Prayer that's
real!
Has anyone ever said to you, "Say a prayer for me!"? Maybe you
have often said it yourself. In today's short story the disciples
of Jesus ask a very different request of Jesus. I hope it is a
request you will want to make too.
"One day Jesus was praying in a certain place." 1*. The disciples listened in
amazement. They were seeing that the time Jesus spent talking with
His Father in Heaven was very important and very special to Him.
They wanted their praying to be as real as that! "When Jesus had
finished, one of His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to
pray." 1*.
Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say; ‘Father, hallowed be Your
name..'" 2*.
Was Jesus saying to these men that they could talk directly to the
Almighty God of Heaven, and call Him their "Father"? Yes!
Does that mean everyone can do that? No!
The great privilege of calling God in Heaven "Father" is only for
those who are true followers of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Jesus was
saying this only to those who accepted Him as their Saviour.
3*. We all know that
many others call God their Father and pray to Him - but they should
first have listened to what He has said. God has clearly said that
while our sins hide His face from us He will not hear our
prayers! 4*. So,
saying prayers does not make a sinner acceptable to God!
5*.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God as their Father in
Heaven because they had found the right way to God. Jesus
made the right way to God very clear when He said, "I am the
way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father
except through Me." 6*.
So, only those people who see their need of having Jesus to bring
them to God and trust in him as their only hope and Saviour have
found the "way" to God! Only they have the right to call God in
Heaven their Father, 3*. because they have become children of God by
their faith in Jesus Christ! 7*.
Jesus taught those who trusted and obeyed Him to pray, "Our
Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your
will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." 2*.
It is easy to recognise many of those whose prayers God does not
listen to! You see, those who are not really God's children will
often not care about keeping God's name hallowed or doing God's
will in their everyday lives! They might not mind taking the Lord's
name in vain! Nor will they mind some of these things in their
daily lives: lies, cheating, disobedience, unfaithfulness,
idolatry, stealing, cursing, hatred and other evil things. Often
they will even insult God by praying to others as well as Him!!
God is NOT the "Father" of such people, 8*. and their prayers are NOT acceptable!
9*. God says: "He who
does what is sinful is of the Devil", and "Anyone who does not do
what is right is not a child of God.."! 10*.
Read about prayer that's real in Luke
chapter 11, verses 1-2. Remember only those who have trusted Jesus
as Priest and Saviour, and so are sincere about pleasing God in
their daily lives, have the right to pray!
Bye for now,
John Nixon, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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commentary for Luke's Gospel check out the review index.
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Footnotes. Bible quotations from N.I.V.
1 Luke 11:1.
2 Luke 11:2. Matthew
6:9-10.
3 See John 1:10-13.
4 Isaiah 52:9. Romans
3:10-20.
5 Isaiah 1:12-17.
6 John 14:6.
7 See 1st John 3:1-3.
8 John 8:42-47.
9 See Matthew 15:8-9.
101st John 3:8,
10.
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