# Luke 11 đ: Teach Us to Pray
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[[-Luke Overview]] | [[Luke 10]] | [[Luke 12]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Observations / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Instructions on Prayer
**Principle**: The Lord wants to fellowship with us.
[[#Verse 01.]] Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, âLord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.âÂ
[[#Verse 02.]] So he said to them, âWhen you pray, say:
Father, may your name be honored;
may your kingdom come.
[[#Verse 03.]]Â Give us each day our daily bread,
[[#Verse 04.]]Â and forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And do not lead us into temptation.â
## Ask, Seek, Knock
**Principle**: God wants us to pray with confidence.
[[#Verse 05.]] Then he said to them, âSuppose one of you has a friend, and you go to himat midnight and say to him, âFriend, lend me three loaves of bread,Â
[[#Verse 06.]] because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.âÂ
[[#Verse 07.]] Then he will reply from inside, âDo not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.âÂ
[[#Verse 08.]] I tell you, even though the man inside will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first manâs sheer persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
[[#Verse 09.]] âSo I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.Â
[[#Verse 10.]] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?Â
[[#Verse 12.]]Â Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?Â
[[#Verse 13.]] If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!â
### Jesus and Beelzebul
**Principle**: The spiritual world is organized.
[[#Verse 14.]] Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, and the crowds were amazed.Â
[[#Verse 15.]] But some of them said, âBy the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons!âÂ
[[#Verse 16.]] Others, to test him, began asking for a signfrom heaven.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] But Jesus, realizing their thoughts, said to them, âEvery kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a divided household falls.
[[#Verse 18.]] So if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.Â
[[#Verse 20.]] But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] But when a stronger man attacks and conquers him, he takes away the first manâs armor on which the man relied and divides up his plunder.Â
[[#Verse 23.]] Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
### Response to Jesusâ Work
**Principle**: Fill yourself with God.
[[#Verse 24.]] âWhen an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, âI will return to the home I left.âÂ
[[#Verse 25.]] When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
[[#Verse 26.]] Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.â
[[#Verse 27.]] As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, âBlessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!âÂ
[[#Verse 28.]] But he replied, âBlessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!â
### The Sign of Jonah
**Principle**: Godâs Word will be fulfilled.
[[#Verse 29.]] As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, âThis generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.Â
[[#Verse 30.]] For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh,so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.Â
[[#Verse 31.]] The queen of the Southwill rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomonâand now, something greater than Solomon is here!Â
[[#Verse 32.]] The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to themâand now, something greater than Jonah is here!
### Internal Light
[[Matthew 05]]
**Principle**: Be bold so others can move toward the Lord.
[[#Verse 33.]] âNo one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place or under a basket,but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.
[[#Verse 34.]] Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, your body is full of darkness.
[[#Verse 35.]] Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness.Â
[[#Verse 36.]] If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.â
### Rebuking the Pharisees and Experts in the Law
**Principle**: Truth + Love. Jesus warns leaders to mix in both.
[[#Verse 37.]] As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.Â
[[#Verse 38.]] The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal.Â
[[#Verse 39.]] But the Lord said to him, âNow you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.Â
[[#Verse 40.]] You fools! Didnât the one who made the outside make the inside as well?Â
[[#Verse 41.]] But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you.
[[#Verse 42.]] âBut woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.Â
[[#Verse 43.]] Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!Â
[[#Verse 44.]] Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!â
[[#Verse 45.]] One of the experts in religious law answered him, âTeacher, when you say these things you insult us too.âÂ
[[#Verse 46.]] But Jesus replied, âWoe to you experts in religious law as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers!Â
[[#Verse 47.]] Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.Â
[[#Verse 48.]] So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs!Â
[[#Verse 49.]] For this reason also the wisdom of God said, âI will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,âÂ
[[#Verse 50.]] so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,Â
[[#Verse 51.]] from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah,who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.Â
[[2 Chronicles 24|2 Chronicles 24:20-21]] | [[Matthew 23|Matthew 23:35]]
[[#Verse 52.]] Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.â
[[#Verse 53.]] When he went out from there, the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, and to ask him hostile questions about many things,Â
[[#Verse 54.]] plotting against him, to catch him in something he might say.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer (11:2-4) is shorter than Matthew's (Matthew 6:9-13) and comes in a different setting, after a disciple asks Jesus to teach them.
2. Jewish prayers of Jesus' day rarely addressed God directly as "Father," which made Jesus' teaching striking.
3. Village families often slept together in a one-room house, so getting up at midnight would disturb everyone (11:7).
4. The word translated "persistence" (11:8) can also mean boldness or shamelessness.
5. "The finger of God" (11:20) recalls the words of Pharaoh's magicians when they could not copy the plague of gnats (Exodus 8:19).
6. Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching (Jonah 3:5-10), and the Queen of the South traveled from far away to hear Solomon (1 Kings 10:1).
7. Pharisees tithed even small garden herbs like mint and rue (11:42).
8. Touching or walking over a grave made a person ceremonially unclean, so an unmarked grave (11:44) could defile people without their knowing it.
9. "From Abel to Zechariah" (11:51) spans the Hebrew Bible, from Genesis to 2 Chronicles, the last book in its traditional order.
10. Jesus spoke these woes during a meal at a Pharisee's home (11:37), a setting Luke often uses for Jesus' teaching.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the stronger One who overpowers the strong man (11:21-22) and casts out demons by the finger of God (11:20). He is greater than Jonah and Solomon (11:31-32), the Son who teaches us to call God Father (Galatians 4:6).
## đ Key Observations / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Jesus taught His disciples to address God as Father (11:2). How does praying to a loving Father change the way you pray?
2. Jesus encourages persistent asking, seeking, and knocking (11:9-10). What have you stopped praying about that you need to bring back to God?
3. Jesus warned against careful outward religion that neglects justice and the love of God (11:42). Where might that warning apply to you?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verses 2-4: Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray.
- đ verses 9-10: Ask, seek, and knock, for everyone who asks receives.
- đ verse 13: The Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.
- đ verse 28: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
## đ Related Passages
- đ [[Matthew 06#Verse 09.|Matthew 6:9-13]] - The Lord's Prayer.
- đ [[James 01#Verse 17.|James 1:17]] - Every good gift comes from the Father.
- đ [[Exodus 08#Verse 19.|Exodus 8:19]] - This is the finger of God.
- đ [[Isaiah 49#Verse 24.|Isaiah 49:24-25]] - Plunder taken from the mighty.
- đ [[Jonah 03#Verse 04.|Jonah 3:4-10]] - Nineveh repents.
- đ [[1 Kings 10#Verse 01.|1 Kings 10:1-10]] - The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon.
- đ [[Micah 06#Verse 08.|Micah 6:8]] - Justice, mercy, and humility.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Luke 11 - SOAP|The Love Of Our Father]]
## đ Internal Notes