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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. ’ ” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 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. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one 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? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If 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!” (Luke 11:1-13 NIV)
A member of one of my congregations is a Border Patrol agent, and he told me that at the checkpoint during that time, a certain Visa allows for pastors from other countries to come into the United States, and so many tried to take advantage of that visa. Their question to see if they were truly pastors was to ask them where in the Bible they could find The Lord's Prayer? Most knew to say Matthew 6. The second question was, "Where else in the Bible can we find it?" Most did not know it was in this passage. So, if ever you find yourself trying to come back into the US and you've lost all documentation, and you try to enter under this visa, remember Luke 11!
Out of the synoptic gospels, meaning Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that more closely follow the gospel story, Matthew and Luke were more in sync than Mark and John. John's gospel is not even called a synopic gospel; it stands alone as the spiritual gospel, placed between Luke and Acts, though once thought to be a large two volume collection, so that John's words on the Holy Spirit could prepare readers for Acts' Introduction to the coming of The Holy Spirit in Acts 2. This passage is all about prayer and the power behind prayer. I tire not of sharing how the people known as Methodists were once known as a praying people. This is not to say we're still not, but we are far from where we could be when it comes to praying. Prayer is worship in motion. There are at least a million ways to pray and all center on our being able to pray from the heart. I've shared the story of how Francis Asbury, one of two first bishops on American soil became a believer and a minister because of the time he and a friend decided to follow two pretty girls to whevever they were going, and it turned out they were going to a prayer meeting. Though not strangers to a prayer meeting setting, Francis wanted to see which prayer book the circuit rider would use when it came time to pray. Well, the preacher prayed from his heart! That made such an impact on Rev. Asbury that he became ordained and consecrated as bishop by the age of 24. And he and Thomas Coke were sent by The Rev. John Wesley to America to extend the gospel among the colonies.
The passage begins with Jesus indulging in one of two major holy habits, that of being in prayer. He modeled prayer for those around Him because the disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." Some of Jesus' disciples were first disciples of John the Baptist and left when Jesus called them, but they may have left before John taught prayer, and now, they wanted to learn. Jesus teaches them what many call our family prayer, which is the Lord's prayer. This version is shorter than the Matthew version. It is a powerful prayer. It begins with the worship of God as Father and bestowing upon His name as being hallowed, or sacred and holy. It acknowledges that God's kingdom is coming and we pray that it comes quickly. We acknowledge our need for God to share with us "our daily bread," the basic provisions of nourishment for our bodies. We acknowledge our sinfulness before Him and we ask forgiveness from the only One who can forgive and take away our sins. And, we ask that God allow us to forgive others, because others have sinned against us, and we know Jesus says the merciful are blessed because they have learned to show mercy. And it ends with our asking the Lord to help us when we are tempted.
Jesus then teaches further about prayer and its power to bless. The examples Jesus gives show the importance of our praying and then living out what we pray. Jesus teaches about the faithfulness of God to hear, and answer our prayers according to His will; the implication is that we too, should respond to our neighbor's needs. Jesus then shares a great pattern of response; Ask, Seek, and Knock; stressing the important of our faithfulness in praying. We should ask, seek, and knock as we pray for ourselves and for others. The goodness of God should be our example and model as well.
Dear one, may this bless our week as we seek to be stronger and more fruitful in our prayer life. Ask, Seek, and Knock. May this bless us in all things.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithfulness in all things. We pray You would bless our prayer lives as we learn how to ask truly for that which can bless our lives and our work for You; Bless us as we learn to seek more, with more faith and eyes of faith. Help us to know when and where to knock for that which blesses You and those who are Yours; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a person of prayer today in ways that bless others.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
