Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Suppose you lived in the first century, and you were one of Jesus' original disciples. What would you have wanted him to teach you? If you saw him turn water into wine, would you have been curious about how he did it? Might you have asked him how to give sight to the blind, or how to speak in parables?

Jesus' disciples never asked him how to do those things—or if they did ask, the Bible doesn't record it. But one day, one of Jesus' disciples requested, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).

Out of all the things they saw Jesus do, the disciples seemed especially impressed by the way he prayed. They heard him rise quietly before dawn and slip away for prayer. When he blessed the bread at mealtimes, or when he prayed aloud before performing a miracle, they observed the natural way he communicated with the heavenly Father.

Notice, they didn't say, "Lord, teach us how to pray." There was more to Jesus' prayers than "how to" methods. Jesus never taught a lesson on "Three Easy Steps to a Powerful Prayer Life." No, the disciples requested, "Lord, teach us to pray." Brought up in Jewish homes, the disciples already prayed in the temple and the synagogues. But when they saw how Jesus prayed, they realized there was something lacking in their own communication with God.

What about you? According to a Gallup Poll, 86 percent of all Americans—both those who attend church and those who do not—say they pray to God. According to *Newsweek *(January 6, 1992), sociologist Andrew Greeley found that even among Americans who claim to be atheists or agnostics, nearly one in five prays every day. (One wonders, To whom?)

Christians know we ought to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer ought to be as natural as breathing, one of the joys of the Christian life. Too often, though, prayer is like eating our vegetables—we know what we should do, but the candy bar wins out over the broccoli.

Many of us are trying to survive on spiritual junk food instead of the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).

The musician, Paderewski, used to say, "If I stop practicing the piano for one day, I notice the difference, though no one else does. If I stop practicing for two days, my family notices it. But if I stop practicing for three days, even the public can tell the difference." If you go a day without prayer, others may not notice, but you will pay a price in your spiritual vitality.

Why is it so hard to practice the discipline of prayer? Pride gets in the way. Oswald Chambers spoke of a "spiritual strut"—the cocky self-confidence that causes us to forget our daily need for God's strength and grace. Prayer, though, is "a declaration of dependence," humble acknowledgment that we are weak and powerless without the Lord. Sinful pride melts away as we daily "practice the presence of God."

Don't be discouraged if you struggle. Our Father can hear a prayer as simple as, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." In *Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, *Richard Foster wrote: "In the same way that a small child cannot draw a bad picture, so a child of God cannot offer a bad prayer." As someone else has said, "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees."

What step will you take this week to deepen your prayer-life? Remember God's promise: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). Lord, teach us to pray.