Lord, Teach Us to Pray (Part 1)
By Quintin Morrow
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).
Prayer (comprised of both listening and talking to God) is one of the very foundation stones upon which all the rest of Christian spirituality is built. Without it we have little connection to the divine life, no direction in this life (apart from God’s written word of Scripture), no manner of seeing God’s hand at work in the world about us, and but meager means for growth in the Christian life and faith. And yet, as fundamental to being a follower of Jesus as prayer is, I have yet to find another believer who was satisfied with his or her life of prayer. We all want to pray more, and pray more effectively.
If we are honest with ourselves (and hopefully, with God), most of us would admit that prayer is hard work. The reason it is so is because we have a spiritual opponent in Satan that will do all in his power to thwart our petitions, quench our desire, and keep us off our knees. We find ourselves too busy to pray. We get sleepy and dose off during prayer. Our minds wander during prayer. We feel no confidence that God is listening. We feel too guilty to pray because our adversary reminds us of our sins and shortcomings. Such are the tactics of the Evil One. But of greater importance, such is the power of prayer to overcome his machinations and learn to pray victoriously.
In summary, here is what Holy Scripture teaches us about our lifeline of the Christian life.
- God wants us to pray. In I Thessalonians 5:17 the apostle Paul admonishes us to pray without ceasing. And Our Lord Jesus exhorted us to always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). Indeed, Christ’s entire life was the model of prayer. His disciples ask His direction on prayer after seeing Him pray in the verse above (Luke 11:1). And Luke relays in his Gospel that before every significant event in Jesus’ life (His baptism and temptation in the desert; His calling of the twelve disciples; the revelation of His divine glory on the mount of transfiguration; and before His atoning death on the Cross) the Lord spent an entire night in prayer.
- God will answer prayer. We learn from Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that God knows what we need even before we ask, and that He does answer our prayers (Matthew 7:7-11). His answer may be “yes,” “no,” or “yes, but not now.” But He always answers, and He always has our eternal good in mind (Romans 8:28).
- Some things impede prayer. Scripture identifies five specific things that interfere with the Christian’s prayer life. The first is tolerating habitual sin (Psalm 66:18). The second is praying from base or selfish motives (James 4:3). The third is treating one’s spouse badly (I Peter 3:7). The fourth is doubting God’s faithfulness (James 1:6-7). And lastly is the rejection of God’s Word (Proverbs 28:9).
- We are to pray according to Jesus’ instructions. His directions include praying privately (Matthew 6:5-6), praying sincerely, praying orderly, including some specific things (as in the pattern of prayer Christ left us in the Lord’s Prayer), praying worshipfully, praying fervently, praying continuously and not giving up, and praying humbly.
I can confidently tell you that there is an inextricable and reciprocal relationship between your own spiritual growth and your prayer life. You will not mature as a believer if you do not pray, and the more you mature in faith the more you want to pray and will pray.
Next time we will examine some specific directions to a more fruitful and confident prayer life.
Listing of past Food for Thoughts
