Lesson: Luke 11:1-13
Golden Text: “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth” (Luke 11:2).
I. INTRODUCTION. Prayer is universal. Every religion practices prayer in some form. However, much of it is meaningless repetition (see Matthew 6:7), and some of it is empty meditation. Anyone who believes in God is naturally inclined to pray and the many different ideas about prayer demonstrate how important it is to learn what prayer is and how we are to pray. Most people learn to pray by observing others in their families and churches. But if we are to learn the distinctive qualities of Christian prayer, we must look first to Jesus Christ.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON. Sometime during the third year of His ministry, after teaching throughout Galilee (see John 7:1), Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (see John 7:2-10). He spoke in Jerusalem and then visited His friends, Mary and Martha in the tiny village of Bethany on the slope of the Mount of Olives (see Luke 10:38-42). This is where our lesson begins.
III. NEED FOR PRAYER (Luke 11:1). No doubt Jesus’ disciples had noticed Him praying on many occasions during His ministry. Our first verse says “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Watching Jesus pray probably made the disciples feel that they lacked something when they prayed. As a result, after Jesus finished praying in a “certain place,” not made known to us, one of His disciples “said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” As Jewish men, the disciples were quite familiar with traditional Jewish prayers, yet as they followed and watched Jesus, they saw something different in His prayers. So they asked Him to teach them how to pray. They knew the prayers to say, but they needed to know how to address the God they knew. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray “as John also taught his disciples.” This indicates that the disciples knew that John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray, so they also wanted Jesus to them how to really pray.
IV. PATTERN
FOR PRAYER (Luke 11:2-4)
A. Worshipping God and
desiring His will (Luke 11:2).
This verse says “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
as in heaven, so in earth.”
Jesus replied to His disciples’ request to teach them to pray by giving
them a model prayer that we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer.
However what is really the Lord’s Prayer is found in John chapter 17.
This prayer in our lesson tells us how we are to pray not specifically what we
are to ask for. This makes it a model for our prayers.
The teaching of this model prayer is very clear. Jesus
began by saying to His disciples “When ye pray, say, Our Father.”
We should start to pray addressing our God by remembering who
He is and who we are. God is our Father and we
are His children. We have trusted in the Lord Jesus and have been
born again (see John 3:3, 7) and adopted into the family of God (see Romans
8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-7). The title “Father”
indicates relationship. God is a person to whom we as believers
are related. Only those who know Him personally through Jesus
Christ (see John 14:6-7) can address God as “Our
Father.” Jesus addressed God as His Father (see Mark
14:36) and He told His followers to do the same thing. All prayer
involves worship which means that we recognize the unique character and
attributes of God. After acknowledging God as Father, Jesus added
“which art in heaven.” Since God is in heaven
that means that He is far above us in every way, including our
understanding. God is above us as sovereign Lord and King, yet He
is reachable as our Father. Jesus then added “Hallowed be
thy name.” The word “Hallowed” means
“treated as holy.” The word “name” refers to
God’s Person and character. Therefore, when we pray we are to
worship God as the Holy One and hold Him in the highest regard as the One who is
completely separated from sin. Prayer includes praise and worship,
but it also includes petition or asking God for things. To express
this, Jesus began by saying “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in
heaven, so in earth.” Our whole desire and prayer should
be that God’s will or desire be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.
In heaven God’s will is perfectly and completely done. We
should pray for that perfect and complete will to be done on earth as
well. Although we may ask that God’s will be done on earth, it
will not be done completely and perfectly on earth until His “kingdom
come.” In other words, only when Christ returns and
reigns here on earth will God’s will be perfectly and completely accomplished on
earth. Therefore, we are to pray for the Lord’s return to usher in
the millennial kingdom reign on earth (see Revelation 20:4-6). In
fact, this is seen in the very last prayer in the Bible (see Revelation
22:20). While we are here on earth, we should be praying to God to
hurry Christ’s return because we want to see His will perfectly and completely
done “as in heaven, so in earth.” We may not
always know what is God’s will in any situation, but we should still pray for
His will to be done, because His will is always right and
good.B. Making our requests (Luke 11:3). Still referring to the things we should ask God for, in this verse Jesus said “Give us day by day our daily bread.” This means asking God to meet our daily physical needs. “Bread” refers to all foods and here includes all the physical and material provisions we need to live daily. When we ask for this in our prayers we are showing our dependence on the Lord for everything. No matter what we may think, ultimately God is the one who really provides for our health and ability to get the things we need. So, be aware that any good health and prosperity that we enjoy can be quickly taken away.
