Teach Us to Pray

 

How to Pray

Jesus’ disciples had much to learn while following Jesus. One subject they needed help with was prayer. In this case, they were humble enough to ask for instruction.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:1-4, NKJV).

Jesus’ prayer assistance didn’t just stop with a prayer outline. Once He died and rose again, they were born again. God’s nature came to reside inside them, making the Father’s presence accessible (Hebrews 4:15-16). Then, on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to earth to represent Him (Acts 2). With that came the ability to speak in other tongues, making their prayer life even more powerful (Romans 8:26). As the apostles traveled, they wrote letters to the churches. This gave the disciples a greater ability to pray according to God’s will. Jesus never intended His disciples to struggle in their prayer life!

Notice that Jesus didn’t roll His eyes and answer their request in exasperation, as if the disciples should have known better. He patiently gave them an outline to follow without condemning them for their ignorance.

God is not a condemning God but only wants to help us understand Him and His ways better (John 8:11, Romans 8:1). He loves it when we ask Him for help in any area. He wants us to succeed, but often, He wants us to initiate our desire to know by asking. When we do, He is happy to instruct us. And in the process of asking, God does not berate us for not knowing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking (James 1:5, NLT).

Twice, I have typed out a colorful poster with a child-like version of the Lord’s prayer for our daughter to follow each morning. The second poster is a little more advanced than the first because she has matured in her understanding (and in her reading skills!). But while teaching her how to pray, I do not criticize her for not knowing how. I don’t critique her for praying so simply. I know prayer is a skill that’s included in the process of developing a relationship with her Heavenly Father.

God is no different. He encourages anything that will bring us closer to Him. And if it means learning something new, He will patiently teach us. This is the heart of the Father to Whom we pray.

 

How Not to Pray

In Matthew 6, Jesus also taught them to pray the Lord’s Prayer, including an exhortation on how not to pray as the hypocrites did. The hypocrites flaunted their prayer skills in public to impress the community. Focused on length and eloquence, their prayers were selfish acts meant to glorify themselves and not God. Instead of following the hypocrites’ examples, Jesus instructed the disciples to pray “in secret” as an intimate time with the Father. As a result, the Father promised to reward them in public.

At one time, I experienced condemnation for not praying better and longer. But God simply told me, “I just want your heart.” If we have completely surrendered our hearts to Him, out of that heart will come intimate communication. Like any meaningful relationship, He is not looking for routine and “vain repetitions” (Matthew 6:7). He values quality over quantity and love over fancy linguistics. Ten minutes of heartfelt communication means more to Him than an hour of going through the motions.

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me’ (Matthew 15:8, NKJV).

Years ago, I went on a trip to a youth convention to help lead worship and judge events. One afternoon, I had just a few minutes to myself in our dormitory. I took advantage of that time and prayed. I remember leaving that dormitory room, my heart feeling full because I had sincerely connected to God. I had no selfish motives or desires other than to be with my Heavenly Father. It was brief, but it was meaningful communication.

How long should we pray? And at what time of the day? Sometimes Jesus prayed in the middle of the day, and sometimes He prayed all night. The Book of Psalms elaborated on rising early to pray. There may be many options, but we should always pray that His will be done in our prayer lives, just as we pray that His will “be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Most of all, we should make prayer a lifestyle of consistent communication with God, at any time and in any place (Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

The key is always to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Father’s presence on the earth. If we stay teachable, we can be led by Him, not by religious rituals, personal preferences, or selfish goals. Prayer focused on God, not us, takes the pressure off us to perform. And though He might correct us occasionally for praying incorrectly, it will not condemn us (Romans 8:1). He will always give us grace to do His will. The same empowerment He gave to the disciples is available to us. Our born-again spirits, spiritual prayer language, and the full, written Word of God will guide the way to a powerful prayer life. When He guides us, we can be confident that our prayer life will be meaningful to us and Him.

Our prayer lives may not feel polished. We may still be learning intimate communication with God. Regardless, He wants us to come boldly into His presence without fear. We are His children with full access to His courts. The veil that separated man from God’s throne has been ripped in two (Matthew 27:51). The Holy of Holies is now our “secret place” (Matthew 6:6). All He asks is that we enter with a desire to fellowship with Him—from our hearts.

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it] (Hebrews 4:16, AMPC).