Lord, Teach us to Pray

Sunday, January 4, 2015
Luke 11:1-13 KJV 

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What was Jesus doing? What did one of His disciples want Him to do after He ceased? (v.1)
2) What was Jesus' response? (v.2-4)
3) What illustration did Jesus provide His disciples to further reveal the Father's willingness to provide what we ask for? (v.5-8)
4) What three (3) actions by believers does the Father respond to? How? (v.9-10)
5) How did Jesus illustrate the response of a father to his son's request? (v.11-12)
6) How did Jesus correlate the provision of our earthly needs from our earthly fathers, to the provision of our spiritual needs from our  Heavenly father? (v.13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) What is your greatest spiritual need?
8) Have you asked the Father to provide that spiritual need? Why, or why not.

LIFE LESSONS
9) Our greatest spiritual need is for a continual infilling of God's Holy Spirit.
10) When we ask for that which will enable us to live holy lives, the Father is more than willing to provide what we ask for, in His time and in His way.