Lord, Teach Us to Pray

1. Why in the most disturbing

Why, in the most disturbing and disquieting situations when Israel’s religious leaders opposed Him and threatened Him, and when many Jews doubted who He was, Jesus was unmoved. He was controlled by peace. The Son of Man was a man of power, a man of purpose, a man of peace. But, above everything else, He was a man of prayer. His power resulted from His prayer life with the Father. His purpose was cloaked in the will of God. His peace was from knowing His identity as the Son of God. His prayer life was what sustained in during His absence from God.

These things the disciples had witnessed for a couple of years. These things they understood to some degree. They had seen enough and heard enough that everything had created a sense of deficiency, a lack in their lives that needed fulfillment. Therefore, “it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

In their request, “Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples stated at least three important sentiments that all of God’s children feel at some point in their spiritual journey. The first lesson of their request is the deficiency they acknowledged.

The twelve men sensed perhaps a defect, perhaps more of an inadequacy, an insufficiency, or a weakness in their individual prayer life. In the context of Luke’s account of the Lord’s prayer, two things seem to prompt the disciples’ request. First and foremost, the disciples had either observed John the Baptist’s disciples praying special prayers, or they had knowledge that the Baptist had taught them prayers to pray.

2. And perhaps this caused

And perhaps this caused a little jealousy between the Baptist’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples. Whatever it was, the twelve disciples wanted Jesus to teach them to pray. On the other hand, these men were living daily with Jesus, and they knew that His custom was to often arise early to pray (Mk. 1:35) or pray late in the shadows of the evenings (Mt. 26:36-40).

They watched and listened intently. The effects of His prayer life evidenced itself in a leper (Mk. 1:40), or when Jesus restored to life the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus (Lk. 8:42-56), or whenever He gave thanks over a simple meal of bread and fish (Jn. 6:11). Each occasion made them realize there was something greatly different in their Lord’s prayer life than in theirs. They were deficient. They were lacking something.

Sensing a deficiency was not a bad thing either. It was a good thing. They wanted to be like their Master in every respect of His walk and spiritual life and this began understanding they had a weakness in their prayer life. This was a sign of their spiritual growth and maturing as disciples of the Lord. Therefore, the request, “Lord, teach us to pray” was prompted from this deficiency.

Of equal importance is the desire that motivated. Wealth was not their concern. Neither did they ask for material things, or for things to gratify the flesh. A desire to pray effectively motivated their request. “Teach us to pray,” they asked. And the Lord heard their prayer. We understand that our prayers, requests, and desires must be within the sphere of the will of God because God can never act or respond contrary to His holy character and word. John would write later in his epistle and say, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 Jn. 5:14).

3. Within moments of their petition,

Within moments of their petition, Jesus said to them, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lk. 11:9-13). And on the eve of His death, Jesus said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn. 15:7). The desire to know how to pray effectually motivated their petition. And we know that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16).

4. I am of the conviction

I am of the conviction that every Christian desires to pray effectually. We want to have our prayers answered as Hannah, the mother of Samuel, had her prayer for a male child answered (1 Sa. 1:10-17). Believers long to know that God will hear their prayers as He heard four young teenagers named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they were deported as captives to Babylon and forced to learn a new language and culture (Da. 2:15-19). He heard the afflicted cry of the godly remnant in Egypt who cried out for a deliverance and Moses was sent to them (Ex. 2:23). These were legitimate desires and needs that God answered for His people. Think of the many times that David, when he was young and old, while as a warrior and a king in waiting, prayed. He learned to pray among the sheep, in the shadows, when running and hiding. And Israel’s great king would later pen these words from experience, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Ps. 37:4).

5. Lastly, in their request,

Lastly, in their request, we see the duty they accepted. Saul of Tarsus, who became known as Paul, and who wrote most of the epistles of the New Testament, placed great emphasis on the subject of prayer. He constantly exhorted and expounded the churches on this subject. A few of the exhortations are, “Praying always” (Eph. 6:18; Col. 1:3); “Pray without ceasing” (1 Th. 5:17); and “We do not cease to pray for you” (Col. 1:9). Paul is recognized as perhaps the finest missionary preacher ever. But he was preeminently a man of prayer. The successes he had in his ministry were won first in prayer. He prayed. But he also needed prayer. He wrote on several occasions, “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Th. 5:25).

Brethren, pray for me as I pray for you!