PRAYER BASICS

 February 28, 2025

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“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!”

This Gospel reading from Luke takes us back to the basics of prayer, offering us a model or method of prayer from Jesus Himself. Some of Jesus disciples ask him to teach them how to pray. Jesus instantly offers them the beautiful prayer which we, of course, call the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is so rich that it still forms the basis of our approach to God the Father this many years later. Yet, at the same time this prayer it is so simple, we teach it to our young children.

The Lord’s Prayer is truly a Christ followers’ prayer. In it, we call upon God in an intimate way, as Father. We ask that His will be done (not ours!) and that His kingdom come (not ours!). In other words, we remember that He is our Creator, everything is His, and our focus in life should be on His priorities, not our own. Then we ask Him to supply our needs (to give our daily bread), forgive our sins, and protect us from evil. That is, we proclaim that we trust completely in His provision for us and mercy towards us. We, too, commit to extending mercy ourselves (as we forgive those who sin against us).

As we pray the words of the prayer that Jesus gave to us, we recognize a basic truth about ourselves and God: God is our Father, and we are His beloved children. This is the foundation of a disciple’s way of life.

Our reading ends today with Jesus reminding us to ask God, seek God, knock on God’s door! God can hardly wait to lovingly bless us, His children with the Holy Spirit.