Lord Teach Us To Pray

LORD TEACH US TO PRAY. Luke 11.1.

Once I had the wonderful privilege to witness to one of my patients! She had some ‘Christian background’ but didn’t know what it was to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour. I gave her a Gideon New Testament which I carried in my pocket (that is one of the privileges of becoming a member of the Gideon International!) and showed her the ‘way of salvation’.

She was ready to accept the Lord. I asked her to pray a simple prayer. She said, “But, I don’t know how to pray?” I led her in a short and simple prayer accepting Jesus as her Saviour, following the pattern in the Gideon Bible. She was happy. I told her to keep reading the Bible and praying daily. Again she said, “But I don’t know how to pray?” She wanted me to teach her a simple prayer which she could pray daily. I did and she wrote it down in her New Testament.

Some people can pray lengthy prayers and sometimes repetitive ones too, though Jesus said that these do not impress God or get us His hearing! Jesus said, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6.7,8).

Once when the disciples saw Jesus praying, they asked Him, “Lord teach us to pray”. (Lk 11.1). He taught them a very simple and short prayer of ‘minimum’ words, in five small verses. He said, “Pray in this manner”. It is best known as “The Lord’s Prayer”. It doesn’t mean that we should repeat that prayer only, though it may be a good thing to do now and again because Jesus asked us to do it. In addition, many, pattern their prayers after it, or build up on those ‘basics’, adding their own thoughts and words to God in prayer.

Dear believer, take some time to read, meditate and pray that prayer the Lord taught us to pray! You could be certain that our Heavenly Father cannot but hear it and answer it! We have made it a part of our family and private prayer. The Denominational churches have the Lord’s prayer as part of their worship while many Independent churches have ‘put it aside!’, to their own loss! Don’t be a loser by neglecting what Jesus taught you to pray!

Pray and practise with me: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil - the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.