TEACH US TO PRAY

We have such an awesome God! He even has taught us how to talk with him!

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." Luke 11:1 NIV

Jesus went on to teach them what we now call The Lord's Prayer. He gives God the Father the glory, asks several things including that God's kingdom come, that our daily needs be met, that our sins be forgiven and that we not fall into temptation. But He didn't stop there. He went on to tell a story about a man who was persistent in asking a friend to get up at night and loan him some bread for some unexpected company. Even though the friend was already in bed, because the man persisted, the friend finally got up and gave the man as much as he needed (see Luke 11:5-8).

We need to be persistent in prayer, too. God wants us to come to him frequently, even if it is praying about the same thing over and over. That is not nagging! That is faithful prayer.

Jesus went on: "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened..." Luke 11:9-10 NIV

(picture from blogs.voices.com)

Jesus promises in this part not only to hear our prayers but to answer them... perhaps not always the way that we want him to answer, but He will answer them according to his will. Sometimes the answer is "yes", sometimes "no", and even sometimes "wait", or "later". Always within his answer is "trust me!" And when we pray in true faith, we want and accept whatever his will is for us. Jesus emphasizes it three times: ask, seek, knock. I think He really means it!

Jesus' teaching lesson ends with saying that if we as sinful humans want to give good things to our children, "how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13) There is no greater gift! We know that if we ask for faith and for it to grow, that God will grant it.

So remember to pray, persistently, and in faith! Amen.
Written by Jan