Saturday, September 5, 2026

Opening Scripture

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:1-4,9-10

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, I praise You for all that You are and all that You’ve done. I praise You for Your abundant blessings to me in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Your Son. I praise You for Your Spirit, who lives in me, comforting, counseling, and guiding each day. Thank you for adopting me into Your eternal family. I offer myself to You this day, through Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever more. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Luke 5:16

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Reflection  

Today’s devotional concludes our series entitled “Prayer for Believers.” Over the past month, we have explored several dimensions of prayer. Our theme passage has been Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” The emphasis in this series is remaining in constant communication (and communion) with God.

Prayer is a privilege. It is Almighty God’s invitation to engage with Him in an intimate, ongoing relationship. Prayer places us in God’s presence in a posture of awe, gratitude, and dependence. As we become more deeply and fully connected with God, our lives become more meaningful and fruitful. We flourish!

Over the last few weeks, we have examined the need to both ask for and offer forgiveness. Those who have experienced God’s infinite forgiveness can and should offer forgiveness to others. We must forgive if we hope to be forgiven. Those who have received the Father’s mercy must extend that same mercy to others. To refuse is to be “a wicked servant.” Denying forgiveness to others indicates our ungratefulness and unworthiness of the incredible pardon we ourselves have received.

Jesus instructed His disciples to avoid the performance prayers of the Pharisees and the babbling prayers of the pagans. Jesus encourages us to approach God with reverence and humility as “our Father in heaven” in full assurance of His love and concern for His children. We can trust Him to supply our daily needs and guide us in the way we should go.

We looked at Jesus’ Model Prayer and the Prayer of Jabez. We looked at David’s prayers in the Psalms. We looked at the prayers of Simeon and Anna as they celebrated the infant Jesus when Mary and Joseph brought Him to the temple.

We looked at several of Paul’s prayers. He prayed that his hearers would be filled with the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that the Spirit gives. He prayed they would live a life worthy of the calling they have received in Christ. Paul’s prayer weaves together three strands – love, knowledge, and discernment – so that compassion is guided by truth and applied with insight. Wisdom and perception inform our moral choices, ethical decisions, work, relationships, doctrine, and ministry. It is a blend of character, maturity, and understanding that allows us “to discern what is best.”

We looked at the truth that God typically answers our prayers with yes, no, wait, or I have something better planned. Sometimes God answers our prayers immediately. Sometimes God answers our prayers after a long delay. Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we don’t recognize.

We looked at Elijah’s prayers in a variety of situations, from his powerful and victorious call for fire to fall on Mount Carmel, to his desperate plea for the life of the widow’s dead son, to his frightened and despairing whimper hiding in the desert. Each time, God graciously responded to Elijah’s request in a way that accomplished His perfect plan.

We looked at the story Jesus told of the poor widow who continually cried for justice from the crooked judge. We persist in prayer because we believe that God knows best. Our faithful endurance in approaching God is a tangible expression of our complete dependence on Him. Where else can we go? Who else can we turn to? As Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

This persistence in prayer is emphasized in today’s Opening Scripture. Ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking. Why? Because the one who keeps asking will receive. The one who keeps seeking will find. The one who keeps knocking will gain access. In the asking, seeking, and knocking, we remain in God’s presence through prayerful communion with the Almighty. Spiritual insights are gained. Spiritual muscles are strengthened. Spiritual perspectives are adjusted. Spiritual maturity is developed. Spiritual abundance is enjoyed.

We come to God in faith, believing. We come to God in the name of the Lord Jesus, our High Priest and Mediator. We come to God in the power of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us. We come to God humbly, in gratitude and submission. We come to God to be with Him!

We looked at the ACTS guide to prayer. Adoration: celebrating God’s majesty with awe and wonder. Confession: agreeing with God about our sin. Thanksgiving: expressing appreciation to God for His mercy and provision. Supplication: making requests to God for ourselves and others.

We looked at what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.” That is not a secret code or a private password. It is not a magic formula that “guarantees success.” It is an acknowledgement that the Lord Jesus is the only basis for our access to “God’s throne of grace.” We pray under the authority of Jesus and in alignment with His will, with a desire to bring Him glory.

Remaining in Jesus, abiding in Him, living with Him – being found in Christ – is all part of praying “in Jesus’ name.” As we follow the Lord Jesus – as his disciples, apprentices, and loyal citizens of His kingdom – we learn His will and His ways.

We looked at what it means to “pray without ceasing.” Our relational communion with God is constant and ongoing. The Greek word translated “continually” means unbroken and without interruption. Like breathing, we naturally turn to God in every situation: happiness, sorrow, excitement, disappointment, gain, loss, the unexpected, and the mundane. Our communication with God is always “open,” often even audible. It is a running dialogue with our ever-present Father about every aspect of life.

The real purpose and blessing of “praying without ceasing” is threefold: the joy of communing with God, the benefit of gaining godly perspective, and the richness of growing in “knowledge and depth of insight.” As our understanding of God’s plan and purpose grows, we gain divine discernment, spiritual sensitivity, and wise judgment.

We looked at the value of corporate prayer. Shared prayer among God’s people fosters unity, humility, and accountability in the body of Christ. While we typically do not practice much confession in our gatherings, perhaps we should. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

Praying for one another brings about healing: spiritually, relationally, and physically. James mentions sickness, oil, and elders, but there is more to it than that. Health in the body of Christ is not formulaic, prescriptive, or reactionary. It is a condition of mutual submission to the Lordship of Jesus under the control of the Spirit that allows believers to continually minister to and with one another. Prayer is a huge part of that healthy, flourishing experience.

We looked at Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. First, Jesus prays for Himself. He asks the Father to sustain Him through His impending suffering and crucifixion, to accomplish redemption through His death and resurrection, and to restore Him to the place of eternal glory He shared with the Father before the world began. Jesus proclaims the essence of God’s redemption plan. “That he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Jesus then prays for His apostles. He knows what awaits them after He is gone. The world will hate them, just as it hated Jesus. The evil one will constantly try to accuse, abuse, tempt, and trip up Jesus’ disciples. Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

Finally, Jesus prays for His future followers: you and me! We are the ones who have believed in Jesus through the apostles’ message. Jesus could pray this prayer because He knew that the mission would succeed. He knew that His very human, very flawed apostles would faithfully live out their respective callings in the power of the Holy Spirit. He knew the Spirit would come at Pentecost. He knew that the Father’s great plan of redemption would accomplish what He intended.

And now it is our turn to continue the mission as we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship of believers, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

How has this study helped to shape and inform your prayer life? Are you being transformed to be more like Jesus? Are you maturing spiritually? How do you see yourself growing in godliness? How are your attitudes and actions increasingly reflecting the Spirit’s control?

This week’s collective prayer: God, please empower and equip our Gospel partners to fulfill Your calling in their work. Amen.

You can do more than pray after you’ve prayed, but you can’t do more than pray until you’ve prayed!