Praying to Our Father
Genesis 18:20-23 and Luke 11:1-13
Sermon for the 7th
Sunday after Pentecost\
July 27th, Year of Our + Lord 2025
Our Redeemer and Our
Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Let us Pray: Heavenly Father, you invite us to pray to You for all our needs. You have taught us how to pray and in Your Holy Word you have given us many prayers to use. In our Baptisms, you have given us Your Holy Spirit, and joined us to Your Son, Jesus Christ, who both intercede for us before Your heavenly throne. Prayer should come easily to us, but often it does not. So, on this day that You have set before us mighty words about Your intention for prayer, open our ears and our hearts, that we might learn to truly pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Abraham lived out his faith very imperfectly, (see the end of Genesis chapter 12, or chapter 16, or chapter 20, if you want to hear just how imperfect Abraham was). But sometimes Abraham did speak and act in accord with the faith God had created in his heart. His prayer to the LORD for the sake of any righteous people who might be living in Sodom is a tremendous example, a model for our prayers.
Sodom and Gomorrah was a terrible place; the worst, most perverted kinds of wickedness were the daily pursuit of the people. Lot, Abraham’s cousin, had chosen poorly when he decided to raise his family there. The LORD reveals to Abraham that He was about to give Sodom the destruction they deserved. Abraham is moved to intercede, to plead for clemency, for the sake of the righteous souls who lived there.
“Would the LORD spare Sodom for the sake of 50 righteous?” Abraham starts his pleading there, and once the LORD declares His willingness to show mercy, the founder of God’s chosen people moves quickly and boldly to secure more mercy, kind of reverse-auction style. What about for 45? For 40? 30? 20? What if there are only 10? Perhaps Abraham could have lowered the total more quickly. For the LORD never indicates displeasure with his requests, and finally declares: "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
In case you don’t recall the rest of the story, there were not 10 righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. The men of the town mean to assault the angels God sent to investigate. These heavenly messengers rescue Lot and his family, and the city is destroyed. Abraham’s pleading for them did not avail, not because the LORD was unfaithful or unmerciful, but because the men of Sodom were so wicked.
Still, we can learn a lot from Abraham’s prayer. First of all, those who trust in the LORD’s promises can and should pray to Him. Even if that faith is feeble, still, all believers are qualified to ask God for things, even big things. Because God loves to hear the requests of His children, and answer them perfectly. This is what Martin Luther understood as he explained the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven.” What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask him, as dear children ask their dear father.
Abram’s name, which meant great father, must have seemed increasingly ironic, and painful, as he and Sarai lived decade after decade, with no children. Abraham, the new name the LORD gave Abram in Genesis chapter 17, means “father of many,” as in father of many nations. It might have seemed like the LORD was piling on a bit, since still, after so many years of hoping and praying, Sarah was still barren. But the LORD’s promises are reliable, and just before our Genesis reading today, the LORD had showed up, visibly, to Abraham, to repeat and put a date on His promise: I will return this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.
Buoyed by visit of God and His repetition of the promise (believers can never hear too much Gospel promise), Abraham dares to intercede to the LORD as to his dear Father, praying for what he hopes is a handful of righteous souls in Sodom. Which is a key second point: Dear children will ask for things for themselves. But since they know their dear father is taking care of them, even more, they will pray for others. And so the Lord’s Prayer is collective, Our Father, give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses. Like Abraham, we forgiven sinners pray for each other, and the world, that God’s kingdom be expanded, and His will be done, that hunger, sin, temptation and evil would be restrained and defeated, for us and for all, by the LORD.
Our Father. It still seems brash. How dare we speak to God in this way? How dare we poor, miserable sinners be so bold, so familiar, as to come into the presence of the Holy Creator and King of the universe, the Almighty and Everlasting Lord and Judge, and call Him “Father”?
For one simple and massive reason: These words, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” were spoken through the mouth of the eternal Son who would hang on the cross for the world’s salvation. For the sake of Christ crucified and resurrected, the words “our Father” are a tender invitation, inviting us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, calling us to put our faith where our mouth is and call Him “Father,” as we ask Him for good things.
