Luke Chapter 11

Teaching about Prayer:  
(Read Luke 11: 1-28)
This passage contains shorter versions of several teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus sets the example of prayer before his disciples. He instructed them how to pray (11:2-4).  It is not a prayer that is to be repeated but the principles should be followed.  In our prayer we recognize God for who He is and glorify His name.  We should pray for God’s will to be accomplished in our life.  Also in prayer we ask for our daily needs, forgiveness of sins and protection from Satan. We should be confident when we pray that God our heavenly Father will grant our needs much more readily than the man who had gone to bed in the parable (Luke 11:5-13).  Prayer should not be done to impress others. We must be persistent in our prayers. We should pray with an attitude of humility and with confidence in Jesus' name. We must pray without doubting and with the right motives (James 4:3).  One of the most precious gifts of God is the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was accused of casting out demons through the power of Beelzebul, chief of demons. It was a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  Jesus did the miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is unimaginable that Satan cast out his own demons. Those who are saved must obey the Word of God. Otherwise the last state of that man will be worse than the first and will be more susceptible to Satan than before.  Pray that the Scripture would impact our lives and change us from inside out.  To know more read the note on Matthew 6:9-15.
 
The Sign of Jonah:
(Read Luke 11:29-54)
Jesus claimed that he is the Son of God.  He proved that by signs and wonders. The failure to accept his message will result in condemnation. The queen of Sheba and those who repented at Jonah’s preaching had enough light to know what to do.  Jesus is greater than Solomon and he is the ultimate expression of true wisdom (Luke 11:31).  He is also the last prophet (Luke 11:32; Hebrews 1:1-2).  Jesus endorsed the historicity of Jonah to silence those who deny the biblical account of Jonah.  If the queen of Sheba was impressed by Solomon’s wisdom and the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah, how much more we should listen to Jesus!  Jesus is the moral light to the world.  Those who trust in Christ will be enlightened. Then your whole life will reflect the true light.  But Satan will try to shut out the light in us and plunge us into moral darkness.  The Pharisees were very careful about outward cleansing but inside they were full of greed and wickedness.  Six times Jesus uttered woes to them and called them hypocrites.  He accused them for their deceit, pride and inconsistency. They hindered people from being saved (Luke 11:41-53).  They loved recognition in the synagogues. Jesus hates hypocrisy and wants us to live a transformed life (Romans 12:1-2).  The religious leaders tried to trap Jesus by asking many questions to use against him.  God wants people to listen to Jesus and follow him.  Pray that God would give you understanding of his grace to know Christ and appreciate him.