March 19, 2024
Jesus Teaches His Disciples About Prayer
Luke 11: 1-13
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just 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 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
REFLECTION:
Notice the order in this prayer. First Jesus praised God; then he made his requests. Praising God first puts me in a position of reverence for God and it also puts me in the right frame of mind to tell him about my needs. God’s provision is daily, not all at once. I cannot store up and then cut off communication with God. If I am running low on strength, I have to ask, how long have I been away from the source? Also, when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, forgiveness was the cornerstone. Persistence in prayer is important and lastly my heavenly father wants to bless me with good gifts, mainly the Holy Spirit.
APPLICATION:
I can look at my time with the Lord and find ways to take more time to be in his presence. I can also, be sure to praise him at the start of my prayers. I can examine my persistence in prayer. Am I asking once and moving on or am I tarrying with God? Lastly, I can look at how forgiving God has been to me and see if I have been the same with others. While I know it will be difficult sometimes, he’s already promised to help me, lead and guide me.
PRAYER:
Lord, I thank you for preparing me and preparing all Christians to handle all that we will encounter in this world. I thank you that you have equipped us and for reassuring us that we have the victory. Thank you for leaving the Holy Spirit with us to develop and nourish us into the Followers you would have us to be. I bless your name and I thank you. In Jesus name. Amen