Luke 11:1-13
1He 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.” 2He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” 5And 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; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7And 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.’ 8I 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. 10For 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? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If 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!”
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This reading is about praying. One of Jesus’ disciples asks, “Lord, teach us to pray…” Not only does Jesus teach them the Lord’s Prayer, he also shares a parable and gives some advice about praying.
As I read this scripture, I was struck by Jesus inviting us to start praying by calling God, “Father”. In our everyday lives, we only have one person in our life that we call Father and he has a special, personal place in our life. Here, Jesus invites his disciples (and us) into a personal relationship with God by encouraging the disciples (and us!) to call God using the same name that Jesus uses, Father.
Jesus then shares a parable called, “The Friend at Midnight” that explains the power of prayer. The first man, by persistently knocking, had the door opened to him. The first man again, by boldly asking for bread, got what he needed. If a friend will give you what you ask, even if inconvenient, then surely God will answer our requests. Take a moment and reread v. 10. What else could give you such a tender feeling that God truly cares about us and our needs than these words?
Last, the advice. Father’s only want to give their beloved children the best. So it is with God. He only wants to give us the best (fish, an egg) and definitely not the worst (snakes, scorpions).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are comforted that you are listening to our prayers. Give us the good gifts that a father would give a child. Amen.
—Daina Sivanich