Luke 11 reminds me of Public Speaking class in school. I remember standing at the lectern, sweating and unable to read the paper because my hands were shaking. I was so nervous; all I could do was read word for word without expression or understanding. Today’s chapter is about the meaning behind the words. We begin with the disciples asking “Lord, teach us to pray”. We often call this the Lord’s Prayer, but what is it really? Was it meant to be recited? I believe it is a pattern for both public and private prayer. Some refer to the sections as Adoration, Praise, Petition, Intersession and Thanksgiving. It is important to remember the audience whenever speaking. We address His loving perfection and authority. We recognize His provision and protection. We express our needs and our need to extend mercy. We lift up others and we give Him thanks, trusting that He will accomplish His will in and through us. ‘Amen’ is a simple statement of agreement. Next Jesus told a parable of a man in need asking in “shameless audacity”. His point is that we can be pretty persistent with one another, yet often we are not in our prayer. Jesus taught “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”. Friend, have you stopped asking, seeking or knocking?
Jesus next addressed a fear some have of opening the door to the spiritual world. He asked, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” He concludes, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Certainly there are satanic forces intent on deceiving, but God alone is the Creator, He has no other equal. Please know that there is no spiritual neutral ground, “Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters”. Jesus added, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it”. God looks at your heart, but others can only see your actions. Friend, are your actions shaky?
The chapter closes with contrasts between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. First Jesus rebuked those waiting before they would believe. “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah”. The resurrection was the proof for all to see. Jesus told doubting Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Later Jesus was invited to eat a meal with the very pious Jewish leaders. These men had taken the law to an extreme in order to demonstrate their own righteousness. Jesus did not follow the ceremonial washing before eating. When they questioned Him, He responded, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup… but inside you are full of greed and wickedness”. He continued, “You give God a tenth of your mint… but you neglect justice and the love of God”. Jesus included the teachers of the Law, “you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them”. They had ceased teaching God’s Word and Wisdom, substituting manmade rituals and standards instead. Jesus concluded, “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering”. My friend, has your prayer time become a hurried speech recital? It is time we begin learning, living and teaching God’s Word again. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Amen?