Tag Archives: prayer

How do you pray? (Luke 11:1-13), Jan 11, 2015

Today’s background scripture comes from Luke 11:1-13.


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It’s no secret that prayer constituted an important part of My Son’s life while He walked the dusty roads of Judea. Prayer didn’t mean a daily ritual for Him, it was His lifeline. Jesus prayed continually. He stayed in constant contact with Me. Some will say it was easy for Him because Jesus was God and as part of the Trinity He had no problem staying in touch with the rest of the Trinity.

I will tell you, however, Jesus, also became fully human when He walked the earth with you. Prayer became a human discipline for Him just like it was for all of My disciples. When the twelve first traveled with Jesus they didn’t know how to pray like He did. They didn’t know how to stay in constant contact with Me. Their exposure to prayer up to that point came from the synagogues and the temple.

The disciples heard the priests and elders pray long flowery orations that lifted them in the eyes of the people, but from the prayer life of their teacher, they knew He touched heaven every time He prayed and those others didn’t. The disciples wanted to know His secret formula for getting through to Me. Jesus’ prayer that day shows the simple conversation I like to have with My children.

I want to know you love and respect Me. I want to know trust me to meet your needs. I want to know you extend mercy and grace to others. And I want to help you through the difficulties of the day. That’s the simple conversation Jesus had with Me and it covered all the bases of the life for that day. That’s all He needed to say and we shared together from the heart in those moments.

I don’t need flowery words. I don’t want long melodious tones. I don’t want ritual and repetition. I want to hear from your heart. I want to talk with you as you would talk with a friend. Share your needs, your hurts, your successes, your grief, your joy. Share your life with Me. Just talk with Me…all the time. Let it become a habit in your life so your thoughts spring to Me in your spare minutes. You’ll not be disappointed with the results in our relationship together.

Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Luke 11:1-13
Set – Genesis 28; Psalms 4; Luke 11
Go! – Genesis 27-28; Psalms 4; Luke 11

Luke 11:1-13
Another time Jesus was praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples approached Him.

Disciple: Teacher, would You teach us Your way of prayer? John taught his disciples his way of prayer, and we’re hoping You’ll do the same.

Jesus: 2 Here’s how to pray:

Father [in heaven], may Your name be revered.
May Your kingdom come.
[May Your will be accomplished on earth
as it is in heaven.]
3 Give us the food we need for tomorrow,
4 And forgive us for our wrongs,
for we forgive those who wrong us.
And lead us away from temptation.
[And save us from the evil one.]
5 Imagine that one of your friends comes over at midnight. He bangs on the door and shouts, “Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread? 6 A friend of mine just showed up unexpectedly from a journey, and I don’t have anything to feed him.” 7 Would you shout out from your bed, “I’m already in bed, and so are the kids. I already locked the door. I can’t be bothered”? 8 You know this as well as I do: even if you didn’t care that this fellow was your friend, if he keeps knocking long enough, you’ll get up and give him whatever he needs simply because of his brash persistence!

9 So listen: Keep on asking, and you will receive. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened for you. 10 All who keep asking will receive, all who keep seeking will find, and doors will open to those who keep knocking.

11 Some of you are fathers, so ask yourselves this: if your son comes up to you and asks for a fish for dinner, will you give him a snake instead? 12 If your boy wants an egg to eat, will you give him a scorpion? 13 Look, all of you are flawed in so many ways, yet in spite of all your faults, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to all who ask!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

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I care about you (Luke 4:1-30), Jan 4, 2015

I know you sometimes think I don’t understand what you’re going through because I’m God, way up in the heavens, maybe disconnected from your world. You sometimes think I can’t possibly understand the stress and strain of life where you live today. The crime, the economy, the poverty, the social pressure, all the things that make living for me so difficult.

That’s what the people around me said when I walked the dirt roads with them, too. My spirit reminded Luke of the story of My temptation to help you know I understand where you are in your life. Paul told you, too, that no temptation has or will come to you that I have not faced also. But I have a way to help you out of every temptation…before you fall. That’s what My Father did for Me while I walked the earth with you.

I felt the physical temptations you feel. Luke reminds you in the story of My temptation. Forty days is a long time without food. Satan knew when to tempt Me with food. He knew I could create bread from the stones. Later I would feed 5,000 men plus women and children with a few herring and rolls. Making bread of the stones to satisfy My hunger would not have been hard, but it would have given Satan authority over mankind’s physical discipline. I could not allow that and went hungry.

