Five Transformative Prayers That Will Revitalize Your Church
In our rapidly changing world, where AI and technology seem to be reshaping society at breakneck speed, many people are fearful about what the future holds. Some believe AI will usher in an apocalyptic scenario, while others envision a utopian society. But as believers, we know that true transformation only comes through one source.
As I recently shared, “We know in God’s sovereign foreknowledge, the only way that society and our world can be transformed is through the power of the gospel and through Jesus Christ coming back.” While many are focused on technological solutions, God has already given us powerful means of grace—tools and habits that bring about genuine transformation. One of the most powerful is prayer.
The Disciple’s Request: “Teach Us to Pray”
In Luke 11:1, we read: “Now, Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.'”
This disciple had noticed a pattern. Jesus would go away to pray, and when He returned, miraculous things happened. People were healed. Lives were changed. The same was true of John the Baptist. The disciple recognized that prayer was the fuel for their ministries.
Most of us know we should pray. If you’ve been a Christian for more than a month, you’ve heard people say, “Pray, pray, pray.” Yet many of us feel guilty because we feel we can never pray enough. But what exactly is prayer? At its core, prayer is simply an honest conversation with God who loves you.
Let me share five types of prayers from Luke 11 that can transform not just individuals, but our entire church.
Prayer of Adoration: Recognizing Our Good Father
“And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name'” (Luke 11:2).
This is a prayer that God would be honored and glorified—that we would adore Him and see Him for who He truly is: loving, sovereign, holy, and majestic. But notice the name Jesus instructs us to use: Father. Not Sovereign, not Yahweh, not Jehovah, but Father.
This was revolutionary in Jesus’ time. Jewish people would never have called God “Father.” Today, we might take this intimacy for granted, or we might struggle with it for different reasons.
Some of us revere God so much that we feel an intimate relationship might be disrespectful. Others, especially younger generations, struggle because they didn’t have a good earthly father. They project their earthly experience onto God.
But Jesus addresses this directly in Luke 11:11-13: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him 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?”
God doesn’t just give better gifts—He gives the best gift: the Holy Spirit. “When we ask for comfort, He gives us the comforter. When we ask for peace, He gives us the spirit of peace.” When we see God as the good Father He truly is, prayer moves from duty to delight.
Prayer of Surrender: Your Kingdom Come
“Your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2b).
When we pray these words, we’re asking for King Jesus to rule and reign in our lives, in our church, and across the earth. We’re praying for every person to submit joyfully to God’s authority.
Why do we struggle with this prayer? Because “deep down we’d rather advance our little kingdoms than submit to His.” There will be times when God asks us to do hard things, and we resist.
For many mature Christians, the struggle isn’t complete selfishness but mixed desires. We want to do what God wants, but in our own way and timing. True surrender says, “Lord, have your way. We surrender our life to you and you do whatever you think is beneficial.”
When we pray this prayer sincerely, “you will joyfully experience His power at work through you when you surrender your will to His.” Those who don’t pray this way often feel stuck, bored, or like life is just a mundane task.
Prayer of Dependence: Our Daily Bread
“Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).
This is a prayer for our needs. Yet our self-sufficiency often prevents us from praying it. Think about it—when was the last time you actually prayed for your basic needs?
When you’re hungry, do you pray, “Lord Jesus, give me food”? No, you go to the refrigerator. When you’re thirsty, do you ask God to bring you water? No, you just get it yourself. When you want security, you buy a house in a safe neighborhood and install security systems.
“If I’m honest with you, I don’t know when’s the last time… I just started praying, ‘Lord, I just need you for every basic necessity of life.'” We’ve become so self-sufficient that we rarely depend on God.
But here’s what we miss: “We can’t nourish our own souls. Only God can satisfy that hunger.” Just as food is needed for physical growth, the nourishment of our soul is needed for spiritual growth.
As Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, I am in him. He it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.”
Some of us struggle with this prayer because we overemphasize God’s sovereignty. We think, “If God knows what I need, why should I pray?” I love what Sam Storms says: “Don’t ever expect God to do for you apart from prayer what He has promised only to do for you through prayer.”
Others ask, “Why should I keep asking?” Jesus addresses this with the parable of the persistent friend in Luke 11:5-10, concluding, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.”
Charles Spurgeon put it beautifully: “God delights in our dependence upon Him. He never wearies of our asking because our asking honors His sufficiency.”
Prayer of Restoration: Forgiveness and Freedom
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us” (Luke 11:4).
I struggled with this part of the Lord’s Prayer for years. Does this mean I have to forgive others before receiving God’s forgiveness?
Here’s what I realized: Jesus isn’t referring to salvation here. He knows we’ll sin throughout our journey. While sin doesn’t affect our salvation, it disrupts our intimate fellowship with God—just like tension in a relationship after an argument.
One particular sin causes most rifts in our relationship with God: bitterness. “Refusing to forgive erodes our ability to enjoy God’s forgiveness. When we don’t forgive, we stop forgetting how God has forgiven us.”
Ephesians 4:32 puts it this way: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.”
Many of you have been deeply hurt. “There are so many of you in this room that if you were to share your story, we would weep from the pain of how someone has hurt you.” Yet God asks us to forgive, because unforgiveness ultimately prevents us from hearing God say, “I love you and want to be in a relationship with you.”
Prayer of Deliverance: Spiritual Protection
“Lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4b).
When we think of temptation, we think of sin. But in this context, temptation refers to trials. Matthew 6 expands on this: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Jesus is implying that some trials we face are spiritual in nature—spiritual warfare. This prayer is for deliverance from being crushed by our spiritual battles.
There are two extremes regarding spiritual warfare: overemphasizing it (seeing demons in every shadow) or underemphasizing it (like a soldier removing armor in a battle zone).
“The reality is we are all in a spiritual battle. When you decided to put your faith in Jesus Christ, you’ve decided to put a bullseye on you where the enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy you.”
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Whatever your view on spiritual warfare, one thing is certain: the enemy wants to take away your joy, peace, and everything you hold dear. He wants to destroy your view of God.
“When we look around this world, don’t you realize how messed up this world is?” There is immense suffering—some from our sin, some from living in a fallen world, and some from spiritual warfare. In all cases, we must cry out, “Jesus, deliver us.”
The good news is that one day, He will. “One day His kingdom is going to be culminated by Him coming back to this earth. And every tear will be wiped away.”
Putting It Into Practice: Becoming a Praying Church
If we consistently pray these five prayers—adoration, surrender, dependence, restoration, and deliverance—we will become a transformed church. The world will “look and be amazed at the work of God in our lives” and wonder why we experience such joy and love.
Our answer? We are connected to our Father, “who is good, who is loving, who is sovereign. And He will be our deliverer, He will be our protector, He will be our guide.”
Next Steps:
- Start each day with adoration – Begin by acknowledging God as your good Father who delights in you.
- Surrender daily – Ask yourself: “What am I holding back from God?” Surrender it to Him.
- Practice dependence – Intentionally pray for your needs, acknowledging that everything comes from God.
- Pursue restoration – Identify any unforgiveness in your heart and ask God to help you release it.
- Seek deliverance – Recognize the spiritual battles you face and ask for God’s protection and victory.
Remember, prayer isn’t just an individual activity—it’s corporate too. Notice how the Lord’s Prayer uses “us” and “our.” Let’s commit to praying together as a church, believing that as we do, God will transform not just us, but our community and world through us.
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We hope you enjoyed the sermon and would love to see you in person. Plan your visit to Community Baptist Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee today!