111 And it came to pass, in his being in a certain place praying, as he ceased, a certain one of his disciples said unto him, 'Sir, teach us to pray, as also John taught his disciples.' 2 And he said to them, 'When ye may pray, say ye: Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy name: Thy reign come; Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on earth; 3 our appointed bread be giving us daily; 4 and forgive us our sins, for also we ourselves forgive every one indebted to us; and mayest Thou not bring us into temptation; but do Thou deliver us from the evil.' 5 And he said unto them, 'Who of you shall have a friend, and shall go on unto him at midnight, and may say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 seeing a friend of mine came out of the way unto me, and I have not what I shall set before him, 7 and he from within answering may say, Do not give me trouble, already the door hath been shut, and my children with me are in the bed, I am not able, having risen, to give to thee. 8 'I say to you, even if he will not give to him, having risen, because of his being his friend, yet because of his importunity, having risen, he will give him as many as he doth need; 9 and I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; 10 for every one who is asking doth receive; and he who is seeking doth find; and to him who is knocking it shall be opened. 11 'And of which of you—the father—if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him? 12 and if he may ask an egg, will he present to him a scorpion? 13 If, then, ye, being evil, have known good gifts to be giving to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!'
14 And he was casting forth a demon, and it was dumb, and it came to pass, the demon having gone forth, the dumb man spake, and the multitudes wondered, 15 and certain of them said, 'By Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons, he doth cast forth the demons;' 16 and others, tempting, a sign out of heaven from him were asking. 17 And he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, 'Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated; and house against house doth fall; 18 and if also the Adversary against himself was divided, how shall his kingdom be made to stand? for ye say, by Beelzeboul is my casting forth the demons. 19 'But if I by Beelzeboul cast forth the demons—your sons, by whom do they cast forth? because of this your judges they shall be; 20 but if by the finger of God I cast forth the demons, then come unawares upon you did the reign of God. 21 'When the strong man armed may keep his hall, in peace are his goods; 22 but when the stronger than he, having come upon 'him', may overcome him, his whole-armour he doth take away in which he had trusted, and his spoils he distributeth; 23 he who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me doth scatter.
24 'When the unclean spirit may go forth from the man it walketh through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding, it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth; 25 and having come, it findeth 'it' swept and adorned; 26 then doth it go, and take to it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having entered, they dwell there, and the last of that man becometh worst than the first.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 11:1-26
Commentary on Luke 11:1-4
(Read Luke 11:1-4)
"Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ only can teach us, by his word and Spirit, how to pray. Lord, teach me what it is to pray; Lord, stir up and quicken me to the duty; Lord, direct me what to pray for; teach me what I should say. Christ taught them a prayer, much the same that he had given before in his sermon upon the mount. There are some differences in the words of the Lord's prayer in Matthew and in Luke, but they are of no moment. Let us in our requests, both for others and for ourselves, come to our heavenly Father, confiding in his power and goodness.
Commentary on Luke 11:5-13
(Read Luke 11:5-13)
Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order to our praying well, but as all spiritual blessings are included in that one. For by the influences of the Holy Spirit we are brought to know God and ourselves, to repent, believe in, and love Christ, and so are made comfortable in this world, and meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenly Father is more ready to bestow on every one that asks for them, than an indulgent parent is to give food to a hungry child. And this is the advantage of the prayer of faith, that it quiets and establishes the heart in God.
Commentary on Luke 11:14-26
(Read Luke 11:14-26)
Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of the judgment to come. But observe the wonderful change made in conversion. The conversion of a soul to God, is Christ's victory over the devil and his power in that soul, restoring the soul to its liberty, and recovering his own interest in it and power over it. All the endowments of mind of body are now employed for Christ. Here is the condition of a hypocrite. The house is swept from common sins, by a forced confession, as Pharaoh's; by a feigned contrition, as Ahab's; or by a partial reformation, as Herod's. The house is swept, but it is not washed; the heart is not made holy. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner, the beloved sin, is untouched. The house is garnished with common gifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true grace; it is all paint and varnish, not real nor lasting. It was never given up to Christ, nor dwelt in by the Spirit. Let us take heed of resting in that which a man may have, and yet come short of heaven. The wicked spirits enter in without any difficulty; they are welcomed, and they dwell there; there they work, there they rule. From such an awful state let all earnestly pray to be delivered.