C. Seeking forgiveness (Luke 11:4). In this verse, Jesus shows that we must also request that God meet our spiritual needs. Jesus said “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” The phrase “And forgive us our sins” does not refer to salvation because as God’s children we already have that, for only we can call Him Father. Instead, it refers to our daily sins that need to be forgiven in order to restore us back in communion or fellowship with God. As children of God we have both relationship and fellowship with the Father. Since we are saved once and for all, we can never lose our relationship with God (see Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30), but we can break our fellowship with Him when we sin (see I Corinthians 10:20-21; I John 1:2-3, 6-7). Jesus added that we ask God to forgive us our sins “for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” The word “indebted” views our sins here as debts. They are debts because they cannot be paid off, they must be forgiven. God’s forgiveness of us is closely related to our forgiveness of others or those who are in our debt. For sure, this doesn’t mean that we can earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others because God’s forgiveness is by grace. But if we don’t forgive others we are sinning and can’t be in a right relationship or fellowship with the Father. If we ask for God’s forgiveness we must be willing to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us (see Colossians 3:13). Note: It was necessary for Jesus to put “And forgive us our sins” in the model prayer because His disciples would have never heard Him pray this. Jesus had perfect and unbroken fellowship with His Heavenly Father. There was never any sin in His life that needed to be brought to God for forgiveness. However, His disciples then and now needed this special instruction. It should also be noted that we have no reason to expect, nor can we pray with any confidence, that God would forgive our sins against him, if we don’t sincerely, out of Christian love or charity, forgive those that have at any time offended or hurt us. The last request or petition Jesus includes is “And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” This portion of the prayer is difficult to understand depending on how we define “temptation.” If we understand “temptation” to mean being tempted to do wrong, we would be asking God not to do something that He already can’t do---tempt us with evil (see James 1:13). On the other hand, if we understand “temptation” to mean “testing” as it often does in Scripture, we would be asking God to keep us from something that He sometimes wants us to endure (see Job 23:10). Probably the best way to understand “temptation” here is as a request that God in His providence will spare us from needless temptations. Sometimes our words and actions can put us in situations where temptation can overwhelm us. We should pray that God will keep us from this. Note: The Lord doesn’t tempt us to do wrong, but He does want us to learn to resist doing wrong and do His will. In this regard, the Lord Jesus in His temptation in the wilderness provides us an example. He consistently quoted God’s Word to refute Satan’s statements and was able to demonstrate how we should handle similar situations. The phrase “deliver us from evil” probably should read “deliver us from the evil one” or Satan. We should pray that God will deliver us out of the devil’s hands. God is to be depended upon, and sought for our deliverance from all evil; and we should pray, not only that we don’t run into evil, but also that Satan does not bring evil upon us. Again, if we understand this phrase to mean being delivered from the evil one, that is, the devil, it suggests that we should pray particularly against the devil and his possessions. The disciples were given the ability to cast out devils, and therefore needed to pray that they might be guarded against any spite Satan would be sure to have against them.
V. PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER (Luke 11:5-8). After establishing the model prayer our Lord used an illustration to encourage his followers to be persistent in prayer.
A. A simple request (Luke 11:5-6).
1. (vs. 5). In order to encourage His disciples to pray with persistence, Jesus gave them a parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. He said in this verse “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves.” Jesus began with a hypothetical situation that the disciples could identify with. He posed a situation in which a man received a guest late at night and had no food to give him. Hospitality was a sacred duty and people depended on one another while travelling. People tried to be prepared for unexpected guest, but Jesus speaks of a man who was not prepared. So he went to a neighbor, here called “a friend” and asked for three loaves of bread. Note: The loaves requested were probably pancake-shaped, the thickness of one’s thumb, and was as large as a plate. Pieces were broken off by hand (see Matthew 26:26) rather than cut. The neighbor in need thought three of these loaves would be enough. Jesus posed the question putting the disciples in the position of the unprepared man. In essence Jesus asked them “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.” One other point should be noted. The man in need of the bread asked his friend to “lend” him the loaves, so he fully intended to replace what he was given to him. With the story Jesus said the man also said to his neighbor “For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?” The man told his neighbor that he had a visitor on a journey stop by his home and he had no food ready to give him. Travelling in that day was often done at night to avoid the heat of the day. There were few options for lodging and they were seldom able to alert friends in advance of their arrival. It wasn’t that the man was poor, it’s just that the family had eaten all the food that they prepared for themselves that day. Very rarely were there any leftovers.
