Luke 11 (5)

Pray Psalm 13.1, 2.
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Sing Psalm 13.1, 2.
(Melita: Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
How long, O Lord, O Lord, how long will You forget me and my song?
How long will You conceal Your face and keep from me Your precious grace?
How long must I my soul consult? When shall my weary heart exult?

Read Luke 11.1-12; meditate on verses 9-12.

Preparation
1. What did Jesus say we should do in prayer?

2. What did He promise?

Meditation
Jesus enlarges on His previous teaching about being persistent in prayer by using three verbs to extend and clarify His meaning.

“Ask” is the first, by which we make our requests known to the Lord. “Seek” extends ask, for example, by our coming at the Lord with the same question expressed in various ways, or by doing so at different times of the day. “Knock” suggests making a noise to announce our presence and be granted entry into the dwelling-place of God.

Each of these is a further elaboration of the idea of praying with persistence. And note the promises: They who ask will receive; those who seek will find; to those who knock “it will be opened” (v. 10). Jesus does not say precisely what we will receive, find, or gain entry to. The emphasis is on assuring us that God will hear and reply to our persistence in prayer.

As we will see in verse 13, Jesus leaves to the last point in His teaching that which clarifies what we must seek through persistence in prayer and what we may expect to receive. In verses 9-12 He wants us to be greatly exercised in prayer, looking upward and striving onward in all things at all times. God will teach us how to pray and what to expect, but only as we persist in asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer.

This makes prayer, which is the quintessential Christian discipline, also one of the most important learning environments in the life of faith. For the more we persist in these ways, the more God will strengthen our practice of prayer, and we will come to know what is proper to seek and expect from Him. Thus, our prayers will become both more consistent and more fruitful as we persist in seeking what God promises to give us in prayer.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD…” (Is. 1.18).

And Jesus is inviting us to do the same.

He asked: What father, when asked, would give his child a stone to eat instead of bread? Or a serpent in place of a bite of fish? Or a scorpion as a substitute for a scrambled egg?

If we carefully reason that question out, we most assuredly will come up with the answer: “Well, no loving father would do that to his beloved child”.

So we know with assurance, through careful reason: this is how our Father in heaven hears and answers our prayers.

Thus, we add our voices with the psalmist:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executes justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant,
and to those who remember His commandments to do them” (Ps. 103.1-14, 17, 18). 

We will start with persistent thankfulness and praise for a plate full of bread, fish, and eggs!

For reflection
1. God knows how best to answer our prayers. Does that mean He will always answer them the way we might like? Explain.

2. What are the keys to persisting in prayer? That is, what do we need to do to become more persistent in prayer?

3. How do you expect God to answer your prayers?

By this eloquent sentence Christ exhorts us to diligent devotion in prayer, promising that God will very graciously listen to our prayers of supplication and those which are beneficial for our salvation will be satisfied superabundantly. Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), Commentary on Luke 11:9.15

Pray Psalm 13.3-6.
Praise God for His constant care. Rejoice in His Presence with you always. Offer this day to Him for His glory, and declare your trust in Him for all you do.

Sing Psalm 13.3-6.
(Melita: Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
Exalt not, Lord, my enemy; Lord, hear my prayer and answer me!
Give light unto my weary eyes; let not death claim me for its prize.
Let not my foe rejoice to say that I have fallen in the way.

Yet I have trusted, Lord, in You; Your lovingkindness sees me through.
My heart breaks forth in happy voice; in Your salvation I rejoice!
Thus I will sing triumphantly: “My God has dealt full well with me!”

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.