A Word about Paying Attention

Today I want to share a word about paying attention, as I comment on Luke 11:1-13. This passage reads:

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial." And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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!"

I am sure we have all heard the joke about the fellow who said, I am so poor I can’t even pay attention.” He is probably a fried of the guy who said, “I am such a poor musician I can’t even play the radio.” Be that as it may, the ability to pay attention is actually an important life skill. One year a police department’s annual report listed “Inattention to Driving” as the biggest cause of traffic accidents in their jurisdiction, and that was before the advent of cell phones! No doubt the percentage of collisions caused by people not paying attention to driving has gone up in recent years.

Another area in which people need to pay attention is when they enroll in a service in the internet. Sometimes a webpage is designed such that when a person thinks they are buying a one-time service, they are actually agreeing to a subscription that will result in future charges on their credit card, whether that be done monthly, quarterly, or annually. Some folks have lost a considerable amount of money that way, because they did not pay attention to the fine print.

A Lesson about Prayer:

In our focal passage for today, Our Lord was asked to teach his disciples how to pray. That was a natural request, since the disciples were the learners, and Jesus was their teacher. We also know that on several occasions Jesus used a prayer, or a person who was praying as an object lesson, therefore the disciples knew He had some specific and strong ideas about how one should pray. 

In response, Jesus taught the disciples what we often call “The Lord’s Prayer,” although this might be a misnomer. Jesus was teaching how the disciples should pray, not how He would pray. In fact, if we want to see how Jesus prayed, we should consider the “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. That’s why some faith groups have called the prayer in Luke 11 “the Model Prayer” or “The Family Prayer.” Regardless of what it is called, it shows us the things that God pays attention to in the lives of His followers.

A Lesson about Priorities:

First, God wants us to praise Him and to see His Kingdom advance. 

God is worthy of all the praise and honor we are capable of, and even more. Because He is all-good, all-wise, all-loving, and all-pure, we should adore Him and praise Him. We should want His ways to overcome the evil ways of the world. This is God’s highest priority, and if God pays attention to these issues, so should we!

Next, we see that God is concerned about us as people. 

God wants us to have our needs met, both our physical needs and our spiritual needs as well. Remember, Jesus said He came to give us life, but not just life. He came to give us abundant life. If God pays attention to the physical and spiritual lives of people, so should we!

Finally, in the model prayer, we see that God pays attention to trials and troubles in our lives. 

God had heard the groans of the Jews enslaved in Egypt, and He also responded to the needs of Job. He called out Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and Jesus healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and made the blind to see. If God pays attention to the troubles of people, so should we! 

A Lesson about Power:

After Jesus finished giving the disciples an example of how to pray, He took the opportunity to move on and provide a teaching on what might be a more important point. 

Yes, those who follow God need to pay attention to the same things that He does; however, as imperfect and frail human beings, it is unlikely that we will always get our prayers right. Sometimes we will be totally selfish in our prayers, and at other times we will forget to pray at all. Jesus, therefore, went on to remind us that the power in prayer doesn’t reside in us, but in God.

Jesus used a common illustration of a neighbor asking for help at midnight to underline the most important part of prayer. The power in our prayers does not consist of a specific form, or a specific set of topics, or of a specific schedule, or even a specific amount of passion. No! The power in our prayer comes from the specific God who pays attention to us!

Even though we often have to be excessively persistent in getting humans to pay attention to us, that is not necessary with God. And even though we frail and sinful humans give good things to our children (usually), we know that sometimes that isn’t true, such as in the case of child abuse. Even when we do give good things to our children, we can over-do even that. I know of a couple that would send their children to stay with the grandparents over the summer. When the kids came back home, they looked like butterballs because of how many treats they were given by their loving but doting grandparents.

God, however, gets everything right. He aways hears us, and He always gives us the right answer. Though we may feel at times that our prayers go no higher than the ceiling that is never true. God hears us. He pays attention to us, and like the best parent in the world He does the right thing for us, only better.

Personal Application:

Thank God today that He pays attention to us. Take advantage of His attention by spending time with Him and conversing with Him. God wants to fellowship with His people, and when we feel distant from God, we can be assured He isn’t the one who moved.

One last question before I close, If God pays us, should we not pay attention to Him? I think the answer to that rhetorical question is obvious, but I will give an answer anyway: of course we should! 

Every Blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt