Luke 11:1-13
Teach Us to Pray
Read the passage
1One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’
8I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13So if you who 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!”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus is praying in a certain place. When He finishes, one of His disciples asks Him to teach them to pray as John taught his disciples. Jesus teaches them to address God as Father, asking that his name be honored as holy and that his kingdom come.
He teaches them to ask for daily bread, forgiveness, and protection in temptation. Prayer joins dependence on God with responsibility toward others: we ask to be forgiven as we forgive those indebted to us.
Jesus tells of a friend who goes at midnight to ask for three loaves because a guest has arrived. The neighbor is already in bed with his children and does not want to get up. Jesus says that even if friendship does not move him, the man's persistence will: he will get up and provide what is needed.
He then says to ask, seek, and knock. Even sinful human parents know better than to give a snake to a child asking for a fish. How much more can the heavenly Father be trusted to give what is good. Jesus names the Holy Spirit as his gift to those who ask. We come to a Father who gives himself to his people, not a neighbor whose locked door we must overcome.
Questions
1 What prompts the disciple's request?
AnswerThe disciple sees Jesus praying and asks Him to teach them to pray, as John taught his disciples.
2 What daily need appears in Jesus' prayer?
AnswerThe disciples are taught to ask for daily bread, acknowledging dependence on God's provision one day at a time.
3 What does the midnight friend do?
AnswerHe keeps asking for bread for an unexpected guest, and persistent boldness leads the neighbor to provide what is needed.
4 What does the Father give to those who ask?
AnswerThe Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Jesus invites us to trust his goodness when we pray.
What This Means for Us
Jesus teaches prayer as relationship, dependence, forgiveness, and persistence. The prayer is brief enough for a child to learn but deep enough to reorder an adult's priorities.
Persistence does not mean that God is reluctant or that the right words force His hand. It means that needy people are invited to keep bringing their lives to a good Father.
Prayer
Father, teach us to honor Your name, welcome Your kingdom, receive daily bread, forgive others, and resist temptation. Give our household persistence without manipulation and dependence without fear. Amen.