Over the years many of us have used the Lord’s Prayer in
Luke 11:2-4 or Matthew 6:9-13 to learn or teach others how to pray.
However, I think Luke 11:1 contains some nuggets which many of
us miss. The first sentence says, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain
place.” The best way to teach prayer is by example. Jesus’ example served as
the prerequisite for the disciple to ask his Lord to teach them to pray.
I can remember my frustration at a conference. During a
workshop, a presenter did an excellent job of speaking about the many aspects
of prayer. He finished, and time was up. Everyone filed out. I sat alone eager
to try these precepts. Then another group began coming in and I had to leave
for the next session.
Luke 11:1 relates, “one of his disciples said to him.” We do
not know which disciple asked Jesus to instruct them. This disciple was
unselfish and asked that Jesus teach them all. Since the disciple was unnamed,
he displayed humility. When we ask in prayer, we admit we do not possess the
power, or we lack the answers to solve our issues.
Did you notice that only one disciple asked for instruction
on prayer? Do our churches suffer the same dilemma as the Twelve? We study about
prayer and watch others pray. But how many actually pray and how many earnestly
seek God to teach us to pray?
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