Prayer

Luke Ch 11

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished!

On Monday and Tuesday morning I read this passage of scripture and my thoughts had been on 1 Thessalonians Ch 5 v17. In my mind the parallel thoughts were that we are to pray without ceasing & yet scripture states that Jesus had finished praying.

It’s a marvelous thing, to have a time of prayer and to know that it is finished. That the day is in Gods hands and that it is sealed with his Spirit, so to speak. Often, I have been tempted to pray longer, wondering whether their is that bit more to pray etc, only for that inward sense of peace to be evaporating, because I ought to be getting on with the next task at hand.

But this txt of scripture combines it all.

I presume that the disciple who asks, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’, may have been either Andrew or John, who had been John’s disciples.

Of note here, is the limitations of John’s ministry, he was not the least in the kingdom of heaven, but the greatest born of women. He was not able to teach men to pray like the dearly beloved Son, begotten of the Father.

The Lord’s Prayer if read incorporating verses 5 to 14, certainly presents it as the full outworking of the redemptive narrative; when we think of Jehoshaphat and Elijah of a victory with God – both asking and receiving the answer. But it is more encompassing than that, the motive of prayer is being taught as secured in love: Father. And the outpouring (Holy Spirit) for the discipleship of families and nations – the covenant promised to Abraham. Not by change that Jesus referees to a family, v7.

The txt of scripture combines it all as Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray.

N.B.

Combining with a Psalm made it a great blessing to me.