Jesus Teaches About Prayer

11 ¹One time Jesus was praying in a place. When Jesus finished praying, one of his followers said to him, "John* taught his followers how to pray. Lord, teach us how to pray too." ²Jesus said to the followers, "When you pray, pray like this: 'Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come. ³Give us the food we need for each day. ⁴Forgive us the sins we have done, because we forgive every person that has done wrong to us. And don't let us be tempted (tested).'"

Continue to Ask

^5-6Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose one of you went to your friend's house very late at night and said to him, 'A friend of mine has come into town to visit me. But I have nothing for him to eat. Please give me three loaves of bread.' ⁷Your friend inside the house answers, 'Go away! Don't bother me! The door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you the bread now.' ⁸I tell you, maybe friendship is not enough to make him get up to give you the bread. But he will surely get up to give you what you need if you continue to ask. ⁹So I tell you, continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. ¹⁰Yes, if a person continues asking, that person will receive. If a person continues looking, that person will find. And if a person continues knocking, the door will open for that person. ¹¹Does any of you have a son? What would you do if your son asked you for a fish? Would any father give his son a snake? No! You would give him a fish. ¹²Or, if your son asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion*? No! ¹³[You are like all other people]--you are evil. But you know how to give good gifts to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit* to those people that ask him."

Jesus' Power Is from God

¹⁴One time Jesus was sending a demon* out of a man that could not talk. When the demon came out, the man was able to speak. The people were amazed. ¹⁵But some of the people said, "Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul (the devil) to force demons* out of people. Beelzebul is the ruler of demons." ¹⁶Other people wanted to test Jesus. They asked Jesus to show them a sign (proof) from heaven. ¹⁷But Jesus knew the things they were thinking. So Jesus said to the people, "Every kingdom that is divided and fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart. ¹⁸So if Satan (the devil) is fighting against himself, then how will his kingdom continue? You say that I use the power of Beelzebul (the devil) to force out demons.* ¹⁹But if I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people prove that you are wrong. ²⁰But I use the power of God to force out demons. This shows that the kingdom of God has come to you! ²¹"When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, then the things in his house are safe. ²²But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the other man's things. ²³"If a person is not with me, he is against me. The person that does not work with me is working against me.

The Empty Person

²⁴"When an evil spirit [from the devil] comes out of a person, that spirit travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest. But that spirit finds no place to rest. So the spirit says, 'I will go back to the home (person) I left.' ²⁵When the spirit comes back to that person, the spirit finds that home (person) swept clean and made neat. ²⁶Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. Then all the evil spirits go into that person and live there. And that person has even more trouble than he had before."

The People That Are Truly Happy

²⁷When Jesus said these things, a woman with the people there began to speak. She said to Jesus, "Your mother is blessed (happy), because she gave birth to you and fed you." ²⁸But Jesus said, "The people that hear the teaching of God and obey it--they are the people that are truly happy!"

John John the Baptizer; he told people about Christ's coming (Read Mt. 3; Lk. 3). scorpion A scorpion is an insect that has a poison sting. Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, he does God's work among people in the world. demon(s) Demons are evil spirits from the devil.