Luke 11:1-13

Genesis 18:20:32

Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8

Colossians 2:12-14

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had 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

and forgive us our sins

for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,

and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend

to whom he goes at midnight and says,

‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey

and I have nothing to offer him,’

and he says in reply from within,

‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked

and my children and I are already in bed.

I cannot get up to give you anything.’

I tell you,

if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves

because of their friendship,

he will get up to give him whatever he needs

because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;

seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives;

and the one who seeks, finds;

and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you would hand his son a snake

when he asks for a fish?

Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?

If you then, who are wicked,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will the Father in heaven

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask today that your name be hallowed throughout the whole world, that your reign be extended to all peoples, and that your will be accomplished here on earth. Grant me the bread of life, forgive my sins, strengthen me in time of tribulation, and deliver me from all evil.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Temptations, Testing, or Tribulations? We are familiar with the petition of the Lord’s Prayer in which we ask, “Do not lead us into temptation,” and in the translation of the Gospel of Luke, “Do not subject us to the final test.” “Temptation” and “final test” are two different ways of translating the same Greek word, “peirasmos.” When Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray, he is teaching them “to pray that they be spared future ‘testing’ or ‘trials’ in which they would have to undergo tribulation, suffering, and maybe even death” (Pitre, “The Lord’s Prayer and the New Exodus,” 91). Jesus refers specifically to the end-time tribulation that was expected to precede the coming of the Kingdom of God. “In this light, Jesus is teaching the disciples to pray to be delivered, not just from daily trials, but from the great tribulation that was to precede the coming of the messiah and the dawn of the kingdom of God” (Pitre, “The Lord’s Prayer and the New Exodus,” 91). The petition, Lead us not into temptation,” was, for first-century Christians a petition for divine mercy and strength during the 40 years that lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem.

2. Tribulation and the First Exodus: The Greek word “peirasmos” (tribulation, temptation, trial) has ties to the Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. It was used three times in Deuteronomy to refer to the period of plagues and tribulation that preceded the first Exodus (Deut 4:27-34; 7:19; and 29:3). Just as plagues and trials inaugurated the first (old) Exodus, so there would be a future time of tribulation that would inaugurate the second (new) Exodus and the age of salvation. Just as the first Passover and time of trial preceded the redemption of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, so also the new Passover would precede the redemption of Israel and the Gentiles from the slavery of sin. In short, when the Old Testament background of the line “Lead us not into temptation” is adequately taken into account and is compared with Jesus’ words elsewhere, the Lord’s Prayer also shows itself to be a prayer for divine mercy, a plea for God to spare his people the sufferings of the great peirasmos that would precede the coming of the messianic kingdom and the paschal trial that would accompany the new Exodus” (Pitre, “The Lord’s Prayer and the New Exodus,” 94).

3. A Prayer during Temptation and Trial: What does the petition, “lead us not into temptation,” mean for us today? Just as it was for first-century Christians, a plea for mercy and a prayer to God the Father to see the plight of his suffering children and release them from slavery to sin and death, it is for us a prayer for divine mercy. We ask that God spare us during the time of tribulation (peirasmos) during the end times that will precede the ultimate entry of the new people of God into the glory of the kingdom (see CCC, 677). The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the meaning of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer as follows: “We ask God our Father not to leave us alone and in the power of temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know how to discern, on the one hand, between a trial that makes us grow in goodness and a temptation that leads to sin and death and, on the other hand, between being tempted and consenting to temptation. This petition unites us to Jesus who overcame temptation by his prayer. It requests the grace of vigilance and of final perseverance” (n. 596). In this petition, we recognize our weakness and pray that God the Father be merciful and not allow us to fall into temptation (see Pitre, Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 95).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me how to pray and giving me the model of all prayer. I humbly recognize that prayer is a gift from God and that I do not know how to pray as I ought. I trust in you and your Spirit to guide me as I pray so that I may enter into deeper communion with the Father.

Living the Word of God: How is my life of prayer? What efforts have I made this year to pray better? Am I modelling my prayer on the Lord’s Prayer?