A Good, Good Father
"Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1 (NIV)
Our Lessons in Luke Bible study continued this week with a look at Luke 11 and 12 and Jesus' teaching on prayer, wealth, and worry. Luke 11 begins with Jesus praying in a certain place. Apparently, Jesus had a favorite place to go for his private prayers because as soon as he finishes praying, the disciples have a request of their own: "Lord, teach us to pray."
Jesus answers their request, first with a model prayer that has been known through the ages as the Lord's Prayer. This short 52 word prayer addresses seven key elements of prayer:
Relationship - Father
Worship - Hallowed be your name
Allegiance - Your kingdom come
Submission - your will be done
Petition -Give us this day our daily bread
Confession - Forgive us our debts
Deliverance - Lead us not into temptation
Jesus then immediately follows with a parable about prayer designed to teach us that effective prayer combines man's responsibility (to ask, seek, knock) with God's sovereignty (give, grant & open). Jesus encourages us to boldly and persistently keep asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer. Jesus closes his teaching on prayer by reminding us that God is a good, good Father and a "much more" God who knows how to give good gifts to His children. We ended our teaching time on prayer with a quote from author Beth Moore who writes, "God always answers prayer either to demonstrate His sufficiency or His supremacy."
Only a few hours later I had a chance to press hard into the truth of God's sufficiency when answering our prayers. A family member called with the news, "We've miscarried." Together we prayed for our broken hearts, theirs and ours. Author Isabelle Fleece, writing about God's sovereignty and the accidental death of her only child writes, "God's grace is always sufficient, but it's no anesthetic for the pain. It still hurts." Indeed it does. But even though we may never know the "why," we can trust the Who and remember that God is always a good, good Father and a much more God.
"God is always good and I am always loved." Laura Black, June, 2012