“FATHER, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME”
Luke 11:1-13
Key Verse: 11:2
“He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.”’”
In today’s passage, Jesus teaches us about prayer: what to pray for and the attitudes which we should pray. Most of us are familiar with this prayer for we sing “The Lord’s prayer” together at the end of every Sunday Worship Service. Some people consider this prayer as a religious ritual or an incantation to drive away evil spirits. Then, what is prayer? Many of God’s servants often say that prayer is like breathing. To be honest, it seems like we are okay with living days without prayer. What is prayer to you? Through this bible study, we may learn prayer and prayer life through learning the Lord’s prayer. We may find genuine motivation to pray. In our prayer, we may come to God, our Father in heaven, who is willing to listen and answer our prayers and also willing to give us the best gift. Through prayer, we may experience God’s presence, love and grace. Through prayer, we may experience the victorious life of mission like that of Jesus.
I. The Lord’s Prayer (1-4).
Look at verse 1. “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Finally, the disciples came to see the importance of prayer, witnessing Jesus’ prayer life. They had seen Jesus often withdrawing to lonely places to pray.(5:16) On many occasions, he prayed throughout the night, even after a long day of hard work.(6:12) The disciples had probably thought that prayer was a waste of time and that it might be better to sleep more or do something else. Strangely Jesus was always full of power and wisdom and never discouraged or defeated. After prayer, he always appeared as fresh as a young man filled with new strength and spirit. Luke had told us about Jesus’ prayer in many places.
Through prayer at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus received the Holy Spirit. (3:21) Then, he began his earthly messianic ministry with full of spirit. Even after healing all kinds of sick people, through prayer Jesus gained strength, courage and wisdom to go through Galilee, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. (Mk1:35-39) After prayer all night, Jesus called his disciples and choose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles. It was an amazing God’s wisdom to take care of many suffered without shepherd. (6:12) After prayer, he challenged the disciples to make their personal confession of faith, by asking “Who do you say I am?”(9:18) After that, he began to teach about his suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus took 3 disciples with him and went up unto a mountain to pray. There, he showed his true image as the Son of God. (9:28) Once, the disciples failed to heal a boy possessed by a demon. After healing the boy, Jesus taught them how to drive out demons, saying “This kind can come out only by prayer.”(Mk9:29)
For a long, the disciples were just amazed at Jesus again and again. But, finally they realized that His prayer life was the secret of His amazing power and wisdom. Though he was the son of God, Jesus had lived a life guided and empowered by God through His prayer life. To him, prayer is not just a religious activity or just speaking words in the air. Through prayer, Jesus had built up a deep and personal relationship with God. In his prayers, Jesus brought all his inner struggles, sufferings, and desires, but he also listened to God’s will. (9:42) Then, God comforted him and empowered him, saying “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (MT3:17) In prayer, Jesus has an intimate relationship with God. Prayer is the source of power and wisdom to experience victory in his daily lives.
Though Peter was a man of hardworking and man of royalty, he was utterly failed when he depended on his own strength. But Jesus, the man of prayer, fulfilled God’s salvation plan for all sinners through his suffering, death and resurrection. God works through those who talk to him, listen to him, depend on him, and inquire him in pray. So, what is prayer to you?
So, the disciples wanted to learn Jesus’ prayer life and one of them asked, “Lord, teach us to pray…” How did Jesus reply to the disciple? It seems like Jesus was waiting for this moment. Jesus taught his disciples “prayer.” Look at verses 2-4. “He said to them, “When you pray, say; “Father, hallowed b your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.” Let’s learn the Lord’s Prayer in three parts.
First, “Father” How should we begin the prayer? “Father.” Jesus taught us to address God “Father,” which is “Abba” in Aramaic. It was revolutionary at Jesus’ time. The Jews did not call God’s name directly even because God is too holy to be called by his name. So, they called God in different ways such as “Adonai” or “El Shaddai” and so on. To Jewish people, to call God “Father” was unthinkable and it seemed blasphemous even. Then, how dare the sinful disciples to call God “Father”? We can call God “Father” only
by the grace of Jesus, who suffered and died for our sins and rose again from the dead. In nature, we were the enemies of God because of our sins. But through Jesus’ atoning death on the cross, Jesus brought about reconciliation with God, making it possible for us to be his children through the new birth. 1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” By Jesus’ grace we are adopted to be God’s children by faith in Jesus. John
1:12 says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” By Jesus’ grace and by faith in Jesus, we boldly call God “Father.” How wonderful it is to call God “father.”
