Luke 11:1-28
He 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.”
Perseverance in Prayer
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!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”16 Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe.22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
What Does the Passage say?
V. 1-13 A disciple asks Jesus how to pray. That might be a question, as disciples, we still ask. Jesus shows a model of prayer, and we know this prayer as the ‘Lord’s Prayer.’ Not only can we recited the Lord’s prayer as our prayer, but also we can see the structure of the prayer and use it to deepen our prayer.
Jesus then shares the characteristic of God, in answering prayers. To sum up Jesus’s teaching, it requires a heart of service and obedience. Then we need to understand that God not only answers our needs, but Jesus says, “If you the, 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” (v. 13 NRSV). Meaning that the ultimate goal of prayer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not our needs.
V. 14-28 Now Jesus encountered a man possessed by a demon, who made him mute. Jesus drives the demon out and then accused of using Beelzebel, much more powerful source, to drive out other demons. Jesus responds by saying, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house” (v. 17 NRSV). It reminds me of the state of our nation. We live in a generation, who claims to be right in their own perspectives. Relying on their own understandings and experience, please tend to be divided, rather united.
Then Jesus tells us how we still need to in guard because we don’t know when the demon comes back. And when it comes back, it comes with reinforcement.
What Does it Mean to Me/ Us?
Our goal of prayer should be focused on being filled with the holy spirit. The reason why we need the Holy Spirit is that we need to have our house clean and guarded. We have to understand that it will keep on coming back to oppress us. Prayer is a gift our Lord taught us to use. Prayer is the way to live as a disciple in this world.
Prayer
Lord, we offer ourselves in obedience. We pray that you fill us up with your Holy Spirit, so we can live this world in holiness. Help us to live according to that call. In Christ Name, Amen
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