It’s hard to believe I’ve been back in the States for almost two weeks. I feel as though its only been a few days and I’m still trying to reorient myself…but I also hit the ground running when I came home, so that may be part of it. I’m still struggling to get my bearings on a fast approaching Christmas. Aagh!
But…aside from that…this Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in Luke. (“What? No Christmas message?”… “No, Christmas is a week away, and we’ll be having our Christmas Eve Burning House Mash Up on Dec 24th at 6:30pm, so you can get your Christmas on then.”) This Sunday, we’ll be reading Luke 11:5-13. Its a continuation of our study from last week, as we consider Jesus’ instructions on prayer.
In the first part of the chapter, the disciples wanted to learn how to pray. So Jesus provided a model, a guide for what should characterize our prayers, and then, in v5-13, he elaborates on the idea of prayer by telling a couple of story examples.
The story of the friend at midnight, or more appropriately the story of the grumpy, sleepy neighbor, is an odd story to tell when elaborating on prayer. Many people see this parable as an encouragement to be bold and persistent in prayer. I’m not so convinced…and I’ll elaborate on why this Sunday. What if we were to look at this story as a contrast? I’ll leave it at that…do you have any thoughts on the subject?
As you read what Jesus says in the context of teaching us how to pray…what does he spend the majority of time talking about, in you opinion?
Why do you suppose He ties the whole thing up saying the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? What does that have to do with anything that he’s said so far?
I hope this will be an encouraging, provocative time of exploring the Scriptures. See you Sunday! Also, since our subject is prayer, take some time to visit the Prayer Wall of this site…there are many needs the people of our community have, which we want to keep before God in prayer. God is our hope, and He will make the difference, so I encourage us all to pray.