Luke 11:1–28
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.”
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 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!” 14 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 Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
17 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 Beelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, 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 upon you.
21 “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 his plunder.
23 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, 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 person is worse than the first.”
27 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.”
A Bold Approach
I don’t consider myself to be a naturally bold person. My nature is to play it safe. Any bold moves I have made in ministry were often preceded by the coaxing of others. I often see the disciples as people who naturally played it safe hanging out with Jesus, who never ever played it safe. He walked on water, fed thousands with little, and stopped storms. That is all bold, and I am sure that began to appeal to them. Where does that boldness come from? It is no surprise that the only recorded thing the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was to pray. They didn’t ask to learn how to do miracles to heal people. They asked to learn to pray. I think they understood Jesus’ bold moves were rooted in bold prayer. Here in Luke, Jesus responds to their desire to grow in prayer by modelling and teaching a life of boldness in approaching our Father and trusting him as we step out courageously. As he teaches his disciples, he inspires us not only to pray boldly, but to live boldly.
In a few short sentences, Jesus gives a masterclass on prayer and on the boldness we can have in coming before him. The focus of the first half of Jesus’ prayer is on the Father himself. Jesus reminds us the one who is listening is the nurturing Father who eagerly draws near to us. But he is also the hallowed ruler of a kingdom greater than we can imagine. He is close and he is other. And we need both in order to come to him believing that he hears us, and believing he can do beyond what we imagine or think. When we pray, he invites us to join him in his work of bringing his great kingdom to earth. Prayer reminds us to be focussed more on his will than ours and on building his kingdom more than building our own little dominions. When we realise prayer is more about him than about us, we lay a great foundation for bold living.
The last half of the prayer is about us and our need for daily dependence upon the Father. He invites us to seek him for our daily bread. Many days I chafe at this phrase. I want a lifetime worth of daily bread. I want a lottery winning worth of daily bread. I want enough bread so I don’t have to lean on him and trust him. But independence keeps us from prayer. Don’t worry about the week’s bread: he has got it. More than just our physical needs, he reminds us to talk to the Father about our relational needs, and to forgive each and every hurt as we step confidently in God’s forgiveness. He then reminds us to pray about our spiritual needs, boldly asking for protection from tempting situations. When we pray, we must discern that our petitions are leading us closer to God, not to a place where we will not need him, or forsake him should we get our answer.
Next, Jesus tells a story of a friend who gets unexpected company and asks his neighbour for extra food. The neighbour is asleep and doesn’t want to wake his family to help his friend. But the friend is desperate as he can’t risk being seen as inhospitable. He refuses to go back home and audaciously keeps knocking and knocking on the door. Jesus says the neighbour finally gets up not because he is a good neighbour, but because of the bold asking of his friend. Now we might think Jesus’ application to us is to not bother his Father in prayer. After all, God is so busy running the world, he doesn’t have time to listen to us. But that is not the application. Jesus says I tell you to be bold in prayer and to keep asking and seeking and knocking. We serve a God who loves it when his people pray bold prayers. He is honoured when people believe that he can do beyond what we imagine and think.
Jesus then makes a bold promise to us that we will receive when we are persistent in prayer. So, does that mean we can just ask for anything, and if we keep persisting we will get what we want? Perhaps a better question is whether we are praying as Jesus has taught us. Is this request more about him than about us? Will it bring honour to his name? Will it keep us dependent upon him? Will this bring healing and wholeness to our relationships? Will this lead me away from temptation, or put me in a position where temptation is greater? Sometimes we have to get alone with God to align his desires with ours. And when our hearts align with God’s, watch out for what he will do!
Jesus says that his Father is going to give us good gifts. He isn’t going to give us a snake if we ask for fish. Nor will he give us a scorpion if we ask for an egg. Of course, that leads many of us to look at our life and think we ended up with way less than what we asked for. We can look at our lives and think this can’t be how a loving Father would treat us. It feels like we got bitten by a snake or a scorpion. Initially, a lot of things can seem like snakes and scorpions, but later we can see the Lord’s divine wisdom and protection in our lives. How disappointed we are when we don’t get a particular job, only to realise later a better job was coming along. How our heart was devastated when an engagement got broken, but how grateful we became when we met the true love of our life. How unfair a difficult health journey can be, but how grateful we are for the nearness to God we experience during those times. Remember that even now, what you may see as a snake or scorpion in your life, might actually be the bread you need. You may not see the goodness, but it is there. Jesus gives us a bold promise that the Father doesn’t give bad gifts to us.
