Summary: In today’s passage, we hear directly from our Lord Jesus about how to do the good deeds (practice righteousness) and how/what to pray. Today’s passage shows the Lord’s Prayer we recite so often.
Focus Verse: 9 This, then, is how you should pray
Reflection: First, Jesus tells us how to practice our righteousness and do our good deeds. He gives us a strict warning, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others”. Instead, he is telling us to do our giving or good deeds in secret. In secret. What a teaching it is to us who lives nowadays! Most of people would love to receive praise or recognition from others when offering help or aids to needy persons. However, Jesus teaches us to be humble and meek by being anonymous.
Next, Jesus teaches how and what to pray. Lord’s prayer is so familiar to us and we tend to recite so fast without thinking the deep and ultimate meaning of prayer itself. Prayer is not meant for an audience but is to be treated as an intimate sharing of our heart’s to God. As written in our QT book, Lord’s prayer shows various steps: honoring God, seeking His will, making out need known, pursuing reconciliation, and avoiding temptation.
In Luke 11:9, right after Jesus mentions Lord’s prayer, he is telling us, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened. My family adopted this verse as new year’s verse to memorize. It is such a loving and encouraging instruction from our Lord.
Let’s notice that Lord’s prayer ends with ‘lead us not into temptation’. This is so true that we have to take this into our daily practice and action. Whenever we face the temptation, we need to recite what Jesus told us to do. Pray that you may not enter into temptation. We are living in a broken world, surrounded by so much of harmful info-media and evil forces. We have to boldly and courageously cry out and recite what our Lord had taught us long time ago.
Prayer: Lord, thank you so much to teach us how and what to pray. Help us to practice Lord’s prayer with deeper understanding day by day. Help us to trust and obey you. Thanks for purpose you have for us and promise for us.
