SCRIPTURE
Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 17
Luke 11:1-13 (NRSV)
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." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial."
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; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' 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.' 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.
"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. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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!"
DEVOTION
Recently I visited with someone who was nearing the end of her life. As her last days were upon her, it became critically important and extremely comforting for her to recite the Lord's prayer.
As we bowed our heads together we prayed,
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 us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
Forever and ever, Amen.
For both of us, this is a prayer we've been praying since we were tiny children on our mother's knee.
It is a prayer taught to us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It causes us to worship God, submit to God's will, seek the things that we need, ask and give forgiveness, trust God for our protection, and acknowledge the sovereignty, power, and holiness of God.
It is a wonderful prayer!
All too often, human beings are afraid to pray. We worry that God is too busy for us, too powerful to care about our little problems, or too angry at us about our sin to want to do anything good for us.
All of these concerns are dismissed when we read, "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Luke teaches us that just as earthly parents delight in giving good gifts to our children, so too, does our Heavenly Parent delight in giving us good gifts as well!
But, don't be fooled! Just as I, as a good parent, do not give my daughter everything she asks for because I know it is not good for her, so too, does our loving God withhold things from us that will not be for our ultimate good.
I am so glad that God loves us enough to say, "No" or "Wait."
My husband often prays during our night time devotions, "Thank you God for withholding the things that we want, but would do us harm."
I used to think that was a crazy prayer, until I realized that I do this all the time with my beloved children!
God has a right to say, "Yes, No, or Wait." As God's children, we need to learn to receive God's loving answer with respect and trust.
My friend, who is at the end of life, has learned this vital lesson. She is no longer praying to be healed. She is not praying for a miracle. She is not praying for her pain to go away. All that she is praying is the Lord's prayer...
I hear her words, "Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven..." even as her life slips away and I am humbled by her faith.
Won't you pray with me?
Good and gracious God, thank you for loving me so much. Thank you for inviting me into relationship with you through prayer. Thank you for giving me the gift of salvation through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Thank you for forgiving all of my sin. I love you and I know that you love me. You are wonderful and I trust your good plan for my life. Please give me all that I truly need today and please help me to love you and my neighbors as myself. I pray all of this in the Name of Jesus, Amen!
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
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