Bible Studies

---

The Gospels
Luke 11:1-13 – Unceasing Prayer
Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 1: “He was praying in a certain place, and after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught His disciples.’” – Jesus prayed often and His disciples saw that there was something unique and special about His prayer life.
  
  
• 2: “He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: ‘Father, Hallowed be your name. Your Kingdome come.’” – When we pray we are to first lift praises to God.
  
  
• 3: “Give us each day our daily bread.” – God will fulfill our needs when we ask.4: “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” – Forgiveness is the cornerstone of faith – we are forgiven so we too can forgive – it must go both ways.
  
  
• 5-8: “And He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight… …⁸because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” – Jesus tells this parable to illustrate that persistence in prayer is an important aspect of our prayer life.
  
  
• 9: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” – Jesus is saying that we must be diligent and unrelenting in our search for God.
  
  
• 10: “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” – God will reveal Himself to everyone who truly seeks.
  
  
• 13: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” – God is good and His gift of the Holy Spirit will fulfill all our needs.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Do you pray? How often? For what do you pray? The disciples watched Jesus in prayer frequently, consistently, and with persistence. Because of this they came to realize that prayer was an important aspect of who Jesus was. When they asked Him for guidance, Jesus said: “When you pray…” not “If you pray…” Is prayer an important aspect of your life? Do you fill your day with prayer? Do you pray at the beginning and end of each day? Do you stop in mid-stride and ask for God’s help in every task or challenge you face? Do you pause and give thanks for the blessings He has provided? Are you praying with your every breath?
  
  
• Do you have a laundry-list of needs? Are your prayers filled with requests for God? Do you take time to praise Him? Do you tell Him that you love Him? Do you ask for His forgiveness? With His forgiveness in hand, what do you do next? Do you forgive others? Or is there one person in your life you could never forgive? Does God’s forgiveness of your sins come with intent? Is this a “free” gift or does He have expectations of you? Are you simply blessed by God and your relationship with Him ends there? Or are you blessed for a purpose – are we not all called to be a blessing to those we meet?
  
  
• Are you persistent in your prayers? Why do we need to be persistent? The parable today teaches that it was only through persistence that the man would get out of bed and provide his friend with the bread he requested. Does God forget what we asked for in previous prayers? Do you think that through our diligence we are somehow breaking down His resistance or trying to change His mind? Or is persistence in prayer more about you? Is it possible that through unceasing prayer you will come to know God better? Is prayer more of a teaching opportunity with God than a request-line for happiness?
  
  
• Do you seek God? Are you asking Him to fill your life? Are you knocking at His door? Are you aware that God promises to be available for everyone who searches for Him? Does this promise fill you with hope? In times of struggle, pain, suffering, loneliness, depression, frustration, or simple fatigue will the memory of these verses help bring you back into God’s loving embrace? Will you allow the hope of this promise to fill your days?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

And Jesus prayed… The disciples recognized that as His followers, they were expected to duplicate His life – to become like Him in everything they did. Jesus prayed. He prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed again. He never ceased praying, even in the midst of great pain and suffering on the cross. When we bring prayer into the center of our lives and begin praying diligently and unceasingly, the result is that God will fill us with His Spirit, we will come to know Him intimately, and our lives will be truly blessed. As we seek Him we will find Him. As we beseech Him we will be sustained. As we cry out to Him, we will be heard. It is a promise that is always fulfilled.

FUMC Devotionals

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE