92 14 Habits of Highly Effective Disciples
11:3 – 4. Petition, in conjunction with praise and submission, remains
an integral component of prayer. These verses specifically encourage
disciples to: appeal for the daily provision of legitimate needs, to seek
forgiveness and to repent from sin, to reconcile broken relationships by
extending forgiveness, and to seek deliverance from situations of sinful
temptation. To ask an obvious but often neglected question: What are
the personal pronouns used throughout this prayer?
As translated by the n i v, there are seven personal pronouns in these
two verses—us (4), our (2), and we (1). Unfortunately, it seems when
this model prayer is quoted by Christians today, many (at least subcon-
sciously) substitute these collective references for the individual personal
pronouns of I, me, and mine. While there is nothing inherently wrong
with praying for “my daily bread” and forgiveness for “my sins,” this
is not exactly the Lord’s teaching through this prayer. Rather this is a
corporate prayer intended to help move the individual away from self-
centeredness towards an implied personal responsibility to others. The
Lord’s Prayer is intended to help individual disciples live in a redemptive
community with others that is consciously corporate.
Though there may be a temptation for some to interpret “daily bread”
as spiritual nourishment, Luke intended his readers to understand this
teaching in the most fundamental and tangible manner possible. More
than any other Gospel, Luke worked to demonstrate how Jesus inten-
tionally engaged in boundary-breaking transformation among the poor,
disadvantaged, and most marginalized of society.
One only need consider the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Luke
18:18–30, who chose to turn away rather than giving away his goods
to the poor. In contrast, the next rich young ruler to encounter Jesus,
Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:1–10), was welcomed into the
kingdom as he demonstrated his absolute allegiance to Jesus and his
willingness to surrender personal resources on behalf of the poor. Other
verses in Luke related to a call to engage the most disadvantaged include:
3:10–14, 4:18–19, 6:20–26, and 14:13–14.
If the Gospel of Luke intentionally paints a picture of Jesus initiating
boundary-breaking transformation among the marginalized of society,
it should be anticipated that disciples would be taught to specifically pray
towards this same end. In a world wracked by famines, drought, food
insecurity, death by starvation, and poverty; perhaps there ought to be a
renewed call for Christians to urgently pray for the physical provision of