Luke 11:1-13
1 [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
The Lord’s Prayer is exquisite in its simplicity. Through this simple, yet comprehensive prayer, Jesus is training us to trust God completely. Little children come to the table to eat without giving a second thought to how it got there or what it cost. Jesus wants us to come to God with that same innocent trust, boldly asking for what we need every day without worry or shame.
It’s different for adults, though. We do have to buy and prepare the food for our tables. We know where it comes from and how it got there. This makes it more difficult for us to remember that everything comes to us from God’s hand.
Prayer: Dear God, I long to trust with the faith of a child, but the world sneaks in and scares me. Thank you for being patient with me. AMEN