Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 11:1-13

[11:1] 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!”

Observation

• Where was Jesus (v. 1)? What was he doing? What did his disciples ask him?
• Look at the prayer Jesus gives to them (v. 2-4).
  • How should they address God?
  • What things should they pray for?
• In the story that Jesus tells (v. 5-8), why does the man give his friend bread?
  • Is it because of their friendship or because of the man’s impudence?
  • What is the relationship between:
    • Asking and it being given (v. 9 and 10)?
    • Seeking and finding (v. 9 and 10)?
    • Knocking and it being opened (v. 9 and 10)?
• What things might a son ask his father for (v. 11-12)? What won’t a father give his child?
  • What might we ask the heavenly Father for (v. 13)?
  • Is he more or less likely than an earthly father to give us what we ask for?

Interpretation

• Is Jesus giving us the actual words that we should pray or is he giving as a pattern to follow in our prayers? Or both?
  • What does it mean to pray for God’s name to be “hallowed” (v. 2)?
  • What does it mean to pray for the Father’s kingdom to come (v. 2)?
  • Why should we pray for “daily bread” (v. 3)?
  • Why does our asking for forgiveness involve our forgiving others (v. 4)?
  • Why would we need to ask God not to lead us into temptation (v. 4)?
• What is the point of the story in v. 5-8?
  • Is God a reluctant friend who needs to be badgered into helping?
  • How does that encourage us to be “impudent” in our prayers?
• How does our heavenly Father compare to our earthly fathers? Is he better and kinder? If so, how does that encourage us to pray?

Application

• How could your prayers better reflect the priorities that Jesus lays out in his prayer?
• What things do you need to ask your heavenly Father for? How would you pray differently if you were really convinced that God wanted to hear you and bless you?

Share prayer requests and pray for each other.