Luke 11:1-13
Jesus' Teaching on Prayer
1One 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."
2He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.' "
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
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. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him 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? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If 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!"
The Twelve disciples ask Jesus how they should pray...The Twelve tell Him, that John the Baptist taught his disciples about prayer...This is a great question, about what to pray and how to pray...And what an answer to a prayer may look like...
Jesus first teaches them the LORD's prayer...It is what we should pray...It is a very basic prayer...The LORD's prayer teaches us our Father is holy...May our Father's kingdom come to earth and to us...May He satisfy us, with our daily bread... Please forgive us of our sins...Because, Father you forgive us of our sins, we will forgive others when they sin against us...And LORD lead us not into temptation...The LORD's Prayer is a lot about forgiving and forgiveness, which is not surprising because this a a Great Teaching of Jesus...
Then Jesus teaches them, if a friend comes over late at night and is need of bread would we not get up and help that friend...We may answer, "Don't bother me" because it is late and our children are in bed...But because the the one at the door is our friend and he is persistent, we will give him the bread he needs...
Like our prayers, we must ask God (like the friend did) for what we need...Seek what we need, in this case bread...Then we must be persistent and bold...Knock on the friends door and he will open it...
To get prayers answered, we must first ask...Then be must seek, look around to see what has happened...Then we must knock, and the door will be opened...When your child asks for something when he is hungry, don't you want to give it to him, when you see and feel his need...Our God, who is love, wants to help us even more than the parent of the child who is hungry...
Only God is good...So if we who are evil want to help our children, can you only imagine what our Father in heaven is thinking, when we ask for things...He will give us the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him...The Holy Spirit directs our hearts...So we may not receive exactly what we ask for... But God who is our Father knows what is best for us...If we are a faithful servant, we will be obedient...This obedience tells our Father, He knows what is best for us...He created us...
So ask, look around (the answer may be right there), and be persistent, when you pray...God will give us what we need...