{"id":248,"date":"2023-06-07T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=248&2023"},"modified":"2023-06-05T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T00:00:10","slug":"simplifying-prayer-luke-11-1-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/simplifying-prayer-luke-11-1-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Simplifying Prayer: Luke 11:1-13"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Luke 11:1-13 (GNT)<\/div>

\u00a01<\/sup> One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a02<\/sup> Jesus said to them,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When you pray, say this:<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Father:
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0May your holy name be honored;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0may your Kingdom come.
\u00a0\u00a03<\/sup> Give us day by day the food we need.
\u00a0\u00a04<\/sup> Forgive us our sins,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And do not bring us to hard testing.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a05<\/sup> And Jesus said to his disciples,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Suppose one of you should go to a friend\u2019s house at midnight and say,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread.\u00a06<\/sup> A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don\u2019t have any food for him!<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup> And suppose your friend should answer from inside,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can\u2019t get up and give you anything.\u00a08<\/sup> Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.\u00a09<\/sup> And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.\u00a010<\/sup> For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.\u00a011<\/sup> Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish?\u00a012<\/sup> Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?\u00a013<\/sup> As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!<\/p>\r\n

Read Luke 11:1-13<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

In this journal entry, we\u2019ll be looking at Luke\u2019s version of Jesus\u2019 \u201cmodel\u201d prayer. The disciples find Jesus praying, and they ask Him to teach them. When we look at the themes from this prayer, we find some very interesting ideas:<\/p>\r\n

First, Jesus\u2019 model prayer is very simple. Matthew\u2019s version of the prayer is the famous one, while Luke\u2019s version is much less glamorous. The primary focus, which is found in the opening, is all about giving honor and respect to God \u2013 simply because of who He is. The focus is not on asking for anything for ourselves or thanking Him for blessings.<\/p>\r\n

Secondly, after setting our focus on God, we bring three requests to God. Here is where the theme of the prayer gets interesting. We ask for food to sustain us for another day, we ask for conditional forgiveness as we choose to forgive others, and we ask for protection from temptation. Looking at the theme of each request, we see a pattern:<\/p>\r\n