It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
'Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.'”
Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs."
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened."
“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
'Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.'”
Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs."
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened."
“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Jesus was praying, and when He stopped, one of His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
And He said to them, "When you pray, say:
'Our Father who is in heaven,
holy is Your Name,
Your kingdom come.
Your will be held holy and revered on earth just as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily provisions of food, no more, no less.
And forgive our sins just as we forgive those who have offended us or done us wrong.
And bring us not into temptation, but rescue us from evil.'"
Then He said, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread because I have another friend who is on a journey and stopped by my house unannounced, and I do not have a thing in the refrigerator and my cupboards are bare!'"
"And from inside the house, his friend answers, 'Go away, I have locked the door and the kids are in bed with me; I cannot get up to give you anything!'"
"I tell you, even though he doesn't want to get up because of that man's shameless persistence and insistence, his friend will get up and give him as much as he needs."
"So I say to you, do not just come to your God in the midnight emergencies and crises in your life but be in constant communion with Him (abiding + praying without ceasing), and . . .
Keep on asking and it shall be given to you;
Keep on seeking and you shall find;
Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you."
"For everyone who . .
Keeps on asking RECEIVES, and he who
Keeps on seeking FINDS, and he who
Keeps on knocking, a door will be OPENED."
(The Message says:
"Don't bargain with God.
Be direct.
Ask for what you need.
This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in.)
What father among you, if his son asks for a load of bread would put a stone on his plate; or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?"
"If you, as evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your child's advantage, how much more will your Father in heaven give you the good things of the Holy Spirit (see Matt 7:11) when you ask and continue to ask Him!"
I WILL
I have been out of "pray without ceasing" mode, and I was discouraged by a conversation that I had this week and started believing lies about myself. I am encouraged to continue in constant communion with God because He wants to be in constant communion with me (Isn't that amazing?). I will "persistently pray without ceasing" for the many challenging situations and people that God brings across my path everyday. I just want to listen and obey as I pray! Today, I will renew my intention to live 24/7/365 by practicing "The Game with Minutes." I will be intentionally pesky about some things happening too! I will also have alone prayer time all day on Friday.
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