Jesus Teaches About Prayer
Comments for Study 22
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I. The Lord's Prayer (1-4)
>1. What does it mean that Jesus prayed?
* Luke 11:1a "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place."
* Jesus came to his Father for direction, strength, comfort, and help.
* By saying Jesus was praying in a certain place it indicates that he prayed there often and before.
* Matthew 6:9-13 places the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount.
* "One day" -Luke may not be following chronological order.
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>What request did his disciples make of him?
* Luke 11:1b "When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'"
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>Why? (When had they seen Jesus pray before? [9:18, 29, etc.])
* Luke 9:18 "Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?'"
* Luke 9:29 "As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightening."
* They had seen John and his disciples pray as well as him pray. They too wanted to learn how to pray. They obviously had not or at least not much.
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>Why did they mention John's disciples?
* Some of them had been with John the Baptist. (John 1)
* They had seen John preach and raise up disciples.
* They had seen John teach his disciples to pray and how to pray.
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>2. What are the prayer topics Jesus gave? (2-4)
* Luke 11:2-4 "''Father, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptaion.''"
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>Which ones are about God's concerns, and which are about our personal needs and problems?
* The first three are God's concerns the last three are about personal needs and problems.
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>3. How does Jesus teach us to address God?
* "'When you pray, say: 'Father...'"
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>What does it mean to call God "Father"?
* It means that we can have a personal 1-to-1 relationship with God as one would have with a perfect human father.
* God is not an abstract force or power or the all of nature. He is not inanimate or abstract.
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>What does this teach about our basic relationship with him?
* It means that I look to God as my Father. It means he looks at me as his son.
* God is loving, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, long suffering, and forgiving in his dealing with me.
* God disciplines, trains, and raises me up to be like his one and only true Son, Jesus.
* It means I can look up to him with respect, pride and awe.
* It means I can complete trust him and have absolute faith in him.
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>What does it mean that we all call him Father? (Matthew 6:9, "our")
* Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven...''"
* It means that physically all people in the world are my brothers and sister.
* It means that spiritually all true Christians are my brothers and sister. We are all seen as the same in God's eyes. He treats us in the same way.
* It means we should love one another as a brother or sister.
* It means we should respect one another as a brother or a sister.
* It means we should help one another as a brother or a sister.
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>4. What does "Hallowed be you name" mean?
* "Hallowed be your name"
* Hallowed means to make or regard as holy; to sanctify and/or considerate.
* This is on the personal, church and world level.
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>What does it man practically to honor or glorify God's name? (John 17:4; and 1 Peter 4:13)
* John 17:4 "'I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.'"
* 1 Peter 4:13 "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."
* On the personal level to bring honor to God with our life, words, actions, hearts, and all of us.
* At many times this means that we not bring honor to ourself.
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>What does it mean to dishonor his name? (Romans 2:24)
* Romans 2:24 "You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'"
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>5. What does it mean to pray "Your kingdom come"? (Matthew 6:10)
* God's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. It is where ever God's rules. God rules with justice, righteousness, gentleness, mercy and love.
* This prayer is on a personal, church, and world (historical) level.
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>What does it mean personally?
* In the personal life it means that Jesus come into my heart, that he may rule there.
* It means that we make Jesus the King and Lord of our life.
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>For the world and history?
* On the church level it means that God's kingdom my spread to other people all acrost the world on a 1-to-1 personal basis.
* On the world (historical) level is means Jesus to come again as he promised and establish his rule over the world instead of Satan's rule who is not prince of this world.
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>6. What is the first petition about our personal needs?
* Luke 11:3 "''Give us each day our daily bread.''"
* Daily bread is what ever is needed to maintain our existance.
* This is both spiritual and physical.
* On the physical level it may be food, water, ect.
* On the spiritual level it is Jesus. Jesus said, "'Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.'" (John 17:3) And "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." (Jn. 1:4) Jesus is the word of God. (Jn. 1:1,14) So the Bible his words are our spiritual food. "'The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.'" (Jn 6:63b)
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>Why "daily"? (Proverbs 30:8b-9a; Ex 16:14-21)
* Proverbs 30:8b-9 "...give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may becaome poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God."
* Exodus 16:14-21 "'This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.''"
* Deuteronomy 8:2-3 "Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
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>What does it mean to pray for "our" daily bread?
* It means that we should pray for others needs not just our own.
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>7. What is the second petiition about our personal need?
* Luke 11:4a "''Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.''"
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>Why is it important to ask for forgiveness?
* Without forgiveness of sin we remain in a state of having a broken relationship with God. At the end of this worldly life we will go to hell.
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>How can we receive the grace of forgiveness? (John 3:16; Matthew 1:21; John 1:29
* John 3:16 "'For God so loved that world that he sent his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'"
* Matthew 1:21 "'She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, becaues he will save his people from their sins.'"
* John 1:29 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"
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>Why must we forgive others? (Matthew 18:21-35)
* Matthew 18:21 "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?""
* Matthew 18:35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
* Becaue God forgave us many sins.
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>8. What is the third personal petition?
* Luke 11:4b "''...And lead us not into temptation.''"
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>Why should we pray not to be led into temptation? (1 Peter 5:8; and 1 Corinthians 10:12)
* 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
* 1 Corinthians 10:12 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
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II. The Spirit of Prayer (5-13)
>9. What does the parable in verses 5-8 teach about the effectiveness of bold and persistent prayer?
* Luke 11:5-8 "Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
* "'yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.'"
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>What are the instructions and promises in verses 9 and 10?
* Luke 11:9-10 "'So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.'"
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>What do verses 11-13 teach about God and prayer?
* Luke 11:11-13 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
* He gives us what is good for us.
* He loves us.
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>About the best gift God wants to give us if we ask?
* "how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!'"
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III. Jesus and Beelzebub (14-28)
>10.
* Luke 11:14-16 "Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.
15 But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons."
16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven."
* Matthew 12:24-37 record a similar if not the same event.
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* Luke 11:17-20 "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.
18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub.
19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you."
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* Luke 11:21-22 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils."
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>11.
* Luke 11:23 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters."
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* Luke 11:24-26 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'
25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."
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* Luke 11:27-28 "As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."
28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
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