Thought for Thursday
And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. Luke 11:1
The pastor of a large denominational church in a community many years ago went to visit one of the old deacons who had become ill. He found the old deacon in bed, but in good spirits. The old man explained to the pastor that he was praying for a revival in the area. He knew everybody in the community, and had launched a prayer campaign. Every day, he would in his prayers travel up one side of the street and down the other, praying for each house, and for each member of that home. When his prayer had covered the entire community, he would repeat the process. The pastor became very interested in the old deacon’s prayer program, and mentioned it to others, who launched their own prayer programs. Within a short time, revival began, and within a month, more than 100 people were saved, most of whom maintained good testimonies that their conversion was real. Somebody had obviously taught that old deacon something about prayer. Where had he learned it?
The first lesson in learning how to pray is in knowing who to ask. The disciples knew, as our text reveals. They had just seen their Lord in prayer, and they wanted to pray like Him. Now, nobody can pray like the Lord Jesus did. His relationship with His father was beyond what we or the disciples could understand. But we do have a relationship with him, regardless of what Pope Francis says, and we do have His Instruction Manual. Our text introduces a section in which the Lord Jesus provides a model for a prayer. Elsewhere, He instructs His disciples on how to avoid the false prayers of the Pharisees, prayers that might fall sweetly on the ears of the human hearers but which carried no weight in Heaven. He also tells how to seek the privacy of a closet for prayer if we would have a response from our Father. The Word of God contains instructions for us if we would learn how to pray, and we do well to seek out such instruction and abide by it. I remember many years ago as a young Christian taking part in a prayer meeting before the Gospel meeting. At that meeting were some older men, and it was a wonderful lesson just to hear them pray. Those men had been before the Throne of Grace before, and it was evident that they knew how to call on God for His blessing. Remember, prayer, whether private or public, will improve only with practice.
Just as important as learning how to pray is knowing why we should learn. The disciples had seen John’s disciples praying according to John’s instructions. We are not told why they wanted to do the same. But they had the examples of the Lord Jesus and of the Lord Jesus to follow. John obviously thought learning how to pray was important, and so did Jesus. And if He thinks it’s important, it’s important.
How well can you pray? Are you up for learning how to pray better? Ask the Lord to teach you. -Jim MacIntosh