LIVE@5 – Thursday, March 3, 2022
Luke 11:1–13 (NKJV)
Jesus brings a talk on prayer in this passage. In the first section, He offers a model of prayer to His disciples in response to their request to teach them to pray. In the second section, He explains the need for persistence in prayer. In the third section, He describes the desire of God to answer our prayers.
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1-4
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
Jesus gives His disciples a model that includes identification (Our Father), worship (Hallowed Be Thy Name), submission (Your will be done), petition (Give Us This Day), forgiveness (Forgive Us Our Sins), protection (Lead Us Not Into Temptation). Jesus wants them to know that prayer can be organized and thorough. Often, people pray prayers that are heavily slanted toward one of these parts above the others. Petition is sometimes the only thing people pray. Every prayer should include the elements Jesus taught His disciples so that it is more than just a list of needs. Instead, God desires worship and submission and all the other types of prayer as well. Broaden your prayer menu and see if God will not sit with you and bless you when you pray.
5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Luke 11:5-10
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
In this section, Jesus’ discussion of persistence is begun with a parable about a needy friend petitioning his neighbor over and over again until he gets what he needs. God longs to hear from us, and Jesus instructs His followers to ask, seek, and knock. In the Greek, these words describe immediate actions with continuing action, signifying that one must be willing to go to God again and again, whether for the same need, or with needs that arise from time to time. Do not fail to call on God. He wants to give, reveal, and open to you all the blessings of which you have need.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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!”
Luke 11:11-13
Finally, Jesus teaches His disciples that God has a deep desire to bless those who follow Him and ask Him in faith for that of which they have need. God will not trick or mock His children. He longs to give good things to us, including the Holy Spirit! Ask Him, and believe that He longs to bless you, and that you will receive!
Artwork from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODTjvxAXFfc
Devoted To You 