Simple Teaching on Prayer

Scripture:

Luke 11:1    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.” 

² He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

³ Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴ And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Luke 11:5   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; ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ ⁷ 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.’ ⁸ 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.

Luke 11:9   “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. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹² Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³ 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!”

Observation:

Jesus’ face is set toward Jerusalem. The disciples are learning how to minister along the way and to become true disciples. As they watched him spending time in prayer, they also wanted to learn how to pray. Evidently it was common for rabbis to teach their followers a framework for prayer and so Jesus lays out his prayer in simple, and yet very profound terms which exemplify the sanctified life. 

Neale tells us “The Lord’s Prayer contains the theological essentials of Christian living. 

• It highlights the consciousness of the sanctity of the divine presence as a daily reality. 

• It expresses a life filled with hope of the victory of God, if not yet fully realized. 

• It emphasizes God’s engagement in the common experience of life in the request for daily sustenance. 

• It points to the necessity for the incarnation, the ultimate expression of God’s identification with the human situation. The frank request for forgiveness, and the unqualified” (Neale, NBBC). 

In Luke’s gospel we receive two illustrations related to prayer. The first is related to persistence. Prayer is to be a daily practice, one that accompanies the disciple throughout their life. Jesus is not saying that the Father only answers when someone refuses to give up, but is saying that there is value in the continual and daily practice of prayer. The Father will hear and respond. Neale puts it this say, “It is not the intensity of belief, nor absence of doubt that makes prayer effective (compare Matt 21:22 || Mark 11:23). It is the persistent, daily practice of prayer that makes it effective” (NBBC).

We are not to be afraid to ask the Father for good things. Our heavenly Father loves us much more than an earthly father loves their child — and that parent will do all they can to give their child good gifts. 

Application:

Somehow, I think we make prayer too hard. In making it more complicated than it is, we avoid spending time in prayer. Jesus was a model for the disciples when he regularly went and spent time with the Father. The things that he tells us to do in prayer must have been the way that he had conversation with the Father in prayer as well. 

Jesus knew that he was on the earth to be engaged in the Father’s mission. His example of prayer reminds us that he died so that we might be children of God. Just as God is Jesus’ Father, so God is our Father too. We address God as “Abba” — or “Daddy.” Our dear heavenly Daddy loves and cares for us deeply, and holy is our Daddy’s name. Our Daddy is so amazing that we should be overwhelmed by the desire to praise and worship him. We are to do this on a daily basis. 

We are to join Jesus and our Father on the mission. That mission is about the breaking in of the kingdom of God in this world. That’s why we pray that God’s kingdom will come, and that we will be engaged in God’s work. 

Daily dependence upon God is what will bring us back to him day after day. We don’t need to know everything now, but we do need to learn to trust that God will provide for us when we have the need. Worrying too much about tomorrow and about the things that we think that we need will take us away from our dependence upon God. 

We are sinners, and we must recognize our need for forgiveness. At the same time, we must be actively engaged in forgiving those who are around us, and this too, on a daily basis. 

Luke’s wording here is different from that of Matthew. We have this contrast of “a time of trial” as compared to “temptation.” Whichever way we may understand what Jesus was saying, it has to do with keeping us away from difficulties. I think we all know that we can be drawn into situations or circumstances that will only lead to sorrow. May God protected us from going down that path so that we don’t have to suffer the consequences of our poor decision making. 

Therefore, let’s be willing to ask our Father to help us every day, to lead us to good things and into making the right choices. I know that when I was a child my parents regularly prayed for the young man that I would someday marry. I also know that my husband’s parents prayed the same thing. Now, after more than 37 years of marriage, I’m grateful for the persistence in prayer of parents because I have come to realize what a gift my marriage is. God was gracious and in his wisdom led me to an incredible man with whom I get to share my life. This has had an impact on our children, and now, even our grandchildren. 

The decisions that we make have consequences for us and for those who will come after us. This is why the Father encourages us to ask for good things! Our Father loves us and wants the best for us. Let us trust in Him, going to him on a daily basis with hearts and minds open to being shaped and formed by the presence of the Spirit in us. 

Prayer:

Lord, help me to follow your example in prayer . Amen.