God is holy, righteous, and mighty judge. Also, he also our father who is personal, accessible, and available in our daily lives. We do not have to approach him with formalities. God wants us to come to him without fear of retribution or shame. He wants us to come boldly with confidence that God is our loving Father.
These days the image of father became diverse and dependent. To some people, it is positive and encouraging. But to others, it is negative, and discouraging. It is because their human fathers were authoritative, unfaithful, irresponsible, or even abusive. God is totally different than that. Our Father God is “in heaven” (13). Only our God in heaven is our true Father. So, when we pray, we are praying to this Father who loves us, listens to us, comforts us, provides for us, and protects us. In our prayer, we can come and ask him with all boldness and confidence. Whenever we experience stress, anxiety, fear, sorrow, depression, or pain let’s come to our God and call him “Father.” Do you know that this prayer is spiritual privilege given to his children – full access to God Almighty.
Second, “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” These are what we pray for first. The word “hallowed” means “to honor as holy.” Here, God’s name represents his person, his character, God himself. “Hallowed be your name” means that God alone is worthy to be worshipped, praised and honored as God. It means that in our daily lives, God should be honored, respected and glorified. How? Thank God for Jesus’ good example to hallow God’s name.
In John 17, just before his arrest, Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (Jn 17:1). Jesus was ready to die on the cross to reveal God’s love and saving grace to all mankind and thus glorify God. God’s love has been demonstrated through Jesus’ obedience
to death on a cross. That was how Jesus hollow the name of God. We cannot give glory to God, living
self-centered life or enjoying all kind of pleasures of the world, or seeking first money, fame, and success in the world. However, when we live the life of serving and sacrifices, our Bible students will come to see God is love. When we teach and obey the word of God truthfully and faithfully, God’s name will be known as the God of truth and life.
“…your kingdom come” is a prayer for God to reign over people and all creation as the rightful ruler. God is the Sovereign Ruler of all things. How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we repent of our sins and receive the forgiveness of sins, the
kingdom of God comes into us. Prayer is not asking God to fulfill our desires first. Rather, it is to submit our will under God’s will, so God can rule in our heart as our king. When God reigns in our hearts, in our families, in our communities, and in our nation, sinners will change to be a great shepherd; this campus will be Bible believing campus, this nation will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
In fact, this nation has been ruled by materialism, capitalism, sexual immorality, and pleasure seeking. As a result, students are suffering and dying under the power of sin and death. For this campus and this nation, we are called to pray for the kingdom of God to come to this campus and to this nation. We preach, teach, and share the words of God through 1:1 Bible study for those who hear and believe the words of God will receive the kingdom of God and they will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Let
us pray for the ministry of the word of God in this Fall – the kingdom of God may come into the hearts of campus students. May God raise 12 new disciple candidates through 1:1 Bible Study.
Now we come to the third part of the Lord’s Prayer, concerning our needs. Living in this world, what do we need? We need daily bread. We need the forgiveness of our sins; we need God’s guidance and protection. These prayer topics actually lead us to have faith in God in every matter. Look at verse 3.
“Give us each day our daily bread.” Here the bread stands for more than just food. It stands for all the physical things we need for life. We are living in this blessed country with abundant material blessings. Still, do you think we need to pray for this? Yes. But, unbelieving, proud, arrogant, and ignorant people will not pray for this. Rather, they will work hard to earn their daily bread by depending on their own abilities.
However, we pray for daily bread because we believe that all things come from God; God is our provider. We pray for our daily bread because we trust God who knows our need and what is the best for us. Our prayer is the expression of our faith in God. In our prayer, we trust God absolutely; we believe that God is able to answer our prayer and to meet our needs. Therefore, we do not worry about what shall we eat, what shall we drink, or what shall we ware. In our prayer, instead of warring, we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness for God will take care of everything we need. Do not worry, but pray! Jesus taught us to pray for “our” daily bread. We must pray, not only for “my” daily bread, but for “our” daily bread. This means that we must be mindful of the material needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The second petition for our need is: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” Just as we need bread every day for our bodies, we also need forgiveness every day for our
souls. As we eat three meals a day faithfully, we commit sins faithfully every day. So, we need the forgiveness of sins every day. In fact, we do not deserve to ask this prayer but to receive punishment due to our sins. But only by God’s grace, we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9) Thank and Praise God who is forgiving. Jesus is forgiving. So he prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (23:34a).
