Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 11: 1-13 "SO I SAY TO YOU..." Luke 11:9"
Day 141 – Luke 11
Text: Luke 11: 1-13
“SO I SAY TO YOU…” Luke 11:9
Have you ever felt discouraged in prayer? Do you sometimes feel like not praying anymore? Draw much encouragement from the words of the Lord Jesus! Read these words again and again, and hear Him say these words to you personally.
You have no need to fear your persistence in prayer! You have no need to fear that your persistence would be offensive to the Lord. It is the Lord Jesus who says, “So I say to you…”
AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE TO BEAR IN MIND
We are going to read a portion of Scripture that is truly most profound! Sadly, it is also a passage that is also grossly misunderstood and misapplied!
It is important to bear in mind an important principle whenever we come across truly profound passages! That principle is stated in just one word, “CONTEXT.”
Sometimes, the context is clearly stated. Sometimes the context is not stated. Nevertheless, we must be sure that we look for the context in which the Lord Jesus teaches a profound truth!
“ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU…” Luke 11:9
Graciously, the Lord Jesus encouraged His Disciples to dare to ASK… with the assurance that God will hear and respond favourably!
“Ask… and it will be given to you…”
Luke 11:9
Many have taken these words of the Lord Jesus and applied them in the most wooden-literal way possible! Some have been bitterly disappointed because they did not get what they want. Others enthuse over how God had “answered their prayers!”
What is the context of this verse? How do we understand this verse at all?
THE CONTEXT OF PRAYER
Let us not forget what we have learned about The Lord’s Prayer! Remember the words of the Lord Jesus when He taught His Disciples how they should seek to do God’s will and not their own?
“Your WILL be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
Luke 11:2
The context of every prayer is ALWAYS the will of God! The Lord’s encouragement to believe that we may ask, must always be read in the context of the Disciple understanding that God’s will is Perfect and Sovereign!
The Disciple who prays outside the will of God cannot hope to have that prayer answered! The true Disciple will always be desirous of firstly discovering God’s will, and then submitting to that Perfect will of God! Does this understanding MUTE the significance of what the Lord Jesus Christ sought to teach His Disciples? In a word, the answer is “NO!”
THE SCOPE OF THE WORD “ASK”
There is much more to the word “ask” than meets the eye. This word has a wider scope than is initially understood! The word “ask” must be studied in the semantic field of the other two words that Jesus used… “seek” and “knock.” The three phrases must be carefully interpreted before we can apply them.
1. There are times when prayer requests may be so simple, they will receive a direct and straightforward answer. We “ask.” God replies, “Given!”
2. There are prayers that are more complex, in which case the petitioner must understand that he must “seek.”
a) He may have to seek God’s will in this complex matter
b) He may have to seek greater wisdom
c) He may have to seek in greater prayer efforts
d) The Lord has not said “No.” However, He does not say, “Given” either. He says “Seek…”
3. There are prayers that are even deeper in complexity than the above two categories! These prayer requests require the petitioner to “knock.”
Quite obviously, the Lord Jesus was NOT giving a carte blanche with reference to prayer to His Disciples! He was not saying that they could ask for anything they wanted, and God would be like a Great Dispensing Machine meeting the endless requests from His children! This concept of prayer was NEVER in the mind of the Lord Jesus, and must be rejected as utterly false!
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYER IS NOT MUTED!
The significance of prayer is neither negated nor muted by this interpretation of the Scriptures! In fact, it enhances the significance of what it means to commune with God in meaningful prayer! How is this so?
1. “Asking…”
a) It humbles us… for we recognize that we have to ask
b) It encourages us… for we appreciate the fact that God will hear and answer us, according to His Perfect will
2. “Seeking…”
a) It teaches us that there are times when the answer to a prayer depends on our effort
b) It teaches us that prayer and its answers often involve two parties. There is God’s part, and there is our part!
3. “Knocking…”
a) It teaches us persistence or perseverance
b) It teaches us depth of understanding with reference to the realm of prayer
THE PROFUNDITY OF PRAYER
Prayer is simple, for a child. It has to be such! For a child can only pray within very strict limitations.
However, prayer is deeply profound to Disciples. It must be so!
Webmaster’s Note :
If you are seeking a deeper level of understanding of prayer, please check out Pastor Charlie Tan’s excellent weekly articles on The Theology of Prayer , which includes a more indepth study of The Lord’s Prayer and how it applies to our prayer-life.