Flashback Episode — All from a Simple Prayer: Luke 11:1-4

As we continue into the second half of our first chronological year looking at Jesus’ life and ministry, we arrive at a passage where the disciples ask Jesus an interesting question. While this question might not be the first question we would ask Jesus if given the opportunity, I suspect that if the significance of our questions were ranked, the question Jesus’ disciples ask Him would be really high on the list.

The question these disciples ask is about how they should pray. Two of the gospels record Jesus sharing model prayers, and while each gospel shares a similar prayer, Matthew’s gospel seems to get more attention, while Luke’s gospel focuses in on the personal relationship that we can have with God through our prayers. I believe both prayers are significant, so while our time together will focus on Luke’s version of Jesus’ model prayer, what I say regarding Luke’s version will likely be equally valid if looking at Matthew’s.

With that said, our passage and prayer is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

‘Father:
    May your holy name be honored;
    may your Kingdom come.
³ Give us day by day the food we need.
⁴ Forgive us our sins,
    for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
    And do not bring us to hard testing.’”

And that’s it. There is no formal close to the prayer. No “Amen” or anything like that. Luke records Jesus’ example prayer as being very short and sweet. Immediately following this prayer, Luke shares Jesus illustrating the truth that we should be persistent in our prayers with a short parable.

While it would be tempting to jump forward and focus time on Jesus’ parable, if we do so, we might miss out just how profound Jesus’ model prayer in this passage is! While I’m sure there are more things worth identifying in Jesus’ prayer than what we have time for, allow me to share six ideas in Jesus’ prayer that can help anyone who is struggling with wanting a better prayer experience.

The first idea worth pointing out is in Jesus’ opening word. Jesus opens His prayer by calling God His “Father”. This is a relational term, and something we can relate to in our physical lives. You and I have fathers who helped bring us into the world, and we have God as a spiritual Father who is looking out for us in ways that we couldn’t even begin to imagine.

While some people might dismiss this frame simply because God the Father was Jesus’ Father, that misses the simple detail that Jesus is instructing His followers how they should pray. Jesus tells us to call God our Father!

Next, Jesus continues with a statement of humility and respect by saying, “May your holy name be honored”. Our names are a part of our identity, and while we use them to communicate with one another in our physical lives, they carry with them a spiritual element that extends beyond something merely physical. God’s name is similar. We can use it to identify Him, but His name is part of His identity, and it is very spiritual and significant.

Jesus telling us to give honor to God’s name is important, because we are acknowledging that we understand who He is, and in contrast, who we are. God is a huge God, and we are microscopic in His presence, similar to an ant standing in front of a 50 foot tall giant. This makes it that much more awesome that God would be interested in us enough to send Jesus into the world of humanity!

Following talking about God’s name, Jesus shares a statement about God’s role: “may your Kingdom come”. God is a king, and He rules a kingdom that is much greater than any “earthly kingdom”. God’s kingdom spans both the physical and the spiritual worlds, and it is an always-expanding kingdom.

The third statement also brings with it the notion of free will, opening up a transition to the next half of the prayer. God’s kingdom is not forced onto anyone’s heart, but the request to see it come is one we ask to have happen, and when we ask God to bring His Kingdom to us, I believe He is more than happy to bring it. While God has partially hidden His kingdom during this age of sin, as disciples praying to God, we long to see Him end this doomed, sin-stained age and recreate our world into a place where His kingdom is clearly visible.

The first three details in Jesus’ prayer are all about God. Within one sentence, Jesus has focused our attention on who God is, on His relationship with us, on our relationship with Him, and on God’s ultimate role in the affairs of the universe.

The next half of Jesus’ model prayer transitions onto what God can do for us, and it follows a similar progression as the first half did.

The first phrase in the second half of this model prayer acknowledges that God is our provider: “Give us day by day the food we need”. Echoing God’s role as our “Father”, we ask Him to provide us with everything we need, just like a father would. This isn’t asking, or providing for everything we want, but asking for the things we need, and doing it on a day-by-day basis. A parent wouldn’t give their infant three months worth of food and then leave them to fend for themselves, and neither would God dump more on us than we are able handle. “Day by day” is our motto, as we move forward through life with God by our side.

The second phrase in the second half of Jesus’ model prayer brings us to our next layer of need: forgiveness. “Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.” Just like the second statement in the first half of Jesus prayer that framed God as holy, we now acknowledge our need for forgiveness, and this is forgiveness that we understand is not our right to receive. God is holy, and He is not required to forgive us. We demonstrate that we want His forgiveness by forgiving those who have done us wrong. God has promised to forgive us of sin, but His promise is based on our choosing to forgive others who have wronged us.

The last statement in Jesus’ model prayer echoes back to God’s role in the third statement of the introduction. Jesus finishes by saying, “And do not bring us to hard testing” which relates to God’s role as a guide for our lives as we choose to be a part of His kingdom. As we are given responsibility, God watches how we handle the task. We could call this a test and it is God’s right to send tests our way.

This last phrase acknowledges God’s right to test us because He is King, but it also requests that He choose to not test us with hard challenges. Just because we have asked does not mean that our request will be granted, but simply making the request helps keep our focus on God.

Everything in this example prayer is completely focused on God – even the part where Jesus tells us to be forgiving towards others. The first part of this prayer focuses on who God is, and the second part focuses on how we continually need God present in our lives.

There is no closing for this prayer, which suggests that our connection to God should always remain open. Just like we don’t want to end our relationship with Him, there is no reason to “hang up the phone” on our conversation either.

After sharing this prayer, Jesus shifts His focus onto how we should be persistent in our prayers, and persistence when praying is important. Jesus wraps up this teaching by reminding us that God the Father may be compared with an earthly father, except that God the Father is the role model and in every way we can imagine, He is better than any and every earthly Father.

Jesus wants us to see God the Father as our Heavenly Father: specifically as Someone big enough to tackle any problem we face, but also personal enough for us to share life with.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Understand that God wants to be your Friend, your Father, and your Forgiver. Recognize these three roles that God wants to have in your life and use them as motivation to intentionally seek God more.

Seeking to know God is best done by intentionally spending time with Him, through prayer, and by personally studying the Bible for yourself. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who is passionately in love with His people and that He desperately wants you saved and in heaven with Him!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or outright reject where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!