Luke 11:3 (KJV)
Give us day by day our daily bread.
People commonly call Luke 11:2–4 “The Lord’s Prayer.” I think it is better understood as the Lord’s model for prayer. The disciples did not ask Jesus for a prayer to recite. One of them said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
This appears to be a different occasion from the Sermon on the Mount. There Jesus had said, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” Here, after Jesus had finished praying, a disciple asks Him for instruction. Jesus gives essentially the same pattern again.
The point was not the recitation of certain words. The point was learning to pray.
Jesus begins with relationship: “Our Father.” Prayer is the child of God speaking to his Father. He then gives us the matters about which we should pray. His name is to be hallowed. His kingdom is to be desired. His will is to be preferred. Our daily needs are to be brought before Him. Our sins, our relationships with others, and our temptations belong in prayer too.
“Give us day by day our daily bread” is not merely about bread. It teaches us that nothing concerning the child of God is too ordinary to bring before his Father. He is our Father, and the things that concern His children concern Him.
Jesus then continues the lesson beyond the words of the model prayer. He tells of the man who persistently asks his friend for bread. He says, “Ask… seek… knock.” Finally, He reminds us that even an earthly father knows how to give good gifts to his children.
The passage begins with “Our Father” and ends with “your heavenly Father.”
That is the lesson.
Prayer is not an empty, mechanical recitation of religious words. It is a child of God approaching his Father. We worship Him, submit ourselves to Him, bring our needs before Him, confess our failures to Him, seek His protection, and persistently ask Him for those things that honor Him.
Natural laws do not limit our Father. Circumstances do not overwhelm Him. Nothing we face is beyond His control. Nothing is too big for God. Nothing is too small to bring to God.
Jesus did not just teach His disciples a prayer.
He taught them to pray.
#DailyVisitWithGod #LordTeachUsToPray #DailyBread #TrustYourFather #BiblicalPrayer
A Pattern to Follow: Not A Prayer to Repeat
Luke 11 shows us that biblical prayer is more than repeating familiar words. Jesus taught His disciples to approach God as their Father, seek His will, bring Him their needs, and persistently ask, seek, and knock.
What do you believe Jesus meant when He said, “When ye pray, say…”? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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