So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  

 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

- Luke 11:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."   

 

  Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible comments that "teach us to pray" is an expression of a universal longing to be in communion with God.  

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible comments that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation to us of our own potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, but grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption.  As a "son of God," then (and therefore heir), each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  This relationship for us comes not because God is our Creator, but because of a communion that comes by grace of faith and adoption (John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16). 

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  My study Bible comments that "daily" is a mistranslation of the Greek word that appears both here in Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer and also Matthew's (Matthew 6:11), and seems to have been coined solely for use in this prayer.  This word is ἐπιούσιον/epiousion.  It literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  So, daily bread indicates not simply bread for today, for our earthly nourishment; it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, my study Bible says, for the nourishment of our immortal soul, for true life.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, we're not asking only for material bread for physical health, but, as my study Bible puts it, for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  This request to be forgiven is plural (and the prayer is communal; we pray to "Our Father").  So, my study Bible says, it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  To be indebted refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God tempts no one to sin, says my study Bible, citing James 1:13.  It says that temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  Moreover, no one lives without encountering temptations.  But here we pray that great temptation, or tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) should not come to us.  

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."   My study Bible explains that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  Midnight is interpreted in patristic tradition as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides all that we need.

 

 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.    If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  In Greek, my study Bible points out, these verbs rendered ask, seek, and knock imply a continuous action.  They are better translated, "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life.  They symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

One theme that comes up repeatedly in Jesus' teaching is this theme of persistence.  He asks those who would be His followers frequently for persistence:  persistence in faith, persistence in following His commands, and as here, persistence in prayer.  These themes grow stronger as He goes toward His Passion, and prepares His followers for the times to come when He's no longer with them as the human Jesus.  In Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus first sends out the apostles on their initial journey, He speaks of the persecutions that are to come, and says, "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:21-22).  This topic of endurance echoes Christ's words about persistence.  When He tells the parable of the Sower, He explains the seed falling on stony places this way:  "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." (Matthew 13:1-23).  Again, the emphasis is on endurance, persistence, patience.  When Jesus warns the disciples about the end times to come, He says of His return that "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36).  He says, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect," and adds the parable of the Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant:  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods" (see Matthew 24:36-51).  The emphasis is all on persistence and endurance, and being consistent in following the Master's commands, being prepared for His return "at an hour you do not expect."  In today's reading, we're told that Christ's words mean "keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking."  In the Sermon on the Mount, these words come in the context of discipleship and the growth of holiness and discernment (see Matthew 7, verses 7-8 and context).  If we are true disciples then, this will be our constant action, our drive, our faithful endurance in following Him, His teachings, the practices such as prayer that we are given, and the persistence in living our faith.  Let us keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, for it is the Lord's good pleasure to help us grow in our faith, and continue in His light and love, in the life He offers to us.