Scripture: Luke 11:1-13
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.’”
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[f] 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!” (NIV)
Observation:
“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” (Luke 11:4)
Application:
A key part of the Lord’s Prayer that we often recite by memory is “forgive us as we forgive.” Do we truly understand what we’re asking? Essentially, we are asking God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others. This means that if we desire forgiveness, we must also extend it to others. It’s all about reconciliation and restoring relationships. God forgives us to build a relationship with us, and Jesus reminded His disciples that their mission was to reconcile a lost world to God. This is accomplished through repentance and forgiveness.
Prayer:
Lord God, as we pray to You and seek Your forgiveness, help us to remember that we must also forgive others in our lives so we can reconcile and restore relationships. In doing this, we honor You, who has forgiven us even when we know not what we do. Amen.