Videos from Fr Claudio Doglio
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The Prayer of Jesus
He was praying in a particular place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’
Prayer is one of Luke’s most cherished themes, and he emphasizes it throughout. He portrays Jesus as the teacher of prayer and the disciples as eager to learn how to pray. They seek to learn from Jesus.
A characteristic of Luke is his emphasis on Jesus as a man of prayer. Often, while preserving the tradition’s history, Luke includes a note on prayer as a detail. For example, the description of Jesus’ baptism doesn’t mention the rite itself but notes that, while Jesus was being baptized, he was in prayer as the heavens opened. Also, before calling the disciples, Luke says that Jesus withdrew to the mountain for a whole night of prayer, and in the morning, he chose the twelve apostles; then he went down into the valley to speak to the people. In the Transfiguration episode, only Luke notes that Jesus went up the mountain to pray and that his face changed while he was praying. The crucial moment in Jesus’ life, the center of his earthly mission, occurs when he begins to tell his disciples he is heading to Jerusalem, where they will kill him. Jesus reveals his glory to his disciples. He is transfigured on the mountain to show the disciples his divine nature and to encourage them to follow him on the road of suffering.
But the note that interests us now is that Jesus’s face changed while he was praying. In this sense, Jesus is a teacher of prayer, not mainly because he teaches formulas or offers practical advice on prayer. Rather, he demonstrates the style of prayer in his life.
The characteristic is that Jesus’ prayer changes his face. He is transfigured when he enters deeply into prayer. Meeting the Father, he becomes another person; he changes, and this is exactly what prayer means. I don’t pray to change God; I pray to change myself. The evangelist emphasizes that Jesus spends long, intense periods of prayer at the crucial points in his life.
In Luke chapter 11, Jesus teaches the “Our Father” during a prayer. Jesus “was praying in a certain place.” The disciples watch him and notice something happening to him. They are amazed and leave him alone. When he finishes, they express a desire that has arisen as they look at him: “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus responds, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.”
Luke’s version of the Our Father differs slightly from Matthew’s, which the Church has always taught us as the Lord’s Prayer. Luke’s text is a bit shorter, but it remains the same prayer. As we’ve already seen, Luke, who is very conservative about the original traditions of the Christian community, respects these ancient formulas. In contrast, Matthew and his circle are much more open to editing, adding, and expanding.
Luke retains the ‘Father’ form, which likely refers to the Aramaic “Abba.” Jesus uses this familiar term, typical of a child’s way of addressing God. In Matthew’s version, “Our Father who is in heaven” is rendered more formally, highlighting the Father’s divine and heavenly aspect.
The other two formulas are identical: “Hallowed be your name,” which means showing the holiness of your person, revealing your divine power, and making You appear beautiful. “Your kingdom come,” meaning allowing your plan to dominate reality according to your will, Father. Matthew added, “Your will be done,” which clarifies the significance of the name and the kingdom.
“Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins.” Perhaps Luke changed the image of debt to make sin more understandable. “Do not subject us to the final test.” Do not abandon us to temptation. In English, we still use “Lead us not” instead of ‘Don’t let us fall.’ That is the meaning; even if it says, “Lead us not,” it is not a wrong translation because it matches the text used by both Matthew and Luke, though it was probably an older version, very close to the time of Jesus himself. Still, it was created by someone who did not fully understand Greek and used a Semitic phrase in a slightly imperfect Greek form.
Many people are troubled by the phrase “Lead us not into temptation,” as if God were the one who causes us to fall into temptation. No. It means: “Don’t let us enter the moment of temptation”; don’t abandon us. The son’s prayer asks the father to ‘help me so I don’t make a wrong impression on you. Be the one in charge, feed me today, forgive my sins, don’t let me turn away from you, hold my hand in the moment of danger.’
It is important to note, however, that the teaching of Jesus is in the plural, not ‘give me,’ but ‘give us.’ Unfortunately, we have learned little of this style, and when we improvise prayers according to our criteria, we always use the singular form. ‘I would like to pray for…’ or I ask the Lord directly, ‘Help me…’; whereas the style of Jesus is communitarian. ‘Our Father,’ ‘give us our bread,’ ‘forgive us our debts’… Not: ‘Forgive me.’ Jesus teaches us to ask him to ‘forgive us.’ Jesus’ style of prayer transforms him and communicates to the disciples a force for change.
Immediately after this episode, Luke presents a parable about prayer, featuring an insistent friend who, in the middle of the night, is visited by an unexpected guest and has nothing to offer him. He knocks on a friend’s door, asking for some bread.
The strength of the parable lies in its reference to friendship. A friend asks another friend, and does the friend say “no”? In the parables, Jesus challenges the audience. “Who among you, if a friend disturbs you in the middle of the night, says, ‘Do not disturb me’?” If he is truly a friend, he does not respond that way. Even if awakened in the middle of the night, a friend would do this and more.
Jesus teaches that prayer should be seen as a friendship. The filial side of a person who calls God “Father” includes friendship and affection. A friend does not seek the friend only when in need. They enjoy each other’s company out of friendship and a desire to be together. Sometimes, there may be a moment of great need, and the person allows themselves to seek help.
