*Luke 11:1-13
Jesus provides profound teachings on prayer, offering insights into the nature of God’s response to our petitions.
- The Lord’s Prayer:
- One of Jesus’s disciples asks him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his followers.
- Jesus provides a prayer template, known as the Lord’s Prayer:
- Acknowledge God’s holiness: “Father, hallowed be your name.”
- Seek God’s kingdom: “Your kingdom come.”
- Ask for daily needs: “Give us each day our daily bread.”
- Request forgiveness: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”
- Seek protection: “Lead us not into temptation.”
- Parable of the Persistent Friend:
- Jesus tells a story of a man who visits his friend at midnight seeking bread to offer an unexpected guest.
- Despite the inconvenience, the friend eventually helps because of the visitor’s persistence.
- Encouragement to Ask, Seek, and Knock:
- Jesus teaches that those who ask will receive, those who seek will find, and those who knock will have doors opened.
- He uses the analogy of a father who wouldn’t give a snake or scorpion when asked by his child for a fish or egg.
- He assures that if humans know how to give good gifts, God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
Luke 11:1-13 teaches us about the power of prayer and trusting God. Jesus shows us that we can talk to God like a loving Father who cares about our needs. He encourages us to pray with faith, keep asking, and trust that God will provide what is best for us. Just as a good parent gives their child what they need, God gives us His love, guidance, and the Holy Spirit when we seek Him. We can apply this by making prayer a regular part of our lives, knowing that God hears us and answers in the best way at the right time.
Luke 11:1-13 (WEB)
11:1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say,‘Our Father in heaven,may your name be kept holy.May your Kingdom come.May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.3 Give us day by day our daily bread.4 Forgive us our sins,for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.Bring us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.’ ”5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’ 7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’? 8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”