I felt the human temptations of power as I saw the kingdoms of the world stretched out before Me. I could have done as Satan asked and held the political scepter of the world, but this world is temporary and much more is at stake than a little power. After all, My Father allowed those leaders to take their positions in the first place. One day they will all bow their knee to Me.

I have felt your emotions. I have felt your pain. I have felt your desires. I know what you face every day. I came from Nazareth. The poorest of the poor. Remember Nathaniel’s comment? Nothing good came from Nazareth…well, almost nothing. My earthly father, Joseph, died when I was a teenager and I assumed the role of supporting Mary and My brothers and sisters in the home. I knew poverty. I knew the ridicule of being an “illegitimate” son. I heard all the jokes, the whispers in the background, the smirks and stories.

When you pray to Me, I listen. I understand. I know your needs. I’ve been there. Let Me help you. Just listen to what I tell you and follow Me.

Ready – Luke 4:1-30
Set – Genesis 9; Luke 4
Go! – Genesis 9-11; Luke 4

Luke 4:1-30
When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, He was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led Him away from the cities and towns and out into the desert.

2 For 40 days, the Spirit led Him from place to place in the desert, and while there, the devil tempted Jesus. Jesus was fasting, eating nothing during this time, and at the end, He was terribly hungry. 3 At that point, the devil came to Him.

Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, You don’t need to be hungry. Just tell this stone to transform itself into bread.

Jesus: 4 It is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, “People need more than bread to live.”

5 Then the devil gave Jesus a vision. It was as if He traveled around the world in an instant and saw all the kingdoms of the world at once.

Devil: 6 All these kingdoms, all their glory, I’ll give to You. They’re mine to give because this whole world has been handed over to me. 7 If You just worship me, then everything You see will all be Yours. All Yours!

Jesus: 8 [Get out of My face, Satan!] The Hebrew Scriptures say, “Worship and serve the Eternal One your God—only Him—and nobody else.”

9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, and he transported Jesus to stand upon the pinnacle of the temple.

Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, just jump. Just throw Yourself into the air. 10 You keep quoting the Hebrew Scriptures. They themselves say,

He will put His heavenly messengers in charge of You,
to keep You safe in every way.
11 And,

They will hold You up in their hands
so that You do not smash Your foot against a stone.
Jesus: 12 Yes, but the Hebrew Scriptures also say, “You will not presume on God; you will not test the Lord, the one True God.”

13 The devil had no more temptations to offer that day, so he left Jesus, preparing to return at some other opportune time.

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and soon people across the region had heard news of Him. 15 He would regularly go into their synagogues and teach. His teaching earned Him the respect and admiration of everyone who heard Him.

16 He eventually came to His hometown, Nazareth, and did there what He had done elsewhere in Galilee—entered the synagogue and stood up to read from the Hebrew Scriptures.

17 The synagogue attendant gave Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus unrolled it to the place where Isaiah had written these words:

18 The Spirit of the Lord the Eternal One is on Me.
Why? Because the Eternal designated Me
to be His representative to the poor, to preach good news to them.
He sent Me to tell those who are held captive that they can now be set free,
and to tell the blind that they can now see.
He sent Me to liberate those held down by oppression.
19 In short, the Spirit is upon Me to proclaim that now is the time;
this is the jubilee season of the Eternal One’s grace.
20 Jesus rolled up the scroll and returned it to the synagogue attendant. Then He sat down, as a teacher would do, and all in the synagogue focused their attention on Jesus, waiting for Him to speak. 21 He told them that these words from the Hebrew Scriptures were being fulfilled then and there, in their hearing.

22 At first everyone was deeply impressed with the gracious words that poured from Jesus’ lips. Everyone spoke well of Him and was amazed that He could say these things.

Everyone: Wait. This is only the son of Joseph, right?

Jesus: 23 You’re about to quote the old proverb to Me, “Doctor, heal yourself!” Then you’re going to ask Me to prove Myself to you by doing the same miracles I did in Capernaum. 24 But face the truth: hometowns always reject their homegrown prophets.

25 Think back to the prophet Elijah. There were many needy Jewish widows in his homeland, Israel, when a terrible famine persisted there for three and a half years. 26 Yet the only widow God sent Elijah to help was an outsider from Zarephath in Sidon.

27 It was the same with the prophet Elisha. There were many Jewish lepers in his homeland, but the only one he healed—Naaman—was an outsider from Syria.

28 The people in the synagogue became furious when He said these things. 29 They seized Jesus, took Him to the edge of town, and pushed Him right to the edge of the cliff on which the city was built. They would have pushed Him off and killed Him, 30 but He passed through the crowd and went on His way.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.