Over the last couple of sections of Luke’s gospel, we’ve considered the importance of loving God with all that we are and loving others. We’ve also reflected on the value of sitting before Jesus in order to just be with Him and learn before we get in to the practice of serving.
It seems like in these two sections, the common thread is love for or connection with God. He wants our affection and our attention. I would contend that we NEED that connection.
One of the most beautiful ways that connection with God is manifested is in prayer. Prayer can be both a simple act and a complex and challenging discipline.
When I was growing up, our family would visit my grandparent’s house from time to time. When we would sit down for dinner, my grandmother would utter this prayer:
“Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed, Amen”
Is that prayer?
If you’ve watched the chosen series you’ve heard the characters there utter a prayer:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.”
Is that prayer?
When you and I are in the midst of desperate need and we simply cry out:
“Lord save me”
Is that prayer?
I’ve read of people who have said that their schedules are so busy that they can’t spend less than two hours in prayer.
When Elmer Towns went off to seminary, he wanted to pray for an hour each day. On the first day of this discipline, he went into his closet and prayed to God on his knees. After what felt like an hour, he got up, looked at the clock and found that it was only 15 minutes.
Is that prayer?
For all of these think the answer is yes.
Whether scripted prayers or spontaneous ones; brief expressions or extended intercession - all of that is prayer - as it connects us with God.
So, in the section that we’re considering today, Luke seems to be wrapping up a three-part teaching on what Bock calls “a disciple’s responsibilities before God - love God and others, wholehearted devotion to God (learning), and finally living a life of dependence with and connection to God through prayer.”
So let’s look at Jesus’ teaching on prayer.
Luke 11:1–13 ESV
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.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
If you’re familiar with Matthew’s version of this prayer and the sermon on the mount, some of this language might sound a bit familiar. In many ways it is. Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer is an abbreviated version of Matthew’s. Their surrounding teaching is slightly different as well - Matthew’s is nestled within the sermon on the mount where Luke’s is in response to a disciple’s request. Luke also includes some teaching that we see in Matthew - but not closely associated with prayer.
Some of those similarities and differences are often the fodder for scholars and critics. For us today, let’s consider what Luke incudes here - keeping in mind that he is writing this material in order to help Theophilus (his initial audience) - have certainty about what he has heard (Luke 1:4).
So, in response to the disciple’s question, Jesus says “when you pray, say…” - and then proceeds to walk through what we know as the Lord’s prayer.
Does this mean that we should pray the Lord’s prayer or use it simply as a model? Mike McKinley suggests yes and yes. We don’t do this often as a church, but by virtue of the fact that Jesus provides the imperative “say” indicates that we would be right and good to pray this prayer word-for-word from time to time.
But I think we also get to see in this teaching a…
Pattern of Prayer (1-4)
There is a sense in which we could divide this prayer into two major sections - statements and requests. The statements simply declare what is true - God as our father is holy and His Kingdom is coming. The requests ask for provision - acknowledging our need for God, asks for forgiveness - acknowledging our lack of holiness, and asks for guidance - acknowledging our need for direction to avoid temptation. In many ways this is a bi-directional prayer - upward praise, downward requests.
But let’s reflect on a couple of the terms in this as we consider what this pattern really lays out. First of all, I think we have to recognize the…
Familial connection - God as Father
In English, to say the word “father” suggests a sort of formality. I refer to my father as “dad” and when I was a child “daddy”. And yet in Greek, this word should connote the same sort of familial connection. Maybe not as casual as “daddy” but close like dad. The Aramaic equivalent to this is the word abba. As adopted children of God we are invited to approach God as our Father. He is near and wants a close connection to us.
Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””
Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!””
When you pray, who is God to you? Is He a high and transcendent being who must condescend from His lofty heights to pay attention to us? Or is He a Father who is aware, near, interested, close? By using this title in the prayer, I think Jesus is urging us to see God as the latter - abba.
What’s more, if He is our father then we are His children. Some religions may approach their deity as a distant figure who needs to be appeased. Which then suggests that they themselves are mere subjects who must go to great lengths to get the god’s attention. But for you and I, when we repent of our sin and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are no longer just parts of His creation - we are children; we are family; we are heirs.
Yes, our Father deserves our respect and reverence, but He welcomes our conversations.
We could dive into lots of details and nuances with the specifics of the prayer - God’s holiness and His advancing Kingdom; our needy-ness and fallenness and our need for guidance - but I’d like us to reflect on one other part of the prayer. The fact that the prayer is…
Communal
Did you notice how often first-person plural pronouns are used? - us, our, we?
Luke 11:1–13 ESV
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.
8 times in 2 verses Jesus uses first person plural pronouns. I think this is important to keep in mind because we are not in this alone. Our individualistic, western culture wants to separate us. While we are individually created in God’s image, we are individually saved into a body; into a community. As High School Musical said, “We’re all in this together.” Brother, sister in Christ - you are not alone. You have a family here who is with you, praying for you, contending with you for your good and the glory of God.
With that being said, keep in mind that our spiritual development is not intended to happen in a vacuum. Our connection with God does have individual applications, but it also has communal ones. When we pray as a church, led by one of the Elders, we are going to God together as a family. When we pray together in Community Groups, we do so as a family. When we intercede for one another - we do so as a family.