With these words, Jesus distinguishes the prayers of His disciples from the pious shows of religious people who pray in order to be seen by others, in the market places and around town. Now, you might say, “nobody is making a scene about praying in public in our world today.” But, consider people who put up yard signs or flags to signal their virtue, from the left or the right, Or, when the values of the unbelieving world are displayed in proud parades, or bumper stickers that celebrate depravity. Think about the fake tolerance behind the COEXIST bumper stickers that exalt false religions. Far too many Americans have made politics their religion, so all too often their political speech is the same as pagan prayer.
Sometimes a situation calls for a Christian to pray in public, and God be praised. But in every instance, even in public, Christian prayer is personal, intimate conversation with the Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son. Prayer should never be a billboard for self-advancement. It is certainly not a Christian merit badge. It is simply what children do: ask their Father for their every need.
With these words, Jesus distinguishes the prayers of His disciples from the prayers of the babblers, who in their “spirituality” heap up empty words and phrases in the hope that God will be impressed and hear them for their many words. Prayer is not mindless meditation or meaningless mantra. Prayer is filled with meaning, spoken confidently, boldly, directly, expectantly, as Luther said: “Few words and richness of meaning is Christian; many words and lack of meaning is pagan.”
Jesus called God His Father, as He prayed
in thanksgiving for the reception of His teaching by His disciples: "I
thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things
from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes
Father, for such was your gracious will,
(Matthew 11:25-26).
Jesus called God His Father on the night of
His betrayal, in the upper room: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your
Son that the Son may glorify you, (John 17:1). And in the Garden of Gethsemane: "My
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I
will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)
As they nailed Him to the Cross, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do, (Luke 23:34). Jesus called God His Father with His dying breath: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, (Luke 23:46). Jesus prayed at all these times, to His eternal Father, praying in our place, on our behalf, for us, and for the life of the world.
And so we pray “Our Father” because Jesus has taught us to pray in this way, and made our divine adoption possible by His blood. The One who hung on the Cross has given us the new birth of Baptism, the circumcision of the heart, made without human hands. So yes, indeed, we may pray “Our Father.”
And we do not pray alone, because Jesus prays with us. He who became our Brother, the One who gave us His Spirit that He might carry us to the Father, this One also intercedes for us. It is the Spirit of Christ whom God has put into our hearts in Holy Baptism, the Spirit who cries out with our spirit, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8, Galatians 4) Baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus is our permission, our authority, our invitation to come to God and ask Him for all our needs. Like when dear children ask their dear father, causing him to smile and set down his phone, turn off the T.V. and just listen, to you, as your dear father.
To conclude, we should discuss three common obstacles to our prayers, the first imagined, the second two, real. The first obstacle to our prayers is when we impose our image of fatherhood on God. Sometimes using earthly fathers to talk about God the Father can be helpful, like, I pray, what I just did. To help us understand that God loves to hear our prayers I used the image of a dad putting down his phone and turning off the T.V., in order to listen to his kids.
But far too often, we injure our own souls as we imagine God like a big, distant uncle or grandfather, a possible source of goodies, but also full of shortcomings, and not always available, an old man dispensing hard candies and pats on the head.
The LORD God is not a father like our earthly fathers and grandfathers. No matter how good they may be, God your Father is infinitely better. He is our Father above and beyond our understanding, the absolute greatest Father, from whom all that is good in human fatherhood is drawn, but without any of our failings. God is our Father, Almighty, Awesome, the Creator of everything, and also our Provider, our Protector. He is personable, approachable, ready to listen, because of and through His Son, Jesus Christ, who has qualified us to be sons and daughters of God.
