Have you asked to be taught something you saw someone else being taught? Did you think that specific skill was worthy of learning? What were you willing to give up to learn it? Were you willing to give up your time? Were you willing to pay for it? Were you taught?
Learning new skills can be very good. They may create an opportunity for us to increase our wages. They may be the skill we need to start a new career. They may simply be a skill we want to learn for personal use. Whatever the reason, it can be good for us to learn new skills.
The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them to pray, just as John had taught his disciples to pray. Perhaps they thought there was a better way. Perhaps they thought there was a correct liturgical way to pray. Maybe they wanted to have a closer relationship with God, one similar to what they saw in Jesus and His relationship with the Father.
Jesus did teach them. We often recite what is recorded in Matthew 6 rather than in Luke 11. We call it the Lord’s Prayer. We often forget it is a model. The model includes three main pieces. First, praise God and his will. Second, request that your needs are fulfilled. Third, ask for protection from evil.
As we follow this model, we insert our real and perceived needs in the middle of it. Yet, if we are following this model, we always begin by praising God and seeking his will, while ending it with requesting that God shield us from evil attacks. Jesus presented the disciples and us with this model so that we pray in a way that is pleasing to God.
I pray we all spend time with God in prayer. I pray we seek to follow the model of prayer that Jesus taught. I pray each one of us puts the model in practice and witness God at work in our lives. Spend time in prayer. Follow Jesus’ model for prayer. Experience God at work in your life.
Luke 11:1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
Marty Pressey 