Week 5: October 31 - November 6
Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father,* hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.* 3 Give us each day our daily bread.* 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’*
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for* a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If 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!’
Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father,* hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.* 3 Give us each day our daily bread.* 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’*
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for* a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If 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!’
Commentary
Prayer is one of the hardest faith conversations we have. Prayer as practice and as concept comes with so much baggage attached to it that it is often hard to get at its deepest purposes. We learn as children the easiest of prayers -- how to kneel and hold our hands -- at dinner and at bedtime...physical actions set to prayerful scripts handed down through the generations. We learn to pray for ourselves and for others, and learn that prayer is especially warranted in times of great need. And perhaps this is the reason that there is so much disillusionment wrapped up in prayer. We pray for what we think we need and not what we really need and then are put out and discouraged when we don’t get what we want.
You have to be impressed by the disciples, though, who implore Jesus to teach them how to pray. The question isn’t, “why aren’t my prayers answered, Lord?” Instead its, “Teach me how to pray,” (e.g. What to ask for).
And Jesus’ answer is compelling. His answer has to do with the alignment of the person praying with the life of the Father and his kingdom where the kingdom is manifested fully today, God’s sufficiency is experienced today, his forgiveness is made real and alive today, and we are kept in a right relationship with the greatest purposes of God.
This hearkens to the version of the Lord’s Prayer we pray today. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
So the deepest purposes of prayer have to do with aligning our wills, minds, and hearts, with the will, mind, and heart of God...communion in the truest and deepest sense.
Prayer is not where our deepest wishes are manifest. Instead, prayer is where we as God’s children find ourselves manifest in the heart and very being of God and his purposes, and discover that there is no-thing on heaven or earth that can separate us from his real and powerful love. Ever.
Questions for Discussion
1. In Jesus’ response to the one disciple’s query on prayer, he uses an illustration of persistence to show us that the seeking of God’s heart and will I prayer is to be constant. If you struggle with regularity in prayer, what do you find is your biggest barrier to persistence? How might that barrier be overcome?
2. In your small group, share a personal story of un-answered prayer. Why do you think your prayer went unanswered?
3. In your small group, share a personal story of answered prayer. Were you able to recognize it as such at the time? Why or why not?
4. What other things do you notice in Luke’s story on learning to pray? What do you think the Spirit is saying to you? To the church?
Prayer is one of the hardest faith conversations we have. Prayer as practice and as concept comes with so much baggage attached to it that it is often hard to get at its deepest purposes. We learn as children the easiest of prayers -- how to kneel and hold our hands -- at dinner and at bedtime...physical actions set to prayerful scripts handed down through the generations. We learn to pray for ourselves and for others, and learn that prayer is especially warranted in times of great need. And perhaps this is the reason that there is so much disillusionment wrapped up in prayer. We pray for what we think we need and not what we really need and then are put out and discouraged when we don’t get what we want.
You have to be impressed by the disciples, though, who implore Jesus to teach them how to pray. The question isn’t, “why aren’t my prayers answered, Lord?” Instead its, “Teach me how to pray,” (e.g. What to ask for).
And Jesus’ answer is compelling. His answer has to do with the alignment of the person praying with the life of the Father and his kingdom where the kingdom is manifested fully today, God’s sufficiency is experienced today, his forgiveness is made real and alive today, and we are kept in a right relationship with the greatest purposes of God.
This hearkens to the version of the Lord’s Prayer we pray today. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
So the deepest purposes of prayer have to do with aligning our wills, minds, and hearts, with the will, mind, and heart of God...communion in the truest and deepest sense.
Prayer is not where our deepest wishes are manifest. Instead, prayer is where we as God’s children find ourselves manifest in the heart and very being of God and his purposes, and discover that there is no-thing on heaven or earth that can separate us from his real and powerful love. Ever.
Questions for Discussion
1. In Jesus’ response to the one disciple’s query on prayer, he uses an illustration of persistence to show us that the seeking of God’s heart and will I prayer is to be constant. If you struggle with regularity in prayer, what do you find is your biggest barrier to persistence? How might that barrier be overcome?
2. In your small group, share a personal story of un-answered prayer. Why do you think your prayer went unanswered?
3. In your small group, share a personal story of answered prayer. Were you able to recognize it as such at the time? Why or why not?
4. What other things do you notice in Luke’s story on learning to pray? What do you think the Spirit is saying to you? To the church?
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