Luke 11 - "Lord, Teach Us To Pray!"

Luke 11 - NIV

Luke 11 - Enduring Word Commentary

Verses for the Day:

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

11 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.’”

Commentary:

The Lord's Prayer has been prayed by millions of Christians, millions of times. Most people know the Lord's Prayer by heart. It is prayed at worship services, funerals, and even at A.A. meetings. Yet, sometimes I don't we do a "deep enough dive" into its meaning. So let's look at each of the six petitions and their meaning. 

Note the disciples said, "Teach us pray." They had seen Jesus pray "early and often". They saw the power Jesus exhibited after he prayed to his Father. I'm sure Jesus was very excited when this disciple asked him to teach on prayer. It would kind of be like if one of your kids came to you and said, "Dad, can you teach me to pray. I see you praying and see how much it does for you!"

Father, hallowed be your name. Another version adds, "Our Father who art in heaven." Note Jesus addressed God as Father, and encouraged the disciples to do so as well. This cannot be overstated. The God who created the heaven and earth and all that exists wants to be addressed as "Father". One of the most intimate relationships we have is with our father. 

Your kingdom come. This was the primary purpose of Jesus' preaching. It was his mission to show what God's kingdom looked like on earth as it is in heaven. While Jesus showed the kingdom, he also empowered his disciples to participate and bring in God's kingdom through similar deeds of power. 

Famously Martin Luther said, "God's kingdom will surely come, the question is will it come through us."

Give us this day our daily bread. This acknowledge that everything we need on a daily basis comes from God and he encourages us to ask him for it and trust him for it. The Israelites disobeyed God when they collected and stored more manna in the wilderness than they needed for the day. Rather than trusting in God to provide every day, they hedged their bets. The Lord penalized them by letting the manna get rotten and filled with maggots. Quite a visual. 

Daily bread includes but is not limited to: food, clothes, shelter, health, safety, family, and friends. If you have all of these things you are blessed. Each day we ask for God to give us our daily bread which shows we rely on Him to every day to provide what we need, not just what we want.  

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Though Jesus forgave all of our sins once and for all on the cross, Jesus' prayer calls on us to ask God forgiveness for our sin every day. This reminds us not to take advantage of God's grace and forget the cost Jesus paid for us on the cross. 

Secondly, as we are forgiven, we must forgive others. No excuses. Some say well I am not going to forgive them unless they say they are sorry. Jesus' prayer does add this proviso. We forgive others because God has forgiven us. When we withhold forgiveness from someone it shows we haven't really understood the nature and gravity of forgiveness Jesus has given us. 

Besides, holding grudges and resentments against someone only hurts us. When you forgive someone, they no longer have a hold on you. Forgiving someone does not mean that there should not be consequences for their actions, or that you need to allow them to hurt you again. God encourages us to set healthy boundaries with toxic people not allowing them to cross over into our space without our permission. 

Lead us not into temptation. I don't think God ever directly and intentionally leads us into temptation, though the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. Often we fail to see that we are walking into temptation that we do not need to. I rely on 1 Corinthians 10:13 when it comes to temptation, 

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. And God is faithful and will never let you be tempted beyond what by what you can bear, but with the temptation will provide the way out so you may be able to endure it."

Jesus was tempted in every way that we are but did not sin. As we pray for God to not lead us into temptation and use wisdom before we walk into a tempting situation, we can overcome temptation.

Matthew's gospel includes, "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever." 

Application:

1. When you pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, do you stop to consider what you are praying and what it means? 

2. A good Lenten discipline would be to pray through the Lord's Prayer each day slowly meditating on each petition and considering how it applies to you that day! 

Prayer:

Our Father, who are art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever and ever, Amen.