Opening Prayer:
Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Luke 11:1-13 If God already knows what we need, what is the point of prayer?
After Jesus offers the crowd what we know today as, “The Lord’s Prayer,” what the Catholics call “The Our Father”, the passage continues with two teachings that urge persistence in prayer. The parable of the friend at midnight presumes the Ancient Near Eastern etiquette of hospitality. Hosts were expected to provide for their own guests and to share with neighbors so they could care for their guests. If the needy host could not rouse his friend through the bonds of their relationship, his persistent shouts would shame the friend into providing service. In the same way, prayer can be honest and direct with God about what we need. Prayers do not have to be polite or nuanced references to what we want. The three imperatives—ask, search, and knock—even further give us permission to persist in prayer and trust that God will answer us. God promises a response if only we will ask, and God will ultimately bestow the greatest gift to sustain us in times that are good and bad: the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 2:6-19 What sources of security and well-being do we rely on out of our lack of faith in God’s guidance and protection?
The Greco-Roman world believed that the universe was ruled by hostile, capricious celestial powers that had to be placated by elaborate rituals (2:8). Apparently, some teachers in the Colossian church were advocating such practices as abstaining from certain food or drink, observing special festivals, abusing the body, and seeking assistance from heavenly beings to appease these powers. These syncretistic practices did not strengthen the Christian faith, but actually weakened it by diminishing the sense of full trust in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. The purpose of this passage is to remind the church that Christ is the head of the body, the church; and believers grow in him when they claim the gifts he has given and use them for the well-being of all.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven,
in your goodness you pour out on your people all
that they need and satisfy those who persist in prayer.
Make us bold in asking, thankful in receiving,
tireless in seeking, and joyful in finding,
that we may always proclaim your coming
kingdom and do your will on earth as in heaven.
Amen