The Lord's Prayer: Effective Prayer
"Lord, teach us to pray." —Luke 11:1
There are volumes upon volumes of books on prayer. There is no shortage of opinions on “the right way” to pray. Many minister’s devote their entire life to teaching on prayer, some with orthodox thought and good intentions, other’s with neither. How then, are we to wade through the glut of information to find the true gems? How do we condense all of the many thoughts on prayer into small manageable bites?
The disciples were good Jewish boys. They grew up attending synagogue. They heard at least as many sermons as you or I; they heard at least as many prayers. They knew how to pray, they had seen it modeled countless times. What they had never seen was effective prayer.
Jesus often went away to a “solitary place” to pray. Each time when he returned, they saw him either teach with an authority they’d never before experienced, or heal the sick, or raise the dead, or feed thousands of people with minimal resources. When Jesus prayed, amazing things occurred. These were not the prayers they were used to. And so, one day, they caught the end of his prayer, and worked up the nerve to say, “Lord, teach us to pray [like you pray].”
I can identify with the disciples. In 1985, my family moved to the Dallas area. My father being United Methodist clergy, we joined First UMC in our new town. It was not long before I knew something was different. On our first Sunday in attendance we witnessed the Pastors gather around a woman with MS who had been wheelchair bound for some time. They gathered her family and friends up to the front and prayed for her. When she left church that day she walked out. She has not, to this day, returned to the wheel chair. I saw a prayer that day unlike any I’d seen before or since.
I, like the disciples, said, “Lord, teach me to pray.” The answer, I think, is not found in the volumes of books, but rather in the brief answer Jesus gave his disciples.
"Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name." Jesus was being revolutionary by calling, and inviting us to call God, our father. But he was also giving us the valuable insight into prayer. It is this familial relationship with God that sets effective prayer apart from ordinary prayer. In recognizing that God is not distant, but that God knows our needs, and cares for us, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and honest with God in our prayers. This is the first step to effective prayer.
Homework this week: Meditate on our Lord's prayer. Pray that God would deepen your understanding of the relationship he desires with you, and of what it means for you to pray, "Our Father."
There are volumes upon volumes of books on prayer. There is no shortage of opinions on “the right way” to pray. Many minister’s devote their entire life to teaching on prayer, some with orthodox thought and good intentions, other’s with neither. How then, are we to wade through the glut of information to find the true gems? How do we condense all of the many thoughts on prayer into small manageable bites?
The disciples were good Jewish boys. They grew up attending synagogue. They heard at least as many sermons as you or I; they heard at least as many prayers. They knew how to pray, they had seen it modeled countless times. What they had never seen was effective prayer.
Jesus often went away to a “solitary place” to pray. Each time when he returned, they saw him either teach with an authority they’d never before experienced, or heal the sick, or raise the dead, or feed thousands of people with minimal resources. When Jesus prayed, amazing things occurred. These were not the prayers they were used to. And so, one day, they caught the end of his prayer, and worked up the nerve to say, “Lord, teach us to pray [like you pray].”
I can identify with the disciples. In 1985, my family moved to the Dallas area. My father being United Methodist clergy, we joined First UMC in our new town. It was not long before I knew something was different. On our first Sunday in attendance we witnessed the Pastors gather around a woman with MS who had been wheelchair bound for some time. They gathered her family and friends up to the front and prayed for her. When she left church that day she walked out. She has not, to this day, returned to the wheel chair. I saw a prayer that day unlike any I’d seen before or since.
I, like the disciples, said, “Lord, teach me to pray.” The answer, I think, is not found in the volumes of books, but rather in the brief answer Jesus gave his disciples.
"Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name." Jesus was being revolutionary by calling, and inviting us to call God, our father. But he was also giving us the valuable insight into prayer. It is this familial relationship with God that sets effective prayer apart from ordinary prayer. In recognizing that God is not distant, but that God knows our needs, and cares for us, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and honest with God in our prayers. This is the first step to effective prayer.
Homework this week: Meditate on our Lord's prayer. Pray that God would deepen your understanding of the relationship he desires with you, and of what it means for you to pray, "Our Father."