Lord, Teach Us to Pray (Part 1)
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. ~Luke 11:1-2a
As we continue our series on prayer, I’d like us to look more closely at what we have now dubbed “The Lord’s Prayer.” I’m not sure why we have chosen that name for this portion as I would more readily think of John 17 in that manner, but for better or worse, you understand what I am referring to.
When people memorize this passage of Scripture, they do not typically include the verse before it and could easily lose sight of the fact that God has given us a model prayer. That does not mean that we should mindlessly quote this word for word and let that suffice, but I believe there is an order in prayer that could help our prayers to be more effective.
As Jesus began His prayer, He acknowledged that He was praying to His holy Father. I imagine that if we understood just how holy our Father is, we would shudder with fear as we approached His throne. Instead, it’s easy to pray flippantly, taking no thought for the way we live our lives, treating God as if He were a fairy godfather awaiting us to present our petitions so that he can grant our every wish. As you are praying this week, I encourage you to think about the One that you are praying to. Examine your heart and repent of anything that might hinder your fellowship with Him. It might be a good time to get in the habit of talking less and listening more.
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