B. A repeated request (Luke 11:7-8).
1. (vs. 7). This verse says “And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.” The neighbor didn’t want to be bothered so he said to his friend outside his door, “Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed.” He didn’t want to be bothered first because he said “the door is now shut.” In the Greek, the meaning is “the door has been shut to stay shut.” The door had been locked for the night. Locks in the ancient Near East were often large bolting bars thrust through rings. Unlocking doors was noisy and difficult in the darkness; so the idea of unlocking one’s door at midnight, even for a friend was not pleasant. The man gave another reason why he didn’t want to get up and help his friend. He said “my children are with me in bed.” This evidently was a one room house in which part of the room was for sleeping. In many homes in Jesus’ time, mats were unrolled at night and placed on a raised platform on one side of the room for sleeping. The whole family slept together in this area; so the father could hardly have gotten up and unlocked the door without disturbing everyone in the house. Therefore, he told his neighbor, “I cannot rise and give thee.” The word “cannot” in this context does not refer to an inability to open the door, but it refers to opening the door as being an inconvenience. The friend was not willing to overcome his inconvenience. This man didn’t claim not to have any bread or object to giving it to his friend. He just didn’t want to be bothered under these circumstances. Note: The details of this illustration were simply given to fill in the story. Neither the loaves nor the individuals involved are symbolic. This parable has one simple point: persistence pays off. Even an earthly friend would give help to us when we persistently seek it.
2. (vs. 8). At this point, Jesus interjects His own answer to His original rhetorical question (see verses 5-6). He said in this verse “I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” Jesus’ words “I say unto you” hints at the direction His teaching was about to take. The friend wouldn’t get up to give his neighbor bread because of their friendship, but he would get up because of his neighbor’s “importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” The term “importunity” means persistence. The Greek word for “importunity” has the idea of a shameless, unabashed boldness that dares to ask for something and won’t take no for an answer. The neighbor was not ashamed to continue to appeal to his friend until he was given the bread. The importunate friend was persistent, but since his plea was for someone else and not for himself, he remained steadfast. Note: We must come to God with boldness and confidence for what we need (see Hebrews 4:16), as a man does to the house of his neighbor or friend who, he knows loves him, and is inclined to be kind to him. We must come to God for bread, meaning that which is needful, and which we cannot be without. We must come to him by prayer for others as well as for ourselves. This man didn’t come for bread for himself, but for his friend. Remember, the Lord accepted Job when he prayed for his friends (see Job 42:10). We cannot come to God in a more pleasing way than when we come to him for grace to enable us to do good for others. Friendship didn’t sway the reluctant friend to get up to help his neighbor, but “importunity” or persistence did. In fact the friend who felt he was being pestered by his neighbor was willing to give not only three loaves but “as many as he needeth.” If the neighbor needed more than three loaves, his friend was willing to give it to him because of his persistence.
VI. FOUNDATION FOR PRAYER (Luke
11:9-13)
A. A habitual practice (Luke
11:9-10).1. (vs. 9). Now Jesus says to His disciples “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Jesus used this parable as a basis for a personal promise to His followers. He wanted the Twelve, as well as all who would later trust Him to know that the promise was His own. Therefore, He emphatically stated “And I say unto you” giving them some concrete instructions. If they followed them, God would answer appropriately. Jesus gave three commands, “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” which are all in the Greek present tense indicating continual action. Jesus was telling believers to do what the persistent friend in the parable did---keep praying until the answer comes. We are to “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” repeatedly, not being deterred or discouraged if the answer is slow in coming. Each of these three commands or imperatives were accompanied by three promises:
a. The first exhortation or command is “Ask” and the promise is “and it shall be given you.” Jesus didn’t mean that God will give us anything we ask for. He meant that God knows our need better than we do and will graciously meet it as we continue to ask. The answer may not come in the form we want it to, but it will be the best answer because it comes from an omniscient and loving God. If we are to see results in prayer, we must keep asking. The Greek word for “ask” here is the word used to describe an inferior addressing a superior. That’s how we need to approach God. Note: When we pray days, months and even years without receiving an answer, we might conclude that God is merely a heavenly onlooker who lacks both the power and interest to meet our needs. But Jesus emphasized that perseverance brings results. God may be testing our faith; so we “ought always to pray, and not to faint” (see Luke 18:1). Asking reminds us that we are dependent on God and will also cultivate faith and humility in us.
b. The second command is “seek” and the promise is “and ye shall find.” Much of prayer consists of seeking the Lord’s will and guidance. His written Word contains His will for the ages as well as for individual lives. We need to “seek” discernment as to how our lives can best help fulfill His eternal plan. This involves seeking guidance for even the most mundane details of life. Jesus promised that those who “seek… shall find.” Therefore, if we keep on seeking His will, we are assured that we will never be without His guidance.
c. The third command is “knock” and the promise is “and it shall be opened unto you.” Jesus urged His disciples to keep knocking. The word “knock” stresses the urgency with which we are to pray. Christian prayer sometimes takes the form of knocking. There are some doors that are closed and only God can open. How many of us have prayed for years that an unbelieving relative’s hard heart will be penetrated by the gospel? Jesus promised that persistent prayer for these opportunities will be answered (see Acts 14:27).
