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Read Luke 11:1-4- 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: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” |
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The disciples to
whom Jesus spoke these words were certainly not unfamiliar with the
concept of prayer. The Old Testament is full of examples of people who
prayed, of which the disciples would no doubt have knowledge. Hannah,
the mother of Samuel, cried out to the Lord and begged for a son; a son
she would commit back to God. Upon his return, Jacob prayed before
meeting Esau; and he had a lot to be worried about, didn’t he? Rahab
offered a word of adoration, “Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven
above, and on earth beneath”. And of course, there are numerous examples
of Daniel fervently praying during the exile.
But some 400
years had passed. Things were very different now, societally and
politically. Many of the day-to-day needs had dramatically changed. And
now fast forward to Jesus and this band of misfit followers, and the
reactions he elicited. They’d seen John teach his followers how to pray.
They’d observed Jesus himself repeatedly retreat to go off and pray to
his Father. Imagine the questions they must have had when they saw this
behavior in Jesus, their teacher, their Adonai. “What do you think he’s
praying about?” “Do you think we should be praying too; maybe like he
does?” So, they beseeched him in their simple way, “Lord, teach us to
pray.” And Jesus, in his deep love and care for them, simply does just
that.
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Note that Jesus
differentiates between private and public prayer in the book of Matthew
6:5-7: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen
by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like
pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”
Jesus was warning his followers to not fall into the prayer strategy of
the Gentiles and their endless repetition designed to manipulate their
gods to give them what they wanted. Dwight Moody put it this way, “A man
who prays much in private will make short prayers in public.”
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Thank you, Jesus,
for teaching us to pray, and for being our savior worthy of all
adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Jesus, you taught
us to pray “give us this day our daily bread”, ever reminding us that
you are enough, one day at a time. Help us to remember to ask the simple
questions the way your disciples did: “Lord, teach us to…” |
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"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can
understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy
people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you
will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who
believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the
dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the
heavenly realms." (Ephesians 1:18-20)
