for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;

Luke 11:6

A happenstance had occurred. An unexpected guest arrived, and nothing had been prepared. In the customs of the day it would be rude not to be prepared for the visit. So, this man decides to inconvenience one of his other friends to keep up appearances.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your provision for us. You are never surprised by our needs. You already know everything that will ever befall us. You are the Great Light in our darkness. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He also said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

Luke 11:5

This illustration is actually pretty funny. I can only imagine my own reaction if an acquaintance was knocking on my door at midnight! Jesus was obviously attempting to get His hearers to listen with this one.

Heavenly Father, You are the God of the unexpected! You do things in our lives we never would have guessed. Thank You for being so original. It spices our lives, and challenges our hearts. We will live to serve You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone
in debt to us.
And do not bring us into temptation.

Luke 11:4

This is a loaded verse. First, we need to understand what it does not mean. And then, we need to understand what it does mean.

Jesus is not saying that we are to never recognize or condemn the sins of others. Sins can be very serious, and they have consequences. And, the sins of others in general are not in view here. Also, Jesus is not saying that God tempts us.

So, what is Jesus saying here? First, He is telling us that we can ask God for forgiveness for our sins, with the proviso that we will do the same for others. In other words, if in your judgement someone else has sinned against you, you must freely forgive that individual. This is important because it means if we design our own standard for people to meet, we can’t hold them to that standard without risking our own forgiveness.

Second, Jesus is telling us we should ask God to keep us from being tempted. Now, temptation is not sin. You can be tempted without sinning. But, if exposed to temptation, the likelihood that you will succumb is very high. Often we ask God to help us resist temptation. Jesus tells us to ask God to help us avoid temptation.

Heavenly Father, You are Holy, Holy, Holy! Before all else there was You. All of eternity cannot hold You. Above and beyond all and forever You are the Amazing Creator, the Wonderful Ruler, and the Awesome God. I will praise You with my words, and try to do so with my life. You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3

Give us exactly what we need exactly when we need it, no more, no less. Whatever God knows is necessary for today we are to ask Him for. And we are not to expect tomorrow’s bread today.

This is a very Old Testament wilderness type way of thinking. Don’t look for manna for tomorrow. Gather only what is needed today. This is an attitude of complete and total dependence upon God.

So, we can indeed ask God to supply all of our needs. But, only what He determines we need. And only for today. How different this is from what we usually do in prayer!

Heavenly Father, You are the Holy One, rule over all forever and ever! Today I trust You to lead and guide me in the works of this day. I praise You for Your wisdom! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He said to them, ‘Whenever you pray, say,
Father,
your Name be honored as Holy.
Your kingdom come.’

Luke 11:2

Jesus starts out in this model prayer with three very important things. First, God is our Father. This is a recognition of His position as Creator. He is the Prime Mover, the First Cause, the One who started it all.

Second, God is, above all else, Holy. His Name, meaning His reputation, all that He is, can be equated with Absolute Goodness. He is as perfect, just, good, merciful, beneficent, and holy as anyone could ever be.

Third, His authority is recognized. The reference to His kingdom is meant to establish the fact that He has the unquestionable right and power to be the Ultimate Ruler of Everything.

Very often there are people all over this globe who presume to pray, and yet do not believe, or would not accept, these three items. But, Jesus begins here by teaching us prayer may not commence properly without these foundational beliefs. God made everything. God is better than anyone. And, God has the right to control everyone.

Heavenly Father, thank You for these three things. You do not play games with us. You tell us Who You are, and You expect us to act accordingly. You are the Great Creator, and the Most Holy One, and You have all the rights, not us. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’

Luke 11:1

Jesus prayed. He is from heaven. He proceeds from the Father. He is God in all His fullness. Yet, He prayed. If He prayed, what should we do?

The disciples of Christ surely understood the need for prayer. But, they did want be like John’s disciples, who were popular at the time. Regardless of the motivation, prayer is something we can never learn too much about.

Heavenly Father, no matter how many times I pray, I still have to think hard for the right words. I’m glad Your Spirit helps our prayers because mine need the help. I’m so very glad that You hear us. To have access to Your ear is an incomparable joy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.

Luke 10:42

Jesus was not about to deprive Mary of the position of the learner that she had chosen. Though Martha was busy, the things she had chosen to take care of could wait. The main thing was to take full advantage of the presence of Christ in her home.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being aware of our limits. You lead us as we are, knowing how You have made us. You are wise, loving, true, and good. We will seek to learn from Christ all of our days. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,’

Luke 10:41

The way Jesus addresses Martha here speaks volumes. The repeating of her name does two things. First, it is meant to calm Martha. Second, it reveals Christ’s love and concern for her.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be burdened by worry. The many things that Martha was doing were good tasks, Jesus didn’t say otherwise. But, Martha didn’t need to be in a tizzy over them either. She was allowing these tasks to overwhelm her.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your comfort. You could deal with us differently if You chose to. You are merciful and compassionate. Your Holiness is a blessing to us. You make us feel happy to be alive in Your world. Thank You for true life, and the blessed hope of rescue from sin. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.’

Luke 10:40

It is amazing how often Jesus was asked to give commands that other people wanted. Martha could have come and politely asked for her sister’s help. But instead of addressing her sister, she chooses to question Christ.

Martha couldn’t take the time to learn. She was too busy making sure everyone had what they needed. Now, the fact is, what Martha was doing was important. And Mary could share in the work. But, it was more important for Martha to share in the learning.

Heavenly Father, may we never forget just how precious it is that we can know You! A relationship with You is the most amazing thing any being could ever experience. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said.

Luke 10:39

Mary was a very attentive learner. She was one of those people who always want to be in the front row. Even the Lord didn’t always have interested hearers like Mary.

Heavenly Father, thanks for Your Word. It is such a delight to open the pages and see Your message to us. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.