The Gift
Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-13
Well, this devotional series went longer than I expected when I started writing it. This will be the last one on Luke 11. I hope these thoughts on prayer have encouraged and helped you along in your prayer life. I can honestly say that thinking through these things again has been helpful to me.
These lessons on prayer were prompted by the disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray…”
and end with an interesting twist. Up to the last line we are thinking with Jesus about prayer in terms of us asking God for things. They might be intangible things like hope, peace, or comfort. They might be material things like food, money to pay a bill, or school tuition. They might be physical things like healing or renewed physical strength. And we are, up to this point, thinking about asking God for these things, not only for ourselves but for others. We are being encouraged to be mediators of “bread.”
Even in the last section of this teaching, Jesus is talking about fathers giving their children fish and eggs and good gifts. But then He does something unexpected. He says, “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Hmmm. Up to this point, there has been no mention of anyone asking for the Holy Spirit. That seems to come out of nowhere. What’s going on here?
Here is what I think this means…
Jesus wants us to see God as much more than a dispensary of good stuff. Prayer is not like pulling up to a drive-through sign, talking to some unseen person whose voice is barely understandable as they ask us what we want and then tell us what it is going to cost us, pulling up to a window where what we ask for is handed down to us in a bag, we say, “Thank you,” and drive away until we get hungry again and return for more.
So, the way I hear it is Jesus saying that God wants to give us more than the stuff we ask Him for. Yes, He will meet our needs. But He does more than that. He gives us Himself. And everything we need is in Him.
I’ve enjoyed & comprehend much more on these teachings on prayer. Thank you.