Jesus teaches his disciples a prayer
Luke 11:1-4
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.’”
In this section of Luke, Jesus teaches his disciples a prayer (above), gives them a parable about prayer, and encourages them to pray (further on in this chapter).
Verses 2 to 4 are obviously one of the more well-known parts of the bible. I remember being at what was otherwise a secular funeral some years ago, where saying this formed part of the service. Through schooling or references in popular culture, it’s safe to assume that many non-Christians would be aware of this prayer.
Although it’s a great example of a prayer, we have to be careful about using it as a crutch – e.g., thinking that this is the only prayer we can pray, or that if we pray this enough times, God will do what we want.
The prayer was given to the disciples a group – so, it may be useful to think of the prayer as one best prayed with others. The prayer is often used in a group setting, but of course the themes it picks up are useful for our own individual prayer.
From the top, we are invited to address God as our Father – i.e., not some distant uncaring deity, but as someone with parental-type love for us. Given his status as maker of the universe, it’s important to honour his name and treat it with reverence (side note – if you’ve caught yourself using ‘Jesus Christ’ or something similar as an expletive recently, can I encourage you please to repent and ask God for forgiveness).
The prayer asks that God’s rule and reign would continually advance in people’s hearts until the day that Jesus returns and brings the kingdom in its perfect fullness (oh how I long for that day!), and notes that the coming of the kingdom has already happened in part by Jesus coming to die on the cross.
We see a request that God will supply our physical needs, and an encouragement that as a community of believers we can be forgiving of each other and helping each other avoid sin.
Head: does your life reverence God’s name as holy? do you live in a way that exalts God puts him at the centre of your day / week / month / year?
Heart: do you need to forgive a fellow believer for something? If so, can I encourage you to do that soon, in love.
Hands: elsewhere in the bible we read about helping others to avoid temptation. Is there an activity you’re involved in that could be leading other believers astray? If yes, please think seriously about stopping it, and turning to Jesus together.
Prayer: Listen to the song: The Lord’s Prayer
Oliver Meehan, Living Church Creek Road