There have been seasons in my life when I have felt like prayer gatherings were a waste of time. Frankly, there are times when public prayers can sound like holy bragging sessions. Prayer is not intended to be that. When we pray to our Father together, we acknowledge His greatness and our smallness. We acknowledge His holiness and our fallenness. We acknowledge his wisdom and our foolishness. We do this together.
So here, in addition to giving us what to pray and a pattern for prayer, Jesus helps us to develop a proper attitude for prayer.
Impudence in Prayer (5-8)
I can’t remember the last time that I used that word. Maybe it even seems familiar to you, after all we did read it in the passage we’re considering. But Jesus notes not only what we should pray but how we should pray and suggests that we should pray bold, brash, brazen prayers.
He does this by using a short parable about a person who has a guest come and needs food to serve. Finding nothing in his cupboards he goes to a neighbor late at night requesting to borrow bread. The boldness of the request prompts the neighbor to acquiesce.
It seems like what Jesus is getting at here is that we should not be ashamed or fearful when we come to our Father with requests. Hebrews reminds us that because of what Jesus did for us on the cross we can come boldly.
Hebrews 4:14–16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 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.”
Other translations note that our coming to the throne of grace should be a bold action. In fact the Message paraphrase suggests…
Hebrews 4:16 MSG
So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
Just as a child might boldly come to a parent with a request for candy or a toy or a show, so too, we are encouraged by Jesus himself to come to the Father boldly.
When I look at my own prayer life, I fear that my requests are rather anemic. I pray for wisdom and strength. I pray for healing and restoration. I pray for protection and presence. Oh that I would boldly come to the Father and pray with great expectations:
heal Teresa
save this neighbor
restore this broken family
overturn this court ruling
bring people back to repentance
remove this desire for sin
The Father welcomes our bold requests. He may not always grant what we want - after all, He is God and we are not. He is all knowing and we have a limited understanding. He invites the request none-the-less.
So, Jesus taught His disciples what to pray and how to pray, finally, in this section he helps us understand why we pray. In prayer, in our connection with the Father, we have the…
Promise of Provision and Presence in Prayer (9-13)
In the final verses of this pericope, Jesus says:
Luke 11:9–13 “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!””
The other day, I was listening to a podcast of a call-in radio program. This particular caller was in a needy situation. I don’t remember the exact details, but I do remember the host urging the caller to speak up when people offer help. You know how it goes - maybe, like me, you’ve even said things like “let me know how I can help.” Most of us, when others offer that, we don’t know how to respond, we don’t know what we need or maybe we simply don’t want to burden someone else. And yet from the perspective of the one who is offering help, it is a joy to be able to meet needs - that person just needs to know what the needs are.
For example, the other day my neighbor texted me to ask if I could take in a package and put it in their garage. I didn’t know they had that need, but was happy to help. It was a minor diversion from my activities that day, but was a huge blessing and relief to them knowing that their package was secure.
God knows what we need even before we ask, but I think our asking is more for our edification than for God’s education. Ask that question of God. Seek out answers. Knock on heaven’s door to gain connection, understanding, help.
But part of the beauty of what Jesus is noting here about prayer is that God, while I think he is willing at times to offer his handouts and even a hand up, is offering himself. A human, fallen father knows how to gift good gifts to a requesting child. Our heavenly Father, willingly gives himself, his presence. Jesus notes that he offers His Holy Spirit.
Now, in one sense, we already have His Spirit. For those who have received His salvation, He gifts His Spirit to us. He endows us with Spiritual gifts to use within the context of the body, the church. But I wonder, if Jesus says He will give His Spirit if we ask, if we just need to be more aware of His presence with us.
Oh what a joy it is to know that His Spirit is with us. He doesn’t just give His stuff, He gives Himself! May we be fully aware!
Closing thoughts
Friend, if you are still just investigating all of this, let me encourage you to realize that because of what Jesus did for us by coming here, being like us, yet without sin, dying on the cross in our place, and rising from the dead - he makes a way for you and me to have direct access to the Heavenly Father. You don’t need to say special prayers - though He has provided some. You don’t need to do certain rituals - he has done that for you. He invites you to come, repent, believe, be saved and then make it public in baptism. Now, you get to be in a relationship with Him that never ends. You have access to Him to pray, ask, seek, knock, request.
Beloved, over the last few sections of Luke’s gospel, we’ve noted the importance of prioritizing our relationship with God over everything else - loving Him (and others), learning from Him, and now praying to Him. You’re not in this alone. He is not far.
When Tim Keller taught on Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer, He noted three relational elements that we get to enjoy with God in prayer.
God as friend - someone with whom we can talk.
God as Sovereign - someone to whom we should submit as His Kingdom is expressed and expanded in the world.
God as family - as our father, he invites us into a close, familial relationship.
When you pray, who is God to you? May we see Him truly as Father.
Let’s pray.
Benediction:
Psalm 72:18–19 LSB
Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wondrous deeds.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
Sources:
Anyabwile, Thabiti. Exalting Jesus in Luke. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018.
Bock, Darrell L. Luke 9:51-24:53. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Martin, John A. “Luke.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McKinley, Mike. Luke 1–12 for You. Edited by Carl Laferton. God’s Word for You. The Good Book Company, 2016.
The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2005. Print.
Wilcock, Michael. The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979.
