The Lord's Prayer

⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^(A)to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^(B)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, ^(C)go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^(D)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^(E)the Gentiles do, for ^(F)they think that they will be heard ^(G)for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, ^(H)for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ^9 (I)Pray then like this:

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^(A)always to pray and not ^(B)lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^(C)neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^(D)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And ^(E)will not God give justice to ^(F)his elect, ^(G)who cry to him day and night? ^(H)(I)Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them ^(J)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^(K)will he find faith on earth?”

^6 (A)Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ^7 (B)casting all your anxieties on him, because ^(C)he cares for you.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^(A)we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^(B)the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And ^(C)he who searches hearts knows what is ^(D)the mind of the Spirit, because^[a] the Spirit ^(E)intercedes for the saints ^(F)according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(G)for good,^[b] for ^(H)those who are called according to his purpose.