Jonathan on 170305

Scripture
Luke 11:2-4
Father,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

Luke 11:9
"Here's what I'm saying:
Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;
Knock and the door will open.


Observation
Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible is phenomenal. No "thy," "thine," or "thou."

In this passage in Luke, the Disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray and he provides two illustrations. First, he prays what we have come to know as "The Lord's Prayer." It is clear, concise and very profound. Second, Jesus recommends sincere persistence in what one prays for.

Application
Why is it I always feel that for a prayer to be worthy, it must command respect. It must be eloquent but not wordy, passionate, climactic, Biblical, timely and relevant. Jesus on the other hand prays a simple prayer, something that would not get much applause or approving Amens.
In fact, the prayer is completely unimpressive. Some people might even scoff at it. But the more I read it, the louder it resonates with the essence of God and what he's up to in this world.

I replace the consistent heartfelt longings of my heart with long fancy one-off prayers. Simplicity and consistency are what I need, above all, in my prayer life.

Scripture
Luke 11:23-28
"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

"When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone, it says, "I'll go back to my old haunt.' 25On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. 26It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place."

While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: "Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!"

Jesus commented, "Even more blessed are those who hear God's Word and guard it with their lives!"

Observation
I believe this is Jesus' encounter with a heckler. Here He is, speaking the truth of who we are and what we do and there she goes blessing Mary's mammaries.

Christ makes a powerful comment on the way we try to suspend our lives. It is true a man cannot serve two Gods, but he also cannot serve no God. An empty heart will eventually be found. This is a powerful warning to the spiritual spectators of our generation; we may think
we'll just kick back, relax and see how things work out but the truth is either we follow him whole-heartedly, or some other unclean spirit will take the Holy Spirit's place.

Prayer
Father, I don't want to be a spectator but I want to take part in your divine plans for this world. And my first step is to pray simple prayers without ceasing.

Reveal who you are. Set the world right. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
In the name and leadership of your son Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.