Luke 11:1-13 are all sayings about prayer. Verses 1-4 is the Disciples' Prayer, verses 5-8, a parable on persistent prayer and finally verses 9-13, the motive for persistent prayer.
The Disciples' Prayer. We recognize this passage as Luke's version of the "Our Father." The Lord's Prayer that we recite is from Matthew simply because it lends itself to community prayer ("Our Father..."). Luke's version seems to be more adapted to the prayer of an individual.
In Luke, the Lord's prayer is presented within the context of a request for a prayer that identifies the disciples as belonging to Jesus. The request is couched in terms of a comparison "just as John the Baptist taught his disciples." The answer to this request is what I call "The Disciples' Prayer" and is prefaced by the words "When you pray, say..."
A comparison with the Lord's prayer as found in Matthew is in order:
| Matthew | Luke |
| Our Father who art in heaven | Father |
| Holy be your name | Holy be your name |
| Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven | Your kingdom come |
| Give us this day our daily bread | Give us each day our daily bread |
| and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us | and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us |
| Do not bring us to the test and deliver us from the Evil One | and do not subject us to the final test. |
Note that the prayer begins with "Father"; in Aramaic, that would be "Abba" Jesus'own particular way of addressing the Father. In this prayer, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to address God the way he does.
It is followed by a blessing "Holy be your name" which is at the same time a petition that His Name be sanctified by all. This blessing, even among Jews, is a commitment to live in such a way that the Holy Name be not blasphemed. A similar idea is found in Matthew: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)" To live in this way is actually to live in obedience to the Father's will.
The petition "Your kingdom come" is a prayer that God's reign be experienced. It has begun with the work of Christ. At the back of this petition is the conviction that
sending his Son into the world, God has decided, so to speak, to personally take in hand the fortunes of the world, to compromise himself with it, to act in the world from the inside. (Cantalamessa, "The Kingdom is at Hand")
In a sense this petition is similar to "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." For in both, we are actually asking God to be king and ruler of all.
"Give us each day our daily bread" is a prayer for the day's subsistence. We ask this of God because even the fruits of our work is His gift.
"Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive those in debt to us." As in Matthew's version, the petition for forgiveness of sins is followed up with a motive: "Forgive me since I too forgive..."
While in Matthew, this petition is followed up by a catechism on forgiveness, Luke does not, as if taken for granted. However, it is only in Luke where we find Jesus crying out on the cross "Father, forgive them for they do know what they do." (Luke 23:34) This remembrance I think is enough to make forgiveness an essential part of any disciples' prayer -- even the Lord prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies."Do not subject us to the final test (temptation)." The final temptation is the temptation of the last day where the disciple will be tested as to his loyalty to the Lord. In a sense, it is going to be the climax of all temptations already undergone. In Matthew, the Evil One is mentioned and assumes a final battle involving the Christian. The wording of this petition here as in Matthew assumes the absolute Lordship of God who allows even Evil to tempt the faithful, in much the same way as Satan was allowed to tempt Job. The petition "Do not (literally) bring us to the Temptation" is a prayer for deliverance from the Evil One who even now attempts to distract the disciple in the sense described in 1 Peter:
Be sober, be watchful.
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.
Resist him, firm in your faith,
knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
A Parable On Persistent Prayer. The key to the parable is the concluding statement: "I tell you if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. (v.8)" There is a similar theme in the parable of the widow and the judge (Luke 18:1-8) but this parable is not about daily needs but about the "rights of the chosen ones" which are trampled upon in moments of persecution. The parable on persistent prayer is included here because of the petition "Give us each day our daily bread." Note the movement from "loaves" to "whatever he needs"; one is taught here to be persistent in prayer for whatever one needs.
Motive for Persistent Prayer: The Father is Good "Ask... seek... knock..." These are the verbs that should characterize prayer; these are verbs of intentionality and purpose. Each have a corresponding response: "Receive... Find... Open... " The disciples' prayer is the means by which one asks, seeks and knocks. The Father who is addressed as "Abba" in this prayer will certainly give the best that he could give, the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 7:11 we find the parallel passage:
If you then who are wicked know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him?
Luke has modified "good things" to read "the Holy Spirit" which is the sum of all good things. It actually makes the possible the sanctification of God's Name through the lives of those who call Him "Abba" and it is in the Holy Spirit that one recognizes the kingdom of God breaking forth in human history. Further, the word "Holy Spirit" will also be the reason for the arrangement of the succeeding episodes: in vv. 14-23 the Holy Spirit is referred to as the "finger of God" through which Satan's power is disabled (v. 20); in vv. 24-26,the Holy Spirit is the hidden parallel for "unclean spirit." The unclean Spirit returns to the body it once inhabited because it does not find the Holy Spirit inhabiting it. Finally, in vv. 27-28, one finds an allussion to the role of the Holy Spirit in the Anunciation to Jesus' mother.
