Daily Bible Reading 3rd September 2026 // Luke 11:1-4

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

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The petitions in the second part of the Prayer - daily bread, forgiveness, victory - indicate to us how we shall pray when we are living near the Cross and have the first part of the Prayer in a true perspective. First of all, there will be simplicity in asking - all the simplicity and directness of a little child asking his father's help. All depth has a true simplicity. One thinks of giants like Abraham, Moses, Elijah with their simple asking and few words after, and out of the long discipline and battle for character and stature in spiritual life. With these warrior saints the intimate relationship was established that made long speeches unnecessary and irrelevant. But there will also be a simplicity of asking. The three petitions here relate to present, past and future - that is, the whole of life is covered by them. Each is a daily need; but basically they are simple wants, simple needs, elemental and elementary. Is it too much to read into them to suggest that acceptance of the Cross and of the demands of discipleship, qualifies prayer, and limits it? We are made to see what things are most important in life. There are two underlying reasons for this, which we shall look at in tomorrow's Note.