Luke 11:1-13 (AMP)

THEN HE was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.

2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.

3 Give us daily our bread [kfood for the morrow].

4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended us or done us wrong]. And bring us not into temptation but rescue us from evil.

5 And He said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and will say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread],

6 For a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come, and I have nothing to put before him;

7 And he from within will answer, Do not disturb me; the door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and supply you [with anything]?

8 I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 So I say to you, Ask and lkeep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and mkeep on seeking and you shall find; knock and nkeep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks and okeeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and pkeeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and qkeeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.

11 What father among you, if his son asks for ra loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts sthat are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and tcontinue to ask Him!

[1]

k James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.

l Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

m Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

n Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

o Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

p Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

q Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

r Some manuscripts contain this portion within verse 11.

s Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.

t Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

[1] The Amplified Bible, Containing the Amplified Old Testament and the Amplified New Testament. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987.

·       BE SPECIFIC – (VS. 5)THREE LOAVES OF BREAD WERE ASKED FOR.

·       BE PERSISTENT – (VS. 8) PRAY UNTIL YOU GET RESULTS.

·       EXPECT GOD TO GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASK FOR (VS. 11-13).

·       PRAY IN FAITH

Matthew 11:22-24   Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.23 Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.24 So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

James 1:5-7  5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.6 BUT ASK IN FAITH, NEVER DOUBTING, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;7 FOR THE DOUBTER, BEING DOUBLE-MINDED AND UNSTABLE IN EVERY WAY, MUST NOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD. [2]

·       PRAY WITH BOLDNESS – DON’T BE TIMID AND DON’T HOLD BACK.

Hebrews 4:14-16  14 Since, then, we have a great high priest (WHO IS LARGE…AND…IN CHARGE) who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin JESUS UNDERSTANDS ME AND MY NEEDS.  16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with BOLDNESS, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [3]

·       ONE PERSON’S PRAYER CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

James 5:16-18  The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. [4]

·       PRAY FOR YOURSELF, HAVE OTHER PRAY FOR YOU AND PRAY FOR OTHERS.

James 5:13-16   13 Are any among you suffering? THEY SHOULD PRAY. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.

Mark 11:22-25

25 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”[5]

·       BE REAL – GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART WHEN YOU PRAY

Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed abouta himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”[6]

·       THERE IS NO DISTANCE IN PRAYER

Matthew 8:5-13  5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.”7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.”8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but ONLY SPEAK THE WORD, AND MY SERVANT WILL BE HEALED……13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. [7]

·       WE MUST PRAY OUR OWN PRAYER AND NOT DEPEND ON SOMEONE ELSE’S PRAYERS.

John 16:26-27   26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[8]

----

[1]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[2]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

[3]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

[4]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

[5]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

a  Or to

[6]  The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.

[7]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

[8]The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.