Lord Teach Us How To Pray
In Luke 11:1-13 the word of God says, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:” “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses; as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil…” For Thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever and ever amen.
Notice, the disciples didn’t say, “Lord teach us to preach.” The also didn’t say, “Lord teach us to lead.” Nor did the disciple say to Jesus, “Lord, teach to heal.” Rather, of all that that they could have asked Jesus to teach them, they ask Him to teach them how to pray. They must have noticed that there is power in praying. Jesus, whom they witness exhibiting the power of God to heal, cast out demons, bring the dead to life, is the same Jesus they witness spending quality time in prayer to the Father.
Notice also that they mentioned John The Baptist as having taught his disciples how to pray. They would have known and believed that John the Baptist was a prophet send from God, equipped by God, and in the model of one of Israel’s greatest prophets, Elijah. So here they are witnessing two people who are filled with the power of God, and they notice that their power came through prayer. “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
When we pray, our Heavenly Father changes our perspectives, our attitude, our resolve, our vision, our heart, and our hearing. Every one of our senses are altered. Hence the reason why, when we commit things to prayer we are able to better discern what we are to do, we are able to love even the person who slaps us on one cheek, we are equipped with wisdom to know when to be still and silent versus when to move and speak. Prayer also releases us from the burden of sin and the weight of the various trials in life that we are experiencing.
It’s not that the disciples didn’t know how to pray. In fact they grew up in a praying society. Jewish worship and rituals consist of a lavish prayer life. They were constantly praying. Even today, if you travel to New York City and have have the privilege of being on the subway with an Orthodox Jew, you will see his or her torah (bible) open and in hand and see him or her moving in forward and backward, praying through the Psalms.
However, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray because they recognize that they did not know how to pray with the kind of authority with which Jesus and John the Baptist prayed. When Jesus and John the Baptist prayed, everything changed and that’s how the disciples wanted pray. They wanted to pray by the authority of God the Father in Jesus Christ, and NOT by the authority of their flesh and earthly wisdom. Notice the difference?
Ask the Lord to teach you how to pray and what to pray about concerning anything that you are going through. Don’t just pray, but pray according to the authority of our Heavenly Father, whose name is Holy (Hallowed). Amen.
Schoeneck Moravian Church 