Luke 11:1, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

The word “prayer” in the Bible has two different applications.  First, it means, “to make a request” or “ask for something.”  Second, the word prayer means, “to communicate and talk with God.”  Therefore, today and for the rest of your life you have the privilege of talking to God and sharing with Him your requests.

God not only wants you to call on Him in your times of need to make requests, He also desires for you to have meaningful fellowship with Him.  Thus, in times of prayer He desires to both hear you heart and share His with you.  The disciples in the above passage had seen the consistent prayer life of Jesus and wanted to pray like how he did.  In ancient times prophets and teachers, like John the Baptist, would teach their followers specific kinds of prayers and various places and times to pray.  Thus, the twelve desired to know how Jesus wanted them to pray.

Do you desire to learn how to pray like Jesus did?  Are you interested in having a life of prayer devoted to God like the first disciples?  If you answered, “yes,” then the first thing you should desire to do is learn from Jesus’ example found in the Bible.  Because prayer is one of the most important gifts that God has given His children.  For it is by prayer, we can know the will of God, have our needs meet, be encouraged, receive forgiveness, lift up others in their troubles, and know God more personally.

Therefore, take some time today to set a regular time of prayer with God.  Begin to ask Him to teach you how to pray effectively and the way He commanded His disciples.  As you grow in your prayer life, you will grow and develop in every other part of your life.  Remember, “from your prayer life, God will give you purpose and power in life!”


Reflection

Do want to learn how to pray like Jesus?

Action

  1. Ask Jesus to teach you how to pray.
  2. Begin to pray and spend time both talking to God and listening to His voice.
  3. Get ready for the lessons in this series to increase and encourage your prayer life.