critical and essential identification? Do you cling to Christ as your only source of righteousness and merit for God’s favor? God beckons us to the waters. God calls us to the realization that all the promises in Christ are "yea" and "amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20).
If you have made that choice and entered the waters of baptism, you can be assured that God views you as whole and complete.
Jesus and the Father are beckoning us and speaking to our hearts, "Come and pray under an open heaven, 'Our Father…'!" Will you come?