TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
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.” Luke 11:1
TODAY’S MESSAGE
This section of Luke starts with a simple statement that Jesus was praying. Luke thought it was important enough to note, probably because Jesus does it a lot. A couple of chapters before show Jesus praying (Luke 9:18, 9:29). But reading through any of the accounts of Jesus’s life shows he has a consistent pattern of prayer. It was important to Jesus and took up a great deal of his time and energy. That is probably why the disciples wanted to learn how to pray like he did.
This should probably shock us if we think about it. Jesus had so many important things to do! There were people to raise to life, lepers to heal and crowds to teach. The fact that Jesus spent so much time praying instead of doing these things should grab our attention. It also should teach us something about what was important to him.
Prayer can sometimes feel to us like inactivity or time spent not doing “more important” things. We sometimes wait until a specific need arises before we pray. Yet, Jesus’s focus on prayer should show us that prayer is anything but inactivity. We might say it is the most important thing we can do. Since Jesus made so much time for prayer—we should too. If it was worth him pressing pause on healing and teaching, we should do the same with our busy schedules. Let us learn from Jesus and make more time for prayer.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Find a quiet place to pray today. Confess to God you don’t always value prayer like you want to, and then ask him to help you grow a stronger desire to pray. Don’t forget to pray The Lord’s Prayer going slowly through each line.
40 DAYS OF PRAYER
Join us for 40 DAYS OF PRAYER where all of us will find a quiet space and slowly read The Lord’s Prayer. May forty days of praying like Jesus prayed, and desiring what Jesus wanted, make a big difference in our hearts and our communities.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN
Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.
Today’s reading is John 4.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
