Lord, Teach Us to Pray
/“Lord, teach us to pray…”
Wise words in the cry heard by Jesus from one unnamed disciple in the following verse.
“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” (Luke 11:1, ESV)
The plea was “teach us to pray,” not teach us to influence, or teach us to grow a business or brand, or teach us to market or network, or even teach us to preach or teach or speak.
Sure, we can do all those things, and we can do them all for God, but what resonated with me as I read this familiar verse is that the cry of this disciple’s heart was…
“Lord, teach us to pray…”
Plain and simple, yet powerfully profound. He displayed wisdom beyond his years by simply wanting to bend Jesus’ ear to hear the burdens of his heart.
Prayer is talking to Jesus, and yet this disciple knew, just as Jesus modeled the way to do many things, He also modeled prayer by the way He prayed to the Father.
And in the next three verses that follow, Jesus answers him this way…
“And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” (Luke 11:2-4, ESV)
This prologue is an example of prayer.
The parable that follows teaches the importance of persistence in prayer.
And the lesson concludes with the promise of answered prayers, unlimited resources, and opened doors…
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10, ESV)
Teach us to pray. First and foremost.
Other things must follow when we just follow Him.
Exercising our prayer muscle strengthens our spiritual core to better carry the burdens we bear and the abundance of blessing we receive by spending time in God’s presence and casting those cares on Him.
“Lord, teach us to pray…”