2. (vs. 10). Here Jesus says “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” In this verse Jesus repeated the promise but with a different emphasis. Of special importance is the word “everyone.” The promise is not for a select few, but for everyone who meets the conditions for relationship with God the Father. Since this entire passage was addressed to the disciples, the promises don’t apply to unbelievers. However, all believers can be assured that none of us are so insignificant as to be ignored by God, nor are any of our petitions so unimportant that they will go unnoticed by Him. Note: Jesus said “For every one that asketh receiveth.” By grace, even the meanest saint that asks in faith can receive. The psalmist said “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him” (see Psalms 34:6). When we ask God for those things which Christ has in this text directed us to ask for: that his name may be sanctified, that his kingdom may come, and his will be done, we must be importunate; we must never hold our peace day or night; we must not keep silent, nor give God any rest, “until he establish, until he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (see Isaiah 62:6-7).
B. An earthly illustration (Luke 11:11-12). In these verses, Jesus poses three rhetorical questions to His disciples designed to draw a contrast between man and God.
1. (vs. 11). In this verse Jesus asked two rhetorical questions as He said “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?” The first question Jesus asked was what father would give his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread? This question like the two that follow anticipates no for an answer. The father would not give his son a stone. This would be substituting a useless object for nourishing food. We can hardly fathom a father playing such a cruel joke on his son. The second question also anticipating a no answer was “or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?” How horrible it is to offer one’s son such a repulsive substitute as a snake for food. This would’ve been worse than a stone, both are disgusting and frightening. No right thinking, loving father would do this.
2. (vs. 12). In this verse Jesus asked a third rhetorical question also anticipating a no answer. He said “Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?” Jesus was not asking whether the father might mistakenly give his son a scorpion, but whether he would do it deliberately. Jesus’ implication here is that this would be unthinkable. This would be substituting an object for food that was not just useless or even frightening, but it was deadly! In essence, Jesus was asking His disciples, what father could be so sadistic as to treat his son this way? To the contrary, we would expect even the most degraded human to deal with their offspring with care and concern. Even animals usually do that much. Jesus’ point is that fathers will surely give their children good things when they ask for them. They won’t give them harmful things like a stone, serpent or scorpion instead of the good things they request like bread, fish or an egg.
C. A loving Father (Luke 11:13). In our final verse Jesus said “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Jesus drives home the point of His illustration. If sinful men give good gifts to their children, how much more will God give good gifts to His children? With the phrase “If ye then, being evil” Jesus was giving God’s assessment of mankind. Many today want to reserve the word “evil” for the thugs, criminals, monsters, and mass murderers of the world. But Jesus knows that all men are naturally sinners (see Romans 3:9-19, 23; 5:12). He didn’t try to prove it, He just stated it. The word “if” can be rendered as “since.” All of us, no matter how well intentioned we may be, have a nature flawed by sin that is incapable of pleasing God. This flawed nature also taints our human relationships. Yet for all of this, according to Jesus, we are still able to give our children good gifts. We have enough moral sensitivity to tell good from evil. Since we are in this sinful condition and still know how to give good gifts to our children, Jesus asked “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” The word “Father” shows the parallel of God with earthly fathers implying the same kind of intimacy between Himself and His own. He will give His children gifts even surpassing earthly fathers. In Matthew’s account of this passage, he writes that the Father gives “good things” to those who ask (see Matthew 7:11). But here in our text, Luke singles out the greatest gift of all, “the Holy Spirit.” Of course the Holy Spirit’s power is in view here. This is what we need in every situation that calls for prayer. The Holy Spirit is indeed the Father’s special gift to man (see John 15:26). Note: At that time the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to all believers; so it was proper for a devout disciple to pray for His presence in his life (see Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8). In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit empowered some saints for specific tasks (see Exodus 31:2-11; I Samuel 16:13), and now He indwells all true Christian believers (see John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13-14). He effects our spiritual growth and through us He promotes God’s witness throughout the world (see Acts 1:8).
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