Luke 11:1. And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
It seemed to this disciple as if he did not know how to pray after he had heard Christ pray. The prayer of Jesus was so infinitely above anything that he had ever reached that he said, «Lord, teach us to pray;» and, as if he felt that he needed a precedent for asking such hallowed instruction, he said, Teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.» We must all feel that if we are to pray aright, we must be taught of God, by his Holy Spirit. We are full of infirmities, and if there is any time when our infirmities are felt most, it is when we engage in prayer, but «the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as are ought.» Let us, then, breathe this prayer to our great Teacher, «Lord, teach us to pray.»
Luke 11:2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will he done, as in heaven, so in earth.
When we come to God in prayer, we are apt to think first of our own necessities, but if we came aright, in the spirit of sonship, truly saying, «Our Father who art in heaven,» we should begin our prayer like this, «'Hallowed be thy name.' May all men honour, reverence, and adore thy holy name. ‘Thy kingdom come.' We are not satisfied that thou shouldst be anything less than king; our heart's desire is, ‘Reign, gracious God over us and over all men.' ‘Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.' ‘Thy will be done,' rather than ours.» Now comes a prayer for ourselves:
Luke 11:3. Give us day by day our daily bread.
«Give us, O Lord, what we really need; not that which would be a luxury, but that which is a necessity. ‘Give us,' according as we shall need it day by day, what we shall then actually need, ‘our daily bread.'» We are not warranted in asking much more than this in temporal matters. They are all comprehended in this petition as far as they are necessary, but God has not given us carte blanche to ask for wealth, or honour, or any such dangerous things. There is no harm in asking for bread, and he will give us that.
Luke 11:4. And forgive us our sins;
We also need to pray this prayer; I do not think that our Saviour ever anticipated a time when his disciples on earth would not need to pray, «Forgive us our sins.»
Luke 11:4. For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation;
«Lord, do not try us and test us more than is absolutely necessary, for we are so apt to fall: ‘Lead us not into temptation;' but, if we must be tempted,»
Luke 11:4. Deliver us from evil.
«If some good end is to be answered by our being thus tested, then let it be so, but, O Lord, ‘deliver us from evil,' and especially from the evil one; suffer us not to fall into his hands in the hour of temptation.»
Luke 11:5-6. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him;
This man was in a sad plight; his friend was faint and hungry, and he himself was willing enough to entertain him, but he had «nothing to set before him.» So he acts very wisely; he goes to a friend, and asks him to lend him three loaves.
Luke 11:7. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
If the man outside keeps on knocking, if he will not go away without the bread he wants for his friend, what will happen?
Luke 11:8. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
See the power of importunate prayer; and you, beloved, can have all that you really need for yourselves or others if you will only ask for it in the right way. If, summoning every faculty of your being, you resolve to plead, and plead, and plead yet again and again, and never take «No» for an answer, your heart's desire shall be granted.
Luke 11:9. And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you;
But if asking does not seem to prevail with God,
Luke 11:9. Seek, and ye shall find;
And if, for a while, you do not find, come closer in;
Luke 11:9. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
There are different methods of praying, and each one has its special adaptation to the state in which you may be; so use that method to which the Holy Spirit guides you, so use all methods until you prevail.
Luke 11:10-11. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?
There were many stones in those days that were in appearance wonderfully like the bread which they used in the East; but would any father mock his son by giving him one of those stones to break his teeth on, instead of bread that he could eat? Never.
Luke 11:11-13. Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
If you have the Holy Spirit, you virtually have all good gifts, for the Spirit is the earnest of God's love, the pledge of joys to come; and he brings with him all things that are necessary and good for you.
Luke 11:14. And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb.
So that this poor man could not obey the Saviour's teaching. He could not pray, for he was under the influence of a dumb devil. How many of that sort there are still in the world! They cannot speak with God, they have never learned to pray, for they are possessed by a dumb devil.
Luke 11:14. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
When the devil is driven out of men by Christ, they soon begin to pray. The little sentence, «Behold, he prayeth,» was the indication of a new birth in Saul of Tarsus. The Lord grant that some here, who have been possessed by a dumb spirit, may be graciously led to pray! Remember, dear friend, that God will hear your prayer the first time you call upon him; and there is a text which says, «Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.»
Luke 11:15. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
They could not have uttered a fouler falsehood than this; and if people thus slandered the Lord Jesus Christ, we need not be surprised if they speak ill of us.
Luke 11:16. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Yet they had a very striking one in the dumb devil being cast out of the man; what clearer sign than that could they have?
Luke 11:17-18. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
If Satan cast out Satan, his kingdom would soon come to an end. Note how calmly the Saviour met these mockers and cavillers. There is no trace of anger in his words; they said the worst thing they could say about him and his work, and yet, in the coolest manner possible, he closes their mouths in the silence of shame. God grant us grace to be calm and strong even when we are most furiously assailed! It is when we are in a hurry and fret that we grow weak.
Luke 11:19-23. And, if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons, cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
Christ had made no compact with the powers of darkness. He was not casting the demons out with the devil's aid, it was absurd to think that he was. He was fighting them and casting them out by his own divine, omnipotent energy. Now comes a very striking parable:
Luke 11:24. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,
Satan does sometimes go out of men entirely of his own accord without being turned out. He goes out for a walk, meaning to go back again. Many a man has left off being a drunkard, or left off being lascivious, for a time: «when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,»
Luke 11:24. He walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house
You see that he still calls it his house. He has gone out for a walk, but he has taken the key of his house with him. Some people sign the pledge, and give up being drunkards for a time, but if the devil is still their master he has only gone away for a while, and he will come back again before long. If he goes out of his own accord, he will come back when he pleases: «I will return unto my house «
Luke 11:24 ; Luke 11:26. Whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
The man has become quite a decent sort of fellow. He has given up his bad ways, and is a respectable member of society. The house is swept and garnished, but it is the devil's house all the same.
Luke 11:26. Then goeth he, and taketh to him even other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
There are, alas! many who have only a sham conversion, a conversion which lasts but a very little while. The devil was not cast out of them, but he went out of his own accord. But where Christ has come the One who is far stronger than the devil, to cast him out of his house, he will never be allowed to come back again, Christ will take care of that. Having won the victory, and taken the house, he will keep it by force of arms; but beware, I pray you, of a «conversion» without Christ. Beware of a «reformation» in which the devil himself is a co-worker with you, for it will come to something worse in the end. Let me read the verse again: «Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.» He becomes a worse man than ever because once he promised to be better, but only promised it in his own strength, which was utter weakness