Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.
Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, 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 indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
About 90 minutes ago, I officiated a wedding at one of the overlooks in Pittsburgh. And even though it was a lot chiller than it was yesterday, since Notre Dame is playing Pitt in just a little while, the Goodyear Blimp was overhead and that was pretty cool (no pun intended) Anyway, during the service, right before they made their vows, I said the same thing I say in nearly every wedding I do. I had them look one another in their eyes and said to them, “I want you to remember this moment, because y’all are about to make your vows in the sight of God. And at that moment, everything is going to change. No longer will you be looking at the future as ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ ‘you’ and ‘yours.’ From that point onward, it’ll be ‘us’ and ‘ours.’” Now that’s what I said. And this is the reason: I believe those vows are the terms to a new covenant that’s being established. And once that covenant has been made, “the two will become one” and “what God has jointed together, let no one separate.”
And you know, based on what Jesus taught in the passage we just read, I think the same kind of thing applies to prayer. You see, Jesus didn’t teach me to pray for myself or for you or for them. Instead, I’m to pray for us: for our daily bread, for the forgiveness of our sins and for God not to bring us to the time of testing. In other words, when I pray, I’m accepting that a covenant exists between myself, you and them. We have become one; we’ve become us. In other words, there’s a connection that exists between me and everyone else. And for that reason, for me to pray effectively, I really need to recognize those needs that exist beyond myself and my little circle of friends.
