“Lord, Teach Us to Pray” – A Life Lesson for Jesus Followers

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray” – A Life Lesson for Jesus Followers

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  Luke emphasizes Jesus’ prayer life. The disciples, including Luke, would have seen Jesus pray every day and night, over three years, as they followed Him. In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus: “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’”. Ask Jesus both to teach you to pray and lead you to a person that can teach you to pray. Then in 11:2-13, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray – The Lord’s Prayer. From Luke 11:2-13, we can envision God standing, with His hands wide open, to bless us; but we must pray and ask: “And 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 who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’ And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’.”

Be persistent in praying to the Lord and asking, as Jesus has instructed us through the Gospel of Luke and, indeed, like we are consistently instructed throughout the New Testament. For example, James, in James 4:2-3 implores Jesus Followers: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.".

In summary, prayer is a fundamental attribute of a Jesus Follower; and to this end, Jesus Followers must first ask God to “tech me to pray” and then seek the example of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 11:1-13; Luke 15:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:29; Luke 22:31-32; Luke 22:41; Luke 23:34; 1 Chronicles 4:10; 1 Corinthians 10:13-14; James 4:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

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WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “For a Jesus Follower in Difficult Circumstances, God: ‘is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster’”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/  

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