To demonstrate this life of boldness, Jesus has a bold spiritual encounter with a man who could not speak. Jesus called out the demon and the crowd was amazed when they heard the man speak. Here we see Jesus hallowing the name of God in helping this man spiritually and relationally. But instead of seeing the power of God’s kingdom, there were sceptics who accused Jesus of walking in the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Beelzebul was a scornful word the Pharisees began to use for Satan. Jesus had just said that prayer was to honour the Father and to bring HIs kingdom and to celebrate his work, and now they were accusing Jesus of partnering with Satan. With great wisdom, Jesus responded emphasising the unity of his mission against evil. He wasn’t leading people towards temptation, but keeping them from temptation. Neither a house nor a kingdom divided against itself can stand. The freeing of this man was a sign that God was giving this man a good gift.
Prayer is our connection to God and our strength in the battle against evil, and sometimes we forget how powerful our Father is. Yes, there is the reality of a dark spiritual world and Satan and his demons have power, but the power of God is far greater. He is greater than any other strong man who seeks to control us. While I claim to be no expert in dealing with demonic oppression, the times I have witnessed powerful and immediate answers to prayer are the moments when I have had to confront the personification of evil in another person’s life. I have witnessed first-hand the power of God, and victory over evil. Knowing God has answered those prayers immediately provides encouragement that he is answering other prayers in His own time.
Jesus says we all must get to the place where we decide if we are for Jesus or against him. There isn’t any middle ground. We can’t be like Pilate before the crucifixion and wash his hands of Jesus. We need to decide, if we are with Jesus or with ourselves. But choosing to ignore Christ comes with its own challenges. Jesus tells a story of an unclean spirit that has left a person. That spirit needs to find someone else to occupy, and it keeps looking. It eventually returns to the person it originally occupied to discover the man had become a clean slate with his life in order. But the man had not replaced the presence of evil with the presence of Christ. So the unclean spirit inhabited the man again and invited seven more to join, leaving the person in a far worse situation. Ridding ourselves of evil through our own efforts is pointless. Worse yet, is being delivered and not filling ourselves with Christ. We are made to have a relationship with God and what pushes evil out of our lives is the growing presence of God. We come to depend on his presence. We pray to be delivered from temptation, and particularly the temptation of doing things only in our own power without God.
One woman standing nearby shouted that the woman who bore Jesus was blessed. But Jesus says the one who is blessed is the one who hears the word of God and keeps it. Simple obedience to the profound word of God brings a happiness that prevents evil from overtaking us again. Boldly approaching God in prayer brings bold promises when we boldly walk in the power and authority of Christ and his word.
At times, it may seem too easy for pastors to make sermon applications about reading the Bible more or praying more. We may wonder why they don’t tell us something new. Jesus reminds us here that these actions are more than cliches, they are life giving. When we don’t fill our lives with HIs word or take time to align our will with his in prayer, we open ourselves to the distractions of the enemy. Filling our lives with God’s word and boldly praying to avoid temptation, leads to a flourishing and full life. Are you boldly approaching God in prayer? Are you boldly expecting God to respond? Are you boldly avoiding evil temptation pursuing a life according to HIs word?
Questions For Reflection
Are you, even after years, asking God to teach you to pray more? Listen to what he says.
As you search your heart and prayer list, what requests have you given up on that perhaps you should persist in asking?
What request is the Holy Spirit saying to stop praying because it might make you more independent of God, possibly leading to greater temptation?
What challenges in your life have you bemoaned as “snakes” or “scorpions” that God is inviting you to see from his perspective?
Are there places in your life where the enemy might sneak in and take a foothold? How might you fill those places with the presence of Jesus so the enemy can’t get near?
Author Bio
Terry Sanderson was raised on a dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, he received a Masters of Theology Degree from Dallas Theological Seminary with a major in Pastoral Ministry. He served 20 years in pastoral ministry at North Park Community Church in London. In 2009 he moved to the suburbs of St. Louis, MO to serve as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church. In 2022, he returned to Canada as Lead Pastor at
Bayview Glen Alliance Church in Thornhill. Terry is married to Chantelle and they have three daughters—Jenna, Jadyn and Jovanna.
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Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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