Prayers We Sing Series
Teach Me to Pray
Luke 11:1
Intro
Music is the medley of the soul. And when we have a song to sing we are joyous. So tonight I want us to look at another hymn, one that is not found in our Baptist hymnal though, but none the same a very good song to pray each day.
It is interesting to note that following a time spent in prayer, one of Jesus’ disciples requested that he teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. Jesus replied by giving them and to us a model prayer, which we tend to refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. In reality, it is a pattern for us all to follow as they offer their prayers. The question today is this: Are you guilty of neglecting the closet of prayer?
Poet Mrs. M.A. Kidder wrote:
Ere you left your room this morning
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ, our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor?
As a shield today?
Let’s sing this hymn “Teach Me to Pray” together and see the petitions that were made in this hymn.
I. Petitions in stanza 1
a. “Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray” (Luke 11:1)
“It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
b. “I long to know Thy will and Thy way” (Rom. 12:1)
‘Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
II. Petition in stanza 2
a. “O give me power, power in prayer!” (Phil. 4:13)
“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
III. Petitions in stanza 3
a. “Renew my weakened will” (Rom. 7:25)
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
b. “Subdue my sinful nature (1 Cor. 9:27)
“but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
c. “Fill me just now with power anew” (Acts 1:8)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon your; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
IV. Stanza 4
a. We see a repeat of the petition that is made in stanza 1.
Closing
As a united expression of our need and in the assurance that our request is in harmony with the will of God for us, let us conclude our service by singing together our prayer, “Teach Me to Pray,” once again.
