Luke 11:1-13 Thursday, 1 October 2020
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." -Luke 11:1[ESV]
One of Jesus’ disciples approached Him with a request –“Lord, teach us to pray”( Luke 11:1). The disciples were closely watching Jesus and His prayer life. The motivation behind this request could be the fact they saw Jesus’ prayers always heard. This might have created a desire in the disciples to know how to pray rightly. If we ask the Lord the same question today, He will have the same answer for us.
Jesus taught them the MODEL of prayer which both includes man’s responsibilities and God’s provision.
“Father, hallowed be your name” (Luke 11:2): To call God as Our Father, we must have become children of God, which happens when Jesus Christ lives in us. John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…” and Romans 8:14-15: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…” Besides, God’s name is to be honoured!-its our desire to see it revered by all. Now for God’s children, we honour His name, in our thoughts, words, lives—in the home and outside the home.
Your kingdom come (Luke 11:2): We pray that His reign be seen everywhere- and more so in our lives! His reign will be executed in our lives, when we wilfully surrender our lives to His authority. 1 Peter 3:15 says: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…”
Give us each day our daily bread (Luke 11:3): Here we acknowledge God as the Sustainer of our life. We need to make sure that our requests placed before God is our need not greed. Hebrews 13:5 says: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.” This tells us about a life of contentment.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us (Luke 11:4): This is an essential principle to bear in mind. Without forgiving others, we will not receive forgiveness from the Lord. Ephesians 4:32: ‘And be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.’
And lead us not into temptation (Luke 11:4): The request here is not to permit us to be overcome by evil but deliver us from the evil one. 1 Cor.10:13 encourages us: “… but will with the temptation also make a way to escape…”
The teaching does not end there (And he said unto them- Luke 11:5), from Luke 11:5 on, Jesus talks about the value of persistent prayer in a believer’s life. A believer’s responsibility of prayer is clearly drawn here (Luke 11:5-8). One friend went at midnight to another asking him to lend him three loaves (Luke 11:5) for another friend. Interceding for others is a major responsibility of a believer even at odd times! This man went to ASK at midnight without any hesitation to SEEK help from his friend and he KNOCKED confidently because of his earlier experience. Our daily walk in prayer life gives us the assurance that anytime we can approach our Friend [ Heb.4:16: Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.]—no matter what the situation is! Even though he faced refusal in the beginning from the expected place, still his persistence helped him get the answer!
Prayer: Abba Father thank You for adopting us as Your children. Help us to lead a life in persistent prayer and to intercede for others too. In Jesus name we pray – Amen.