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!”
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.
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.”
27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
We know this text affectionately as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Luke’s version is the lesser known version (compared to Matthew 6:5-15). There are probably hundreds of things we can mine from this text to appreciate it’s value, and here are just a few.
1. When we think about oneness, connection, intimacy, there is no closer oneness than God’s oneness with Himself. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. One God, three persons. Perfect in fellowship, love, and oneness.
John 17:11,20-21 says “11 Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one… 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
The disciples see Jesus pray to His Father and they react by saying “I want some of that, Jesus teach me how to do that.” And Jesus is willing and able, and shows us how to connect with God in oneness.
2. To the Jewish people, God was rarely referred to as Father. In fact, the first time God is referred to as “Father” in the Old Testament is in the book of Psalms (Psalm 68:5, Psalm 89:26). Remarkable! Jesus is doing something remarkable. He, in His oneness with God, is inviting us to partake in His unique relationship to God the Father. We can call God “Father” and have every single benefit of Him as our Father.
3. Jesus’ life on earth was marked by His passion to “hallow” (make holy, magnify the worth of) God’s name. John 17:1 says “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.’” So Jesus is teaching us to pray in such a way that, above all, we are seeking the hallowing, worthy-ing, valuing of God’s name above EVERYTHING. God be more valuable than my family, my kids, all my possessions, all the richness I’m tempted to find in this world, all the accolades, all the ways I clothe myself.
This morning, let me invite us all to pray, to meet with our Heavenly Father, to hallow and make holy and most worthy and ascribe value to His name in our lives, and to feast on Him our daily bread. Luke 11:13 says “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”