Luke 11:1-13
1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 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 indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give 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!”
"Lord, teach us how to pray"
Reading the text in depth, we discover how the disciples are watching Jesus. He is befriending them and teaching them, and others, with great love and positive zeal. We see His disciples paying attention to their Teacher and how He devotes long periods of time for prayers. They're willing to follow His example. One of them asks Him to teach the team "How to Pray" (v. 1).
Among the many descriptions attributed to God, the Old Testament portrays God as a holy, sovereign creator, almighty, merciful, just... The New Testament brings a new concept as St. John's Gospel tells us that "those who received Him (the incarnated Son), were given the power to become the sons and daughters of God" John 1:12.
God is proclaimed as the Father of those who have received the Son as their Redeemer and Savior. Through Christ they become brothers and sisters, and they can address God as their personal and heavenly Father.
Through Jesus and with Him, His faithful can approach God with trust and intimacy as a child does when they share love, dialogue and present their personal needs.
Praying Angel outside Jesus’ empty tomb at The Church of the Resurrection, also known as The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem.
In the Lord's Prayer (v. 2), Jesus teaches us to acknowledge God as our heavenly Father who deserves to be sanctified by our faith and deeds. We are to look for His Kingdom first and be determined to live according to His will, a life that should be inspired by Him and conform to His own.
Then in verses 3-4, Jesus ensures us of the Father's love and His readiness to respond to our human needs that include daily "substantial" bread, forgiveness, and the power to defeat evil and its temptations.
He reminds us that all kinds of gifts that we receive are from the Father's Kingdom and bounty, and should be invested through His power for His glory (vv. 9-13).
The Amen we use is our commitment to abide by what we have prayed.
Three things should form the foundation of our relation to our loving and caring Father. A. S. K.--Ask with trust. Seek with determination. Knock with perseverance.
May we reflect upon how to learn from Jesus how to pray.
May we ask Him to teach us when we feel that we need His inspirational spirit.
May we ask, seek and knock with the conviction that we are approaching our loving and caring Father.
May we feel that we are sisters and brothers glorifying the same one heavenly Father.
May we always ask Jesus to teach us how to pray.