Yep! Still asking questions about prayer. I once heard about a pastor who spent two years preaching through the book of Romans. There is no denying that there is much to preach from Romans, but for me, two straight years seems like a bit much. I’m not anticipating this series on prayer to go 104 weeks. In fact, I think next week will be the final week. Not because I’ve answered all the questions, but because I don’t want readers to sigh and think, “What? Another question?”
So here’s this week’s question. “How do we learn to pray?” Again, pretty simple. But when you dig down beyond the surface of it, I think we discover it is a much needed question. And it is not just my question. It is a question that Jesus’ disciples asked him. His response? He said, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation'” (Luke 11:2-4).
We do well to listen to what Jesus said about how to pray. When I was growing up, Jesus’ words spoken here and recorded by Luke were more likely to be repeated by a football team ready to storm the field than a church on Sunday morning. Why is that? Is it because that we, or at least some of us, are a bit apprehensive about repeating a prayer that someone has already prayed and put to paper. Where’s the spontaneity? Where’s the heart in it?
But does not praying, in addition to studying, these words of Jesus to his disciples in effect teach us to pray? When we pray them back to God with our mind and heart, do they not capture our imagination? Can’t praying these few words which we call the Lord’s Prayer subtly reframe our praying as they become absorbed into the core of our very being? I feel they can!
I did mention at the start of this series that prayer is not complicated. And I still hold to that. But this doesn’t mean that our prayers shouldn’t grow and develop as we discern more fully the heart of God. Saturation and praying through and with Scripture (ie. The Lord’s Prayer) therefore, matures us in prayer. It pushes us to come before God more honest, free and bold than we might do otherwise.
So will you begin to pray the Lord’s Prayer? Will you pray it for your family? Your church? Your neighborhood? As you do, I think you will begin to discover a new depth in how to pray; a depth not made of pious “out of touch” words, but of a heart longing to know God more fully and of eyes watching and waiting to see him restore all of creation.
Be First to Comment