Luke 11 : 1 (NLT)
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
Luke 11 : 2 (NLT)
Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.
Luke 11 : 3 (NLT)
Give us each day the food we need,
Luke 11 : 4 (NLT)
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation. "
Luke 11 : 5 (NLT)
Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
Luke 11 : 6 (NLT)
'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.'
Luke 11 : 7 (NLT)
And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.'
Luke 11 : 8 (NLT)
But I tell you this-- though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
Luke 11 : 9 (NLT)
"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
Luke 11 : 10 (NLT)
For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Luke 11 : 11 (NLT)
"You fathers-- if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
Luke 11 : 12 (NLT)
Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
Luke 11 : 13 (NLT)
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
Luke 11 : 14 (NLT)
One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn't speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed,
Luke 11 : 15 (NLT)
but some of them said, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."
Luke 11 : 16 (NLT)
Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
Luke 11 : 17 (NLT)
He knew their thoughts, so he said, "Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.
Luke 11 : 18 (NLT)
You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?
Luke 11 : 19 (NLT)
And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.
Luke 11 : 20 (NLT)
But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
Luke 11 : 21 (NLT)
For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe--
Luke 11 : 22 (NLT)
until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
Luke 11 : 23 (NLT)
"Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.
Luke 11 : 24 (NLT)
"When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.'
Luke 11 : 25 (NLT)
So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.
Luke 11 : 26 (NLT)
Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before."
Luke 11 : 27 (NLT)
As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, "God bless your mother-- the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!"
Luke 11 : 28 (NLT)
Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."
Luke 11 : 29 (NLT)
As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, "This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.
Luke 11 : 30 (NLT)
What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.
Luke 11 : 31 (NLT)
"The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here-- but you refuse to listen.
Luke 11 : 32 (NLT)
The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here-- but you refuse to repent.
Luke 11 : 33 (NLT)
"No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.
Luke 11 : 34 (NLT)
"Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness.
Luke 11 : 35 (NLT)
Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.
Luke 11 : 36 (NLT)
If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light."
Luke 11 : 37 (NLT)
As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.
Luke 11 : 38 (NLT)
His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.
Luke 11 : 39 (NLT)
Then the Lord said to him, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy-- full of greed and wickedness!
Luke 11 : 40 (NLT)
Fools! Didn't God make the inside as well as the outside?
Luke 11 : 41 (NLT)
So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
Luke 11 : 42 (NLT)
"What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Luke 11 : 43 (NLT)
"What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces.
Luke 11 : 44 (NLT)
Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on."
Luke 11 : 45 (NLT)
"Teacher," said an expert in religious law, "you have insulted us, too, in what you just said."
Luke 11 : 46 (NLT)
"Yes," said Jesus, "what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with impossible religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.
Luke 11 : 47 (NLT)
What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.
Luke 11 : 48 (NLT)
But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!
Luke 11 : 49 (NLT)
This is what God in his wisdom said about you: 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.'
Luke 11 : 50 (NLT)
"As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God's prophets from the creation of the world--
Luke 11 : 51 (NLT)
from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
Luke 11 : 52 (NLT)
"What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don't enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering."
Luke 11 : 53 (NLT)
As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.
Luke 11 : 54 (NLT)
They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.
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