Daily Bible Reading 31st August 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.”
The whole subject of prayer is a big and prominent one in Scripture, both in Jesus' teaching and in that of the apostles. In this teaching, two things in particular can be noticed: one, the emphasis on 'prayer in His name', and on the relationship between the Father and Himself, and between the believer and God; and the other, a remarkable 'double strand' of teaching, now stressing simple asking in prayer, and now stressing importunacy, wrestling and agony. We need to assess and explain the significance of this. In Scripture, a name is a revelation of character; and to pray 'in Jesus' name' is to pray in line with Christ's revelation of Himself and of God, and of what they seek to do in the world - i.e. in line with the redemptive purpose of God. It is to pray as one who is identified with Christ in His purposes of redemption. It is to enter into the infinite yearnings of eternal love for the souls of men, to pray in fellowship with a suffering God.
Clearly, therefore, such prayer has to do not so much with the prayer, what is prayed, as with why one prays. This kind of prayer means a certain kind of attitude, and it is possible only for one who 'abides in Christ'. This is where the idea of the relationship with God comes in. As D.M. McIntyre says, 'Prevailing prayer draws its virtue from a disposition that has been brought into conformity with the mind of Christ' (cf John 15:7; 1 John 3:22; 5:14). But a filial relationship of fellowship with God is not something that is natural to men, nor is its continuing existence a natural, automatic thing. It costs, to maintain a close fellowship with Christ. This brings us to the second point, that of the 'double strand' of teaching, and we shall continue to discuss this in tomorrow's Note.