Teach Us To Pray

One of the things that we are commanded to do in Scripture is to pray. We all know that prayer is important, but I think that probably many of us struggle with how to pray. One of Christ's own disciples struggled with this as well. In fact, he asked Jesus to teach him to pray.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” - Luke 11:1-4

Now I'm sure that Jesus gave this teaching many times throughout his ministry travels as He taught from village to village. In fact, we find a separate instance in the book of Matthew when Jesus gave this same teaching during the Sermon on the Mount.

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" - Matthew 6:9-13

I grew up playing sports. And I can't tell you how many times we would kneel before a game and say the Lord's Prayer. We all knew it but I doubt any of us could explain what it meant. I've heard this prayer repeated over and over at different functions and gatherings throughout my life. It's sad that the very thing we were told not to do - to use vain repetitions - we have somehow taken the Lord's Prayer and made it into exactly that.

This prayer was never meant to be a mantra - it was meant to be a model. That's why it's important that we really look at it and see what we should be praying for. When I look at it, this is what I see (in my own words):

Holy Father,
I want your will to be done in my life.
Meet my daily needs.
Forgive my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me.
Lead me away from temptation, and deliver me from the evil one when I fall into it.
For it's all about You, not me.

The other morning in Sunday School we were discussing our lives and how we tend to really pray only when we get in trouble. We pray that God would eliminate things that cause us discomfort like sickness, money troubles, family troubles, etc.. Now don't get me wrong; if I get in trouble in anyway I'm going to pray. The Apostle James put it this way:

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. - James 5:13

But the funny thing is that I don't see anything in the Lord's prayer about health, wealth, prosperity, a good job or a trouble-free life. In fact It's a pretty simple prayer when you really look at it. The only thing in there about "material" things is asking God to meet our daily needs.
The Apostle James tells us that the problem with our prayers is that we are asking for the wrong things.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. - James 4:3

When I investigate my own prayer life, I find that it revolves around me. What we need to understand is that prayer - true prayer - is about His kingdom, His power and His glory.