If you think about it, when you’re in a tough spot at an odd hour, consider who you can bother—not just anyone you could call, but someone you feel comfortable bothering, someone you see as a true friend. Jesus says that God is your real friend, but you need to nurture that friendship. He doesn’t listen to you just because you’re persistent; He listens because you’re a friend. No, even better: He listens because He is your friend. The power of prayer doesn’t lie in your friendship with Him, but in His friendship with you. So the key trait of prayer is trust—it’s about letting go and trusting.
Later, the parable continues with catechetical teaching: “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” It can give the impression that you ask for what you want and the Father will give it to you. It is not so. God is not our butler or the genie in the lamp who you let out when you want him, tell him what you want, and who is ready to obey and carry it out at your service.
This is not merely our fantasy; it is the teaching of Jesus. Ask for the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Jesus teaches how to ask for the Holy Spirit—that is, the very life of God, the light of God, his way of thinking, his way of loving, his life force. To ask for the Holy Spirit is to adopt the same mentality as Jesus. “Ask, and you will receive.” Ask for the Holy Spirit, and you will receive Him without fail. Call on the friend, and the friend will come without fail. Seek the will of God, and you will find the means to fulfill it.
In prayer, I don’t change God; I change myself. I do not ask for what interests me by trying to persuade Him or force Him to do my will; instead, in prayer, following the example of Jesus, I open myself to the Spirit’s action and ask the Lord: ‘What do you want from me? Give me the strength to do what you ask.’
In chapter 18, the evangelist Luke shares two additional parables about prayer. The first concerns the unjust judge and the poor widow who approaches the judge, who has no conscience, asking for justice. She repeatedly says: “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.” The judge has no interest in doing her justice, but because of her persistence, he eventually gives in. And Jesus asks: “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.”
Let’s consider the widow’s request. This woman asks for justice: “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.” She isn’t asking for things; she wants justice in her life. This is a common Pauline question. We know well how Saint Paul taught justification by faith. People are made righteous not by their works but by God’s grace, and they receive grace by opening themselves to God in faith. Faith is trusting and surrendering to the Lord, accepting His mercy. So when she says, “make me righteous,” it means “Render a just decision for me” and applies it to her situation. It’s the plea of those who want to do good and follow God’s will. ‘Make me capable of doing what you ask me to do’—‘If you don’t make me capable, I just can’t; I can’t do it with my strength; I can’t.’
Many people comment on this advice from Jesus: “It is not easy … it is not easy.” And it is not accessible if I am alone, if I am left with my human weakness … it is not easy; it is practically impossible. But I am not alone; I have been given the Spirit. God is a friend who comes to meet me in my weakness. So, in prayer, just like the widow, we insistently ask: “Render a just decision for me.”
However, persistence is necessary for a dishonest judge, but God is not like that. There is no need to keep insisting and tiring Him out. We do not need to convince Him that we need Him to do justice. He knows it; He wants it. We desire Him to bring justice, which means making us righteous and able to follow His will. If we want it and ask for it day and night, crying out to Him—that is, if we desire it with all our might—the Lord does not make us wait but brings justice quickly.
The parable ends with a tragic question: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” This is a delicate point because prayer is a matter of faith. Authentic prayer is a manifestation of faith understood as confident, complete trust. Faith is the foundation, the strength of God. I have faith if I rely on and trust Him; if I trust Him, I surrender myself to His will. If this attitude is present, there is no need to insist; we simply have to open ourselves to His transforming power, to the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the work is done. “Ask, and you will receive.”
Immediately afterward, Luke narrates the third parable about prayer; all three are unique to the third evangelist. This highlights his interest in prayer. More than just a parable, it’s an illustrative story of two men praying: the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee is a devout, observant man, full of himself, who offers a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and praise, thanking the Lord for all he’s given and boasting about being honest, religious, and different from dishonest people. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices the tax collector, a typical symbol of the corrupt world. This humble man, standing in the back of the temple with his head bowed, beats his chest and repeats the same prayer: “Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus overturns traditional judgment by saying that the sinner who recognizes their sin and asks for mercy will go home justified, unlike the other, the Pharisee, who thinks he is righteous and leaves just as he was.
The word ‘justified’ is typically Pauline; it shows that Luke is a genuine disciple of Saint Paul. Luke learned from the apostle a preaching style and a theological standard. The repentant sinner who sincerely admits his sin returns home justified and made righteous; he has received justice; he has been changed by God, unlike the Pharisee, who, believing himself righteous, deceives himself, does not ask for God’s mercy, and remains as he is.
Prayer does not change him, and if it does not, it is useless. God’s mercy is a therapy, a medicine that heals us. Grace is given so we can transform our negative traits and learn to live like Jesus, but if this grace does not produce results, meaning we do not change, it is useless. God’s mercy, given to us abundantly, is pointless if we do not receive it. If we accept it, we change; if we don’t, it shows we haven’t received it.
Therefore, according to the wise teaching of the evangelist Luke, prayer is a core part of our Christian life, not merely a series of formulas to recite but an attitude of humility, openness, and acceptance. I don’t pray to change God. When I pray, I change. Jesus is the master of prayer; when he prayed, his face changed. This can happen to us, too.