Luke 11:1-4
Introduction: In this passage of scripture, we see Jesus Christ, teaching the disciple to pray. This prayer was not necessarily meant to be prayed verbatim in a repetitious manner however, it is a good prayer to pray. More than just praying this prayer as it stands, it would be good to see the elements of the prayer, so that we too, can learn to pray to God and have a pattern to follow.
Our Prayers to God should include:
- A Praise to God- vs 2 “Hallowed be thy name”. (Holly, to reverence, to honor).
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- David Praised God- David believed this to be so important that he appointed a group of men who did nothing else in the Temple but workshop God- I Chronicles 23:5; 25:1 & 7.
- Created Beings Praise God- Revelation 4:8 Here we see four created beings who exist solely to worship God day and night “and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”.
- We should praise God-Psalm 33:1 “Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright”. Its comely to praise God- It is suitable, proper to praise God for His goodness, mercy, loving-kindness, faithfulness, salvations, wonderful words, counsel, promises, blessings, etc. We praise God for how good he’s been to us.
II. A Submission to God’s Will- vs 2 “Thy will be done”. This is doing what God wants no matter what we think or say about the matter. Are we willing to do anything God wants us to do.
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- Jesus submitted to God’s Will- Matthew 26:39 “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”. Jesus Christ wanted God’s wrath (this cup) to pass from Him however, he realized that he needed to go through this because this was the will of God the Father.
- Philippians 2:8 “And being in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and because obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.
- James 4:7 “submit yourselves therefore to God”.
III. A Daily Request- vs 3 “Give us day by day our daily bread”. This implies that we should go to God on a daily basis in prayer for provision of bread.
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- Exodus 16:15-22 This is the manna that the children of Israel had to gather on a daily basis. This creates a dependency and sufficiency on God himself.
- John 6:31-35 God wants us to go to his Bible on a daily basis to eat from the spiritual bread He has for us.
- Physical food and spiritual food- Mathew 4:4 “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”.
IV. A Repentance and Confession of Sin- vs 4 “And forgive us our sins”. Because sin separates us from God, we have to turn from our sins and stay confessed to God. We want good fellowship with God and in order for that to happen, we have to confess our sins unto God. We do this by asking God to forgive us of our sins.
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- Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”.
- Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear”.
- I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us form all unrighteousness”. This is to get it out and get it cleansed.
V. A Forgiveness of Others– vs 4 “for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us”.
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- Jesus our Example- Matthew 18:21-35- this shows our compassion for others. When we have compassion for others, we are forgiving. When we don’t have compassion for others, we won’t forgive.
- Sometimes we forget, just like this person, how much the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us and we fail to extend that grace and compassion to others.
- Ephesians 4:30-32 “forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”. We are kind to others because Christ is kind to us.
- Colossians 3:13 “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye”.
- Jesus our Example- Matthew 18:21-35- this shows our compassion for others. When we have compassion for others, we are forgiving. When we don’t have compassion for others, we won’t forgive.
VI. A Plead for Protection from Sin- Vs 4 “And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from
evil”. We pray from deliverance of evil, because God knows exactly how to deliver us from evil.
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- Where do temptations start- James 1:14 “but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth froth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”.
- II Peter 2:9 “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations”.
- God makes a way of escape- I Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”. God makes a way to escape the temptation.
Conclusion: In this passage we saw the Lord Jesus Christ teaching the disciples to pray. This prayer is a good pattern for us to follow. We too should praise God, submit to God’s will, go to him daily for our requests, repent and confess our sins to Him, forgive others and plead for protection from sin. God is willing and able to help us when we pray the way He wanted the disciples to pray.