Luke 11

Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

¹ One 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."

² He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"'Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread.
⁴ Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.' "

There are notable differences, as you are aware, between Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer and Matthew's version. As we're walking through Luke, we will focus on this version and its applications. Jesus' words on prayer continue in verses I will address tomorrow.

It is interesting, first of all, that the disciples just now want Jesus to teach them to pray. Perhaps they've seen the prayer life of Jesus and the strength gained therein to finally want a defined prayer life for themselves. Obviously, they've also noted the prayer life of the followers of John the Baptist. It's a good thing anytime any of us want a more intentional and purposeful prayer life.

Let me now highlight briefly some of the things Jesus notes as he speaks these words of The Lord's Prayer according to Luke.

• To call God "Father" is to describe Him in a particular way; as One who is ever present loving us and working for good in our lives. He is not some distant deity but an ever-present caring Divine Father who loves us and seeks for us abundant living. Jesus called God "Abba" referring to an intimate relationship with God.
• To hallow God's name is to stand before Him with reverence, with awe, with a humble heart of obedience. One might say it is giving God the primary place in our lives.
• To pray "Your kingdom come" is to acknowledge that we want for our world the vision God has for this world. It is to commit ourselves to helping this world be all that God intends.
• To seek "daily bread" is to seek spiritual strength for the day at hand. As bread feeds the body, so spiritual food feeds the soul. We are to trust God for today and not worry for tomorrow.
• To seek forgiveness for our sins involves sincere confession and repentance. It also involves our willingness to forgive others (note the compelling verses in Matthew 6:14-15).
• To ask God to avoid leading us into temptation, in this context, is to ask God to be with us in such a way that we can withstand the tests of life (moral and otherwise). In a sense, it is to ask God to help us handle any test which comes our way.

While there are many ways to interpret and understand Jesus' words here in Luke, the above explanations offer us much helpful food for thought.