A young lady told me yesterday that she doesn’t know how to pray and she had something very important to pray about. I wonder if I should have showed her Jesus’ prayer. It is not specifically about what she is concerned about, but isn’t it a great place to begin? If Jesus taught his disciples how to pray with a certain prayer, maybe that is what we should turn to in order to teach others how to pray. You know, maybe. When you pray, say “Father . . .” It’s a good beginning.
In Luke 11:1-4 Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray. Most will look at this and say that Luke shortened Matthew’s version in Matthew 6. And to be sure these prayers are almost identical. Matthew places his within the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke it is a response to the disciples seeking to learn specifically how to pray. What if Luke didn’t doctor up his source? What if Jesus uttered this prayer in two different settings? What if it was Jesus who gave the same prayer in a shortened form to his disciples? I really don’t have a problem with the idea that Luke used the prayer in a different context because he was facing a different audience. I do wonder how we can be so sure. I do wonder why it seems beyond the realm of possibility that Jesus said the same thing – prayed the same thing – in a different setting and in a slightly different way. Onward ho!
It came about that while Jesus was praying and after he had finished that one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And the first thing that is impressive is the vagueness of the passage. It took place in a certain place. One of the disciples asked. It happened. The time, the place and the person are all unnamed. The word prayer is the generic word for prayer. It could have been any kind of prayer. But the request is fairly specific. Teach us to pray. Often in Luke, Jesus goes off to a secluded place to pray. We are not told this specifically here, but it does seem likely. Picture Jesus in a lonely spot with his disciples praying. And he is already teaching them isn’t he? If you want to teach your children or anyone else for that matter to pray, well, then, pray.
If we take Jesus’ words literally, then the prayer he offers up, must be prayed. He said, “When you pray, say.” Say is an imperative. But not all the prayers of Jesus that have been recorded for us contain these words. Maybe he is giving us a form; a guide of sorts. Prayer is about relationship; it is about recognizing God as Father. Relationship will change how you pray. I speak differently to my siblings than I do to my father. It is a different relationship. The phrase “holy (or sanctified) be your name” could be a request that the name, the character, of God will always be holy in our lives. It could be a request that God will establish his holy character; that he will make the world aware of his sanctified self. Maybe both ideas are present. I want my life to be all about the holy character of God. And I desire that God would show his holiness. There has been a lot of discussion about what “your kingdom come” might mean. The Kingdom of God broke into our reality in the life of Jesus. It continues to spread in the lives of the followers of God. The prayer that God’s kingdom come is a prayer that God’s sovereignty would be acknowledged. He is the king of all, but not all accept him as king. And even in our lives, we want his kingdom to keep coming; to keep growing.
It is appropriate to ask your Father to provide your daily needs. Is Jesus suggesting that they should trust God for bread, just as the Israelites had to trust God in the wilderness wandering? There is something childlike in asking for and relying on a parent for food. Maybe this is about understanding where your daily bread comes from. You may buy it at the store, but it is God who provides. And our prayers should be about seeking forgiveness. And that you cannot buy. You will never grasp it, if you don’t give it. So, seek forgiveness as you forgive others. Ask your Father for what he loves to give and then turn around and give it. The final request has caused a lot of debate. If God doesn’t tempt (James 1:13-14), why would we pray that he not bring us into temptation? It doesn’t seem likely that Jesus would encourage us to request God to not do something that he never does. Maybe this is about trust and relationship just like the rest of the prayer. It is the cry of a child, “Must I really go through this trial?” “Please Father, keep this trial from me.” It is the prayer of Jesus in the Garden seeking for his Father to remove the trial of the cross. God may not remove the trial, but pray that he does. When you pray, build your relationship with Holy God.