Revd Sara's Reflections - w/c 27th July 2025

Revd Sara’s Reflection Sunday 27^th July 2025

Bible Reading: Luke 11:1-13

In Luke chapter 11 the disciples ask Jesus a simple yet profound question: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

In response, Jesus offers not only words – the prayer we now call the Lord’s Prayer – but a posture of trust, persistence, and relationship. This passage is not just about how to pray, but why we pray, and what kind of God we are praying to. Jesus begins with familiar and beautiful language: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.” This prayer is rooted in intimacy and reverence. It acknowledges both the closeness of God and the grandeur of God’s purposes. It holds personal needs (“Give us each day our daily bread”) alongside communal values (“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others”).

It is simple, but not shallow. Jesus’ teaching on prayer can be both comforting and challenging. It reminds us that prayer is not about magical formulas or theological perfection, it’s about relationship. It’s about being honest with God, showing up as we are, and trusting that our voices matter.

Jesus tells a story of someone knocking at a friend’s door in the middle of the night. At first, the friend resists. Then because of the asker’s persistence, the door is opened. It is an odd little parable, and it might seem like we need to wear God down with our prayers. That is not what Jesus is saying.

He is inviting us into a bold kind of praying – a faith that is not passive or polite, but engaged, courageous, and honest. A relationship that is not afraid to say when we are struggling, and to turn to God. Jesus follows this with a promise: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Not because prayer always gives us exactly what we want, but because prayer opens us to transformation. It teaches us to keep showing up, to keep seeking, to keep trusting that God is good, and that we are never alone in our asking. At the heart of this passage is the assurance that God is not reluctant to love us. Jesus compares God to a parent who gives good gifts, and then says, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” In other words: God’s greatest gift is God’s own presence: grace, strength, wisdom, and love poured into our lives. So today, reflect on your own experience of prayer: - Are there things you’ve stopped asking for? - Are there places where you need courage to keep knocking?

Are you open to receiving not just answers, but the Spirit itself? Discipleship is not about having all the right words, it’s about living in relationship with a God who listens, who loves, and who longs to give good gifts. Let this passage remind you: your prayers matter. Your voice is heard. Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep trusting in the grace that meets you at the door.

As you may know my day starts with swimming prayer laps for those people I know and love. Prayer is an essential part of being a disciple.

You are listened to and responded to through God’s Holy Spirit.

May you find prayers that encourage you.

love and prayers Revd Sara

The photo below is from 1909...