August 25, 2025; Luke 11:1-13

Daily Dose of Hope

August 25, 2025

 

Scripture – Luke 11:1-13

 

Prayer:  Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us.  Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen. 

 

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we dive into the first portion of Luke 11.

 

Today, we have some very important teaching on prayer.  On one hand, prayer is simple–its talking to God. It is basic, it’s central to who we are as Christ-followers. For Christians, prayer is as necessary as breathing. You can’t maintain a relationship with anyone without communication, the same is true with God.

 

On the other hand, prayer is complicated.  What exactly should we pray for and what should we not pray for?  Do we always pray for healing?  Do we pray to get that new job?  Do we pray for our favorite team to win?  That seems a bit self-serving.  And while prayer is simply talking to God, are there certain ways we should go about it?  In the Sermon on the Mount, we know Jesus says not to pray like the Pharisees who stand in public and pray loud, flowery prayers, to receive attention and admiration from others.  Prayer is never about impressing others.  It’s always about sincerely connecting with God. 

 

So, for what are we supposed to pray? How does God want us to pray? 

 

There is so much we don’t understand about prayer. But the disciples were in the same boat. In our scripture today, the disciples saw Jesus praying and asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.  And Jesus gives them a beautiful template for how to pray intentionally and for what to include in that prayer.  Of course, we call this the Lord’s Prayer.

 

This is how Jesus breaks it down:

 

·      Our Father in heaven – Jesus teaches us to start the  prayer with some kind of words about who God is to us.  He is my father in heaven. We tend to think of heaven as far off place, but in Greek, the word heaven was equivalent to the sky and all that is in it.  By saying my father in heaven means that God is close to me.

 

·      Hallowed be your name – Here we are saying that God is holy, he is worthy, and we give thanks for all he has done for us.

 

·      Your kingdom com