Jesus Teaches Disciples How to Pray

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Tuesday August 20, 2024}

Luke 11:1-13

Father, there is always room for growth in my prayer life. Please teach me how to pray, not just by reading Your Word, but also by the work of the Holy Spirit who transforms my character. May my prayers reflect that I am an adopted child of Yours. May my prayers reflect that I am Your servant, contributing to the building of the Kingdom of God.  May my prayers reflect that I trust in Your daily provision, protection, and direction. May my prayers reflect that I am humble before You, confessing my sin, and surrendering my life to You. May my prayers be a pouring out to You for help to fight off temptation. Father, please make me bold, coming before You in prayer about my daily needs, things that confuse me, and my desire to know You. Father, thank You because I know that every answer to my prayer is for my good. Amen.
Father, the text tells us that Jesus was one day praying in a certain place. Where He was praying was not important. However, He was being watched by His disciples. It is evident from the text that the disciples were impressed by Jesus’ prayer life. When Jesus was finished praying, they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Just in case Jesus would not agree to that, they reminded Jesus that John the Baptist used to teach his disciples how to pray.
Jesus granted their request. We learn the following things about daily prayer from the Lord’s Prayer :

1. Father - We are to acknowledge that You are our heavenly Father. You are superior to us. You are God and we are not. You have authority over us. We are to surrender our lives to Your authority. We are also Your children. Our home is with You in Your Kingdom. There is no room for self-hate in our lives because we, through our faith in Jesus Christ, have been adopted into the family of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
2. Hallowed be Your name – We are to praise You. It is our purpose in life to glorify Your name in all the earth. We are to let it be known that only You are God and only You are to be worshipped.
3. Your Kingdom come – Our purpose in life is to advance the Kingdom of God. Our purpose in life is to build the church, both in numbers of believers and in the depth of their relationship with You.
4. Give us each day our daily bread – We are to rely upon You for everything we need. We are to reply upon You for both our provision and protection. We are to trust that You will provide for us and protect us each day, even when the storms in life come. We are to be thankful for the blessings we receive from You and, no doubt, we are to share what we receive with others in need.
5. Forgive us our sins – We are to confess our sins and to repent of them. Our rebellion from You must cease. We are to walk righteously before You. We are to be holy because You are holy. It is essential that we forgive our neighbors of wrongdoing before we seek forgiveness from You.
6. And lead us not into temptation – Since we will continuously be under attack by Satan, we are to ask You to help us fight off temptation. We cannot battle temptation by our own strength. We need the help of the Holy Spirit, especially as He speaks to us as we study Your Word.

What other lessons did Jesus teach us in this passage about prayer?

1. Boldness - Just like the man pounded on the door of his friend’s home at midnight, asking for three loaves of bread, we are to come before You with courage and confidence, knowing that You desire to hear our requests at any hour and to answer our requests in accordance with Your will. Many times, people have not received good from You simply because they never asked You. By making requests of You we are acknowledging Your superiority and our dependence upon You. Making requests of You is an act of faith and an act of worship. Father, I believe Jesus defined three types of prayer requests:
   
1. Ask and it will be given to you. For everyone who asks receives. – Requests for specific things. For example, “I need another car.”
2. Seek and you will find. The one who seeks finds. – Answers to questions, explanations for mysteries, and solutions for perplexing problems. “What is my purpose in life?”
3. Knock. The door will be opened.  – Desire to have a relationship with You. “Father, I want to know You and be known by You.”  It is a request for conversation and companionship.
   
2. You always answer prayer with what is best for us. Though we may not like the answer to our prayer, we can be certain it is the best thing for us.  You know all things. You can see infinitely into the past, the present, and the future. You know all circumstances and situations. You know all relationships and connections. You know what will happen with each and every possibility. Behind all of this is Your earnest desire to draw us closer to You, build our characters to become more Christ-like, and to help us overcome the challenges that we face.
   
3. What is the greatest gift that we receive from You? The Holy Spirit residing in our hearts. We have no less than the triune God dwelling in our hearts, guiding us, teaching us, coaching us, directing us, and transforming us. The Holy Spirit brings out the person in each one of us that we were designed to be. The more we surrender to His work, the more fulfilled, complete, joyful, and peaceful we will feel. There is nothing that is better than that.

Amen.