1.21.25 | Teach us to Pray

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Scripture:

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[e] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!” – Luke 11:5-13

Reflection:

The second facet of prayer Jesus encodes in this parable is love. The motivation of intercession is love. It is love that moves the heart of God. When we pray for others, placing our interest within their interest, God is pleased. God is love, after all…and rejoices when we resemble Him.

The man does not ask for bread for himself, but for another. This is implied when Jesus teaches us to pray, “give US this OUR daily bread.” We are asking, not just for ourselves but for others. There is a reciprocity between love and prayer. It is love that moves us to pray for others, and it is praying for others that enables us to love them.

Prompts:

Who is God calling you to love this year through your prayers?

Go before the Father, bringing before Him the people He is inviting/calling you to love and their needs? Beseech Him for their needs, as if you were the man in the parable, asking for bread to give them…bread which you don’t have but which your Father does.

Remember that your Father is not evil. He does not give a stone when you ask for bread. Or a snake when you ask for a fish.