Today’s Reading: Luke 10:1-24, 11:1-13, 18:1-8,27-30
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” – Luke 11:1
I love the wording of this verse. There is a connotation of intentionality and a suggestion of familiarity — there was a certain place that Jesus went to pray. The disciples knew where Jesus could be found, because that is where he went to pray. This one disciple also knew that Jesus could be approached, and he took this opportunity to ask the Savior for a teachable moment. This faithful follower was hungry to learn, and he was eager to reach God by going to him in prayer the right way. Let’s approach the throne of God with that same intentionality, familiarity, and hunger this morning.
Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.” – Luke 11:2-4
There are moments in our life when the words do not come easily. There are situations in our life that leave us wondering how to pray or what to pray for. Jesus, knowing our need to be able to express ourselves, gave us lots of direction on how to pray. But do we fully utilize his directions on how to come to our Heavenly Father with our needs, with our burdens, with our questions?
Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
“And so I tell you, KEEP ON asking, and you will receive what you ask for. KEEP ON seeking, and you will find. KEEP ON knocking, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Luke 11:5-10
Ask, then ask again. Seek an answer, then keep seeking. Knock on the door of heaven, then keep knocking. Bring your requests to God with shameless persistence. Keep on knocking with determination, keep on praying with persistence, keep on asking with tenacity.
Pray to God with shameless persistence…
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him REPEATEDLY saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her CONSTANT REQUESTS!’”
Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” – Luke 18:1-8
Pray believing that God hears you; pray trusting that He will grant you justice. Take the gift of faith that He has given you and use it to bring your needs to Him over and over again. Continue to pray to Him with perseverance, resolving to believe that He hears you and that no situation is too big for Him.
Pray in faith, knowing that nothing is impossible for God…
He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”
Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.”
“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.” – Luke 18:27-30
God, may we continually remain in this reverent position in our lives. May we never lose the Kingdom perspective; make us hungry to grasp the full extent of your holiness. Father, we come to you as the provider of all our needs, trusting you to give us what we need today. May we rest assured that you will provide for tomorrow, just as you are providing for us today. Forgive us for our sins and give us the strength to forgive those who sin against us — not just past tense but present tense. We need your help to continually forgive those who consistently sin against us. As the enemy seeks to steal our attention and our heart away from you, may you take away any desire for the temptations of this world. Amen.