Wk 4 Wed

Luke 11:1-26

 

The Lord’s Prayer

¹ 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.” ² And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread,
⁴ and forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

⁵ 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, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ 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’? ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ 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!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

 

THINK

He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” Luke  11:2-4

Are you like me and wonder, what should I pray for? Is my prayer petty? Do I pray enough? How should I pray? Or better yet, how should I be? Jesus’ answer is so simple, yet so complex. When we disobey God we are simply proclaiming, “Don’t worry, I know what’s best for me, I can handle this!”

Here is what our God, the very one who designed us and knows how we are wired, says we are to pray: God is our God. He is the only one to be honored, not us. His kingdom, rather than anything we build, is eternal; and He provides us with all we need. We are not worthy of what God gives; we ask forgiveness for thinking we are, and that God would help us to see others as He sees us. It is only through His power that we have faith and can trust that God is in control.

So simple because God is calling us to rely on Him! So complex because, on our own, we simply cannot do that, our human will is too strong! The Good News: God has done for us in Jesus Christ what we cannot do for ourselves.

Have you ever thought that the Lord’s prayer just isn’t enough or too generic? Ask why you might think you know better than God and recognize that those thoughts are a result of our need to be in control.

 

PRAY

Lord, teach me to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen