Luke 11:1-13
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Cycle C | 27 July 2025 | A Sermon on Luke 11:1-13 | by David M. Wendel |
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray!”
Luke 11:1-13 English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles
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,[b] 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!”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Lord, teach us to pray”, the disciples asked Jesus.
Last summer, at Vacation Bible School, we talked about prayer during the Bible lesson portion of the evenings, but I also offered simple prayers, with the kids repeating each short petition. And during the week, one of the excited little ones told one of the teachers, “Now I know how to pray. I didn’t know how to pray before!”
It’s hard to remember that a lot of our little ones won’t know how to pray, unless we teach them! And lo and behold, evidently the disciples of Jesus weren’t quite sure either, as in our Gospel lesson today, the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Today, some of us are still asking that question, but we have all kinds of other questions about prayer as well! Like, “Jesus, does prayer really make a difference?” “Jesus, how do we know when we’re praying for your will, not ours?” “Jesus, how can we get started in a deeper prayer life?” “Jesus, do we really receive whatever we ask for; will we really find whatever we’re searching for; when we knock on God’s door in prayer, will he always open?”
From our perspective, the surprising thing about the disciple’s question is that it’s only one question! We have so many questions about prayer that it would be hard to limit ourselves to one. And yet, that one question, in some ways, covers many bases. Many of our questions can be rolled into that one, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And what is Jesus’ answer? Is his answer, sufficient for us? It should be. And maybe that’s part of our problem. What Jesus teaches us about prayer doesn’t seem to satisfy us. We think there should be more. We think it should be more involved than it is. And maybe, that’s why prayer is so difficult for us. We think there should be more to it than what Jesus says that there is. Because what Jesus says, about prayer, in response to his disciple’s question, is that prayer is to be personal and straightforward, and so, it’s simple and easy! And when we try to make it more than that, that’s when we find obstacles to prayer, and find it hard to pray. Which is why we need to be reminded, again and again, of Jesus’ teaching. It’s why we need to hear, again and again, how Jesus teaches us to pray. And what does He teach us about prayer, today?
First, he invites us to address God as Father. When Jesus first taught this to his disciples, it was a radical and new way of approaching God in prayer. What Jewish men had been taught was that God was so holy and sacred, that it was blasphemous, even to speak God’s name, Jahweh, Lord. Consequently, Jews avoided addressing God directly, preferring third person modes of speech that were considered more respectful of God’s name and being. Still today, there are times when that kind of speech might be preferred and appropriate. But not in personal prayer. Because Jesus teaches us to pray, saying, “Father…” Jesus teaches us, in our personal relationship with God, to approach Him, as our loving, present Father; as the Father who has adopted us to be His children, and in so doing, makes himself available to us. Jesus tells us that our God doesn’t want to be a distant, abstract, unapproachable Creator-being, but one who is so close to us, so near to us, that He is indeed, our Father. Which means that prayer—communication with our God can be just that: as personal and intimate as between a parent and child. That should not be hard. In spite of the difficulty some of us might have communicating with our parents, to have God as our Father means we can speak from our hearts, means we can say whatever is on our minds, it means we can be open, honest and direct in our communication. And just as a parent responds to his or her children, just as a parent will listen to his or her children, Jesus says, how much more will the heavenly Father, give the Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him. How much more will our Father hear us, and heed our prayers, and respond.
So second, the Lord teaches us to pray, not for what we want, but for what we need. It’s interesting, that of all the supposed needs we humans have, Jesus includes three in his model prayer. Daily bread, forgiveness, and protection in the time of trial. Does this mean Jesus views these as the most important, as the only needs worthy of prayer? I don’t suppose we can answer that from this gospel text. But it’s clear that Jesus is saying to us, maybe we don’t need as much as we think we do. Of course, we need daily bread, daily sustenance, what we need to survive. Luther writes, in the Small Catechism, that daily bread includes everything needed for this life: food, clothing, home, property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors. This is all included in the prayer for daily bread. It’s pretty simple, really, and it’s freeing, to realize that what we need is relatively little, in the grand scheme of things. There may be a lot that we want, in life, but what we need can be boiled down to food, shelter, honest work, healthy relationships. It’s good and right to pray for what we need, to live. Just as it’s good and right, to pray for forgiveness, and that we will be able to forgive, as well. Because as important as is daily bread, Jesus is teaching us that on a par with that, is forgiveness.
Jesus is teaching us, today, that also essential to life, is being forgiven, and forgiving others. Now, just think about that. Certainly, Jesus says, you need food and home to survive. But equal to that is forgiving and being forgiven! Have you ever stopped to consider, to ponder, that forgiveness is that important to human life? Jesus says it is and he suggests we pray for it! It is that important. Because how can we live, in a right relationship with God, and with each other, without, forgiveness? In fact, the Kingdom of God, the new creation that God is bringing about in the sinful world in which we live, is based on, forgiveness, on being forgiven by God’s grace, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And forgiving others, as we’ve been forgiven. That, Jesus says, is worth praying for, and that’s why we pray for it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. And, along with that prayer for forgiveness, Jesus says, also pray for deliverance from trial, from temptation, from testing.
Martin Luther explains this petition to us in the Small Catechism, when he writes, “God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us, and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins.” Together with prayer for daily bread, and forgiveness, Jesus teaches us that deliverance from evil is something we should be praying for, regularly, daily, unceasingly. We pray for it, because we know that God can protect us from times of trial and temptation, but also because in praying for it, we are also strengthening ourselves against it. We are building up our own resolve to fight against, sin, death and the devil, as we align our wills with God’s will, in prayer. And though we will face trial and temptation, prayer for God’s help, against it, gains us not only God’s aid, but helps to keep us out of the line of fire, so to speak, so that we proactively, keep ourselves out of situations where we might be tempted to sin. Prayer does all of that, for us. And that’s why we keep praying. And that’s why we need to begin praying if we don’t already have an active prayer life. Which brings us back to some of our earlier questions. How do we begin to pray? What should we say? How can we be disciplined and faithful in our prayer life?
Without being flippant, or overly simplistic, to borrow a phrase, “Just do it!” Jesus’ instruction makes prayer a possibility for each of us, because he shows us how truly simple it is. He shows us you don’t need a special book, or a new language, or fancy prayer formulas. He shows us we can pray in short, to the point phrases that any of us can utter. He shows us that we can approach God and communicate with God, as a son or daughter would speak with a loving Father. It is as simple as that. It can be spontaneous. It doesn’t have to follow a pattern. It doesn’t have to be at set times of the day, although that may be helpful. It can be the flowing, free, genuine sharing between parent and child, that Jesus models for us, in his model prayer. So, do it. The easiest, most profound, most effective way of developing a prayer life, is to pray the Lord’s Prayer, once a day. Praying the Lord’s Prayer, every day for the rest of your life, would be enough. And then, if, when you feel the need, add a petition, a request, a thanksgiving, a praise, a thought, a concern. Begin by saying, simply, “Father…” and end with, “in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Jesus teaches us that prayer may be that simple, that intimate, yes, that uncomplicated! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
—
©David M. Wendel
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Westerville, Ohio USA