The second obstacle to our prayers is our own lack of words. The Fall of Adam left us naturally deaf to God’s Word, and also mute, dumb, unable to pray, ears stuffed, tongues stuck, lacking vocabulary worthy of God. The sinner that remains in each of us resists the notion of prayer. Too often we are lazy, and find it nearly impossible to consistently set aside time and energy to petition our Father. Our natural deafness to God’s Word robs us of the words to say. Our doubt of God’s Word tempts us to think God isn’t even listening.
So Christ must heal our mouths and ears as well as our hearts and minds. And He does, putting His words of prayer on our lips, taking the guesswork out of prayer by providing us with the very words we need, as well as a guide to the proper form of any prayer. We need not wonder, “What words will I use? We need not ask, “Will God hear?” “Did I pray using the proper form?” We know all these things, for it is Jesus who tells us: “When you pray, say these words: Our Father, who art in heaven.”
I would not trade the Our Father for all the prayers that have ever been uttered in Churches, no matter how poetic, passionate, good and true they may be. Even if the Our Father were the only prayer we knew, it would still provide a lifetime of prayer. This side of glory, we will not exhaust the depth of the prayer that Jesus has taught us. And the Lord’s Prayer is no means the only prayer God has given us. One hundred fifty psalms, and dozens of canticles and prayers from Prophets and Apostles, these are yours to pray.
If you want to focus on the Lord’s Prayer, try this. Pray it daily, but focus on one petition each day. As you go through your week, use the Our Father to lead you into prayer for God’s kingdom mission, or for daily bread, or for fleeing temptation. Jesus has neatly provided seven petitions, one for each day of the week.
The Our Father, the Psalms, and other prayers from Scripture are yours to pray freely, and often: in the morning, at meals, in times of doubt and struggle, in times of joy, and before bed. Pray often, because God the Father loves to hear your prayers. Especially the Lord’s Prayer. It is, after all, the prayer His beloved Son taught us, the prayer His beloved Son prays with us.
The third obstacle to our prayer is our sin. In and of ourselves we have no right to pray. Based on our thoughts, words and deeds we should be banished from God’s presence, forbidden to speak. But, Jesus has commanded us to pray, and the Father has promised to hear us, for Jesus’ sake. God has spoken; He will not take back His Word. It stands whether we are holy or unholy, worthy or unworthy. The validity of our prayer is not based in our personal worthiness, but in the command and promise of God. Our prayers find their value in the body and blood of Jesus, offered in prayerful sacrifice on a Roman Cross, broken and poured out to cover our sin. So, a prayer offered through faith in Jesus Christ is precious and holy in God’s sight, no matter how big the sinner who utters it might be.
Jesus especially teaches us to pray for forgiveness, that we be renewed in the Good News that our sins do not prevent our prayers from being heard. Your prayer for forgiveness is already answered, by Jesus’ prayer on the Cross, “Father, forgive them.” And He does! Jesus has also promised to deliver His Father’s forgiveness through real and tangible means, in Baptism, Absolution and the Supper. Through these means, these mysteries, these hidden miracles, God is also answering your prayers. Christians dare not say: “I cannot pray because I am a sinner,” because the Father declares, through Jesus, “You are forgiven, and I await your prayer, in Jesus’ Name.” You can pray, and pray boldly.
In fact, Abraham did not have to stop at 10. From a human perspective, his movement from asking mercy for the sake of 50, all the way down to 10, seems very bold. But from God’s perspective, it does not take 10 righteous persons for the LORD to show mercy. No, it only takes One. Because that One righteous person is also God Himself, the Father’s eternal Son, who has done all it takes to provide mercy to the whole human race. All who are brought to repentance and faith are spared, declared righteous, washed clean and adopted by God, for Jesus’ sake.
So be bold and confident, and come into the presence of God with your prayers. His favor toward you is not in doubt. You do not pray to bribe God, as if to make a deal with Him through your prayers, because Jesus has already closed the deal for you. Christ died and rose for you, so you are welcome, baptized, forgiven, fed, and listened to, in His Name. As dear children ask their dear Father, let us pray, together, and as individuals. Let us pray today, tomorrow and every day, for ourselves, and for the life of the world, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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