However, in order to receive God’s forgiveness, we must also forgive everyone who sins against us. We all have someone who has sinned against us. Then, how we respond is important. It is natural to become bitter and vengeful, hoping that the other person will contract a disease or have an accident. However, with such unforgiving heart, we cannot pray as Jesus taught. Out of anger or hatred, we would pray, “Father, forgive my sins, but punish him.” If we do so, our prayer is just like the hypocritical Pharisee’s prayer. Holding to unforgiving and bitterness, we cannot have right relationship with God. Again, this prayer is also expression of our faith. By faith in God who forgives all our sins, we can forgive others and pray for our forgiveness. Since we receive the grace of forgiveness freely, we freely forgive everyone who sin against us. When we forgive others, we will know how precious the blood of Jesus which paid for our forgiveness of sins.
The third petition for our need is: “And lead us not into temptation.” We are vulnerable to Satan’s temptation due to our sinful nature. Moreover, in our permissive society, there are many pitfalls. We are surrounded by all kinds of temptations. God warned Cain, “Sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it” (Gen 4:7). Everyone is vulnerable; there is no exception: young and old, male and female, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. Once we fall into temptation we become prisoners of Satan. So we should pray humbly, “Lead us not into temptation.”
The Lord’s Prayer is short but very powerful. When we pray from our hearts, we can have a right relationship with God and with others. It is true that Prayer is expression of one’s faith. By faith in God, let’s pray as Jesus taught us today. “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us; and lead us not into temptation.”
II. “Ask… Seek…Knock” (5-13).
Now Jesus teaches us how to pray by telling a parable. A certain man was suddenly visited by one of his friends near midnight. He desperately needed something to give his friend the next morning for breakfast. Failure to do so was not an option for it would bring shame upon himself and his family. He could not sleep. So he made a midnight visit to a sleepy friend for three loaves of bread. He might knock on the door gently first. But, there was not answer. Then, he kept on banging on the door harder and harder, calling out his friend louder and louder. His friend was already in bed with his children and refused his request. But this man did not give up. With shameless audacity – persistence, he pleaded with him again and again. Did he get the bread? Look at verse 8. “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need” (8).
This tells us that prayer is not making a polite request to God. It is boldly and desperately pleading for what we need. Jesus teaches us to ask God with shameless audacity. Look at verses 9. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (9). The verbs “ask…seek…knock” tell us that prayer is not just verbal; it is active pursuit with determination and persistence. What happens when we pray like this? Jesus promised, “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (10).
“Shameless audacity” is the attitude we should have. Such attitude of prayer comes from faith that God surely answer our prayer. If we doubt of God’s answer, we would not pray like that. So, Jesus wants us to know that our Father God is not reluctant, but very willing to answer our prayers. Look at verses 11-13. In order to help us understand God’s heart, Jesus first reminds us how human fathers love their children. When hungry children ask their fathers for something to eat, the fathers do not give something harmful in
response. Rather, they want to give even more than was asked. We human fathers, even though we are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children. Do you know when you could have the most abundant fest in NJ UBF? It is when we celebrate CBF member’s birthday because Our Fathers want to give the best gifts to their children. Then, How much more will our father, who is absolutely good give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him (13) God loves his children perfectly, sacrificially and wisely, giving the best gift out of his generous love. Apostle Paul said, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Ro 8:32).
The best gift God can give is the Holy Spirit. Why is this so? The Holy Spirit is God himself dwelling within us. The Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children with a heavenly inheritance. The Holy Spirit strengthens us when we are weak, gives us wisdom when we need it, leads us into all truth, and enables us to bear good fruit. The Holy Spirit helps us to fix our eyes on Jesus and live victoriously. Let us ask for the Holy Spirit!
Today Jesus has taught us about prayer. Let us have faith in God, our Father. And come to God in our prayer. Let’s pray with boldness and persistence until God pours out his Holy Spirit upon us. Let us pray for God’s kingdom come to each of us.