4 Bible Verses about Unwise Prayers
Most Relevant Verses
Once as he was praying in a certain place, when he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, "Master, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, your name be revered! Your kingdom come! Give us each day our bread for the day,read more.
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive anyone who wrongs us; and do not subject us to temptation.' " And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him in the middle of the night, and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has just come to my house after a journey, and I have nothing for him to eat,' and he answers from inside, 'Do not bother me; the door is now fastened, and my children and I have gone to bed; I cannot get up and give you any.' I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him some because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rouse himself and give him all he needs. So I tell you, ask, and what you ask will be given you. Search, and you will find what you search for. Knock, and the door will open to you. For it is always the one who asks who receives, and the one who searches who finds, and the one who knocks to whom the door opens. Which of you fathers, if his son asks him for a fish will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? So if you, bad as you are, know enough to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him for it!"
He gave them an illustration to show that they must always pray and not give up, and he said, "There was once in a city a judge who had no fear of God and no respect for men. There was a widow in the city and she came to him and said, 'Protect me from my opponent.'read more.
And he would not for a time, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God nor respect for men, yet because this widow bothers me, I will protect her, so that she may not finally wear me out with her coming.' " And the Master said, "Listen to what this dishonest judge said! Then will not God provide protection for his chosen people, who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will make haste to provide it! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
When Jesus had said all this he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the time has come. Do honor to your son, that your son may do honor to you, just as you have done in giving him power over all mankind, so that he may give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.read more.
I have done honor to you here on earth, by completing the work which you gave me to do. Now, Father, do such honor to me in your presence as I had done me there before the world existed. "I have revealed your real self to the men you gave me from the world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your message. Now at last they know that all that you have given me comes from you, for I have given them the truths that you gave me, and they have accepted them and been convinced that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. I have a request to make for them. I make no request for the world, but only for those whom you have given me, for they are yours??10 all that is mine is yours and what is yours is mine??nd they have done me honor. Now I am to be no longer in this world, but they are to remain in the world, while I return to you. Holy Father, keep them by your power which you gave me, so that they may be one just as we are. As long as I was with them I kept them by your power which you gave me, and I protected them, and not one of them was lost (except the one who was destined to be lost), so that what the Scripture says might come true. But now I am coming to you, and I say this here in this world in order that they may have the happiness that I feel fully realized in their own hearts. I have given them your message, and the world has come to hate them, for they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them away from the world, but to keep them from evil. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them by truth. Your message is truth. Just as you sent me to the world, I have sent them to the world. And it is for their sake that I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated by truth. "It is not for them only that I make this request. It is also for those who through their message come to believe in me. Let them all be one. Just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am with you, let them be in union with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one just as we are, I in union with them and you with me, so that they may be perfectly unified, and the world may recognize that you sent me and that you love them just as you loved me. Father, I wish to have those whom you have given me with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me, for you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world did not know you, I knew you, and these men knew that you had sent me. I have made your self known to them and I will do so still, so that the love which you have had for me may be in their hearts, and I may be there also."
He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give orders that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and one at your left, when you are king!"
Bible Theasaurus
From Thematic Bible
Unwise prayers » Select readings
Once as he was praying in a certain place, when he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, "Master, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, your name be revered! Your kingdom come! Give us each day our bread for the day, read more.
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive anyone who wrongs us; and do not subject us to temptation.' " And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him in the middle of the night, and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has just come to my house after a journey, and I have nothing for him to eat,' and he answers from inside, 'Do not bother me; the door is now fastened, and my children and I have gone to bed; I cannot get up and give you any.' I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him some because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rouse himself and give him all he needs. So I tell you, ask, and what you ask will be given you. Search, and you will find what you search for. Knock, and the door will open to you. For it is always the one who asks who receives, and the one who searches who finds, and the one who knocks to whom the door opens. Which of you fathers, if his son asks him for a fish will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? So if you, bad as you are, know enough to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him for it!"
Unwise prayers » Examples of
He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give orders that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and one at your left, when you are king!"