Lord, Teach Us To Pray
(Luke 11:1-4)
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One of the greatest privileges that God has given us as believers is the ability to come to Him in prayer. It is also one of the most misunderstood and abused aspects of Christianity. People pray for things that are not the will of God. They ask for things that God has provided to us in other ways, such as through study of the Bible. They think that God doesn’t always answer their prayers, when in fact, God may be answering them by saying "No!".
I once heard a pastor tell a congregation that "the best way to learn how to pray, is to just pray!". Let’s think about that for a minute. Suppose we apply that logic to other things.
I want to learn how to shoot a gun, so I ask an expert marksman to teach me, and he replies, "Why Frank, the best way to learn how to shoot a gun is to just shoot!"
My daughter Sara comes to me when she’s 16 years old and asks me to teach her how to drive the car. Would I answer her by saying, "You know Sara, the best way to learn how to drive a car is to just drive!", and then I merely hand her the keys and send her on her way? Of course not! That would be ridiculous!
So why is it that when a pastor or another believer says something ridiculous like that about prayer, that we often just accept it, and sometimes even view such a statement as something profound and spiritual?
One of the funniest stories I heard that combine my shooting and driving examples was told to me by a coworker. He knew of a teenage boy who went to his father and asked his dad for a car. The father didn’t think his son was very responsible, to put it mildly, and he told his son, "I’d rather give you a gun. You’ll kill less people!"
The point is that despite what some pastors and believers may say and believe, the Bible does teach us that there is a right and wrong way to pray. In Luke 11, verse 1, we read,
Lu 11:1 "And it came about that while He (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". (NAS)
In response to this question, Jesus does not say, "If you want to learn how to pray, just pray!". He does not tell His disciple the kind of nonsense that some emotional denominations believe, such as to "just share your heart with God", or "just go with your feelings", or "just tell God how you feel and what you want".
Jesus also does not correct the disciple about what he said about John. Instead, Jesus by His words and actions affirms that John did teach his disciples how to pray, and Jesus proceeds to do likewise. Jesus goes on in Luke 11, verses 2-4, to teach His disciples the correct way to pray. He gives them a sample prayer in those verses that we Christians today know and sometimes recite as, "The Lord’s Prayer". This prayer that Jesus shares shows us just how He wants us as His disciples to pray.
In Luke 11, verse 2, Jesus begins His prayer with the words, "Our Father", and this is important. This verse shows us that prayer is for believers only, because only believers can address God as "our Father".
But this verse in the Bible also teaches us that all prayer should be addressed to God the Father, and that’s my first point today. Whenever Jesus prays, He addresses Himself to only the Father. He never prays to the Holy Spirit, nor of course to His own Deity. Likewise, throughout the Bible, we see other instances of believers praying, and they address their prayers to God the Father.
The reason for this is that, although there are three members of the Trinity (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), each member reveals Himself to mankind in a different way. God the Father is the author of the divine plan for mankind; God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the instrument for carrying out the plan; and God the Holy Spirit is the revealer of that plan to mankind.
Even though all three members of the Trinity are God, they act towards us in different ways. It was Jesus who died for our sins, not the Father or Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to us as our Counselor after He departed from this world, not Himself or the Father. Likewise, it is the Father whose will Jesus came to earth to fulfill, and it is to the Father that we should address our prayers as Jesus and the disciples did.
When I hear believers pray publicly, they often direct their prayers "all over the place". They may begin, "Dear Father", and before long, I hear "Dear Jesus", and then "Dear Lord" (in which case I’m no longer sure to whom they are praying!). Sometimes, they may even throw in a "Dear Holy Spirit". Many people who teach children have a strong tendency to teach them to pray by starting with, "Dear Jesus". Despite how well-meaning these believers may be, if we want to pray the way the Bible teaches us to do, we should always address our prayers to the Father.
Now I need to warn you that there are a few instances in the New Testament where believers appear to be praying to Jesus. People may use such verses to confuse you on this issue, because they themselves are already confused about it. An example of this is Acts 7:59-60, when the disciple Stephen is being stoned, and appears to pray to Jesus:
Acts 7:59-60
59 And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon {the Lord} and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"
60 And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And having said this, he fell asleep. (NAS)
Another instance is at the end of the book of Revelation, when the author John says in Rev. 22:20
Rev. 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (NAS)
These are not instances of prayer in the usual sense. In these situations, the speakers were actually in the presence of Jesus Christ. They could see Him, hear Him, and talk to Him directly. These are direct conversations with Jesus by those who could actually see Him and hear Him. In the example of Stephen, we see this a couple of verses earlier, in Acts 7:56, when Stephen says,
Acts 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
In the example of John, we see this at the beginning of the book of Revelation, in Chapter 1, verses 17-18:
Rev 1:17-18
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (NAS)
It is clear that when we pray, the Bible tells us to pray to God the Father. Jesus prayed to the Father, and the Bible tells us that He continues to make intercession with the Father on our behalf. Likewise, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit also prays to the Father for us.
The second point I want to make about prayer is that the Bible tells us to pray "in Jesus name". We are told to do this in a number of passages in the New Testament. One such verse is John 14:13, and another is John 15:16:
John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (NAS)
John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. (NAS)
The phrase "in Jesus name" is not just a bunch of "holy words" that we should throw in at the end of our request to help guarantee that our prayers will get the answer we want. To pray "in Jesus name", it is important for us to understand what that means.
When we can understand and use these words as part of our prayer, we have the assurance that we are asking God for something that Jesus might ask for us, something that is God’s will for our lives. We can see this when we look at another phrase that means "in Jesus name". This other phrase is found in Matthew 6:9-13, where we find the longer version of the Lord’s prayer. In Matt. 6:10, Jesus says,
Matt 6:10 ’Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
The phrase "Thy will be done" is just another way of saying "in Jesus name". When we pray "in Jesus name", we ask for things that we believe Jesus would want for us, things that He would ask the Father for us, things that are God’s will for us.
For example, maybe we are praying for God to let us win millions of dollars in the State lottery this week. If we are a bit uncomfortable asking for that "in Jesus name", then maybe we really know inside that our motives are selfish ones. Maybe this shows us that our motives are really for something else, for God to meet our daily needs for adequate housing, food, clothing, and other needs. If that is the case, then perhaps we should change our prayer request and ask for a good job. Maybe we should ask God to help us stop worrying, because we know from the Bible that God has promised to meet such everyday needs. If we are really thinking about the words "in Jesus name" and we can’t say them with complete comfort and assurance, this may help us to realize that God’s will for us is something else, not what we were going to request.
Sometimes we can’t pray "in Jesus name" because we know that our request violates the clear teaching in the Bible. For instance, maybe we are praying for God to help us marry a certain unbeliever, when we know His Word forbids this.
I once heard a pastor use an example of a criminal getting ready to rob a convenience store. Before he goes inside, he prays that he’ll get all of the money, that he won’t get hurt, and that he won’t have to shoot anyone or get caught by the police. In that situation, if the robber has a little problem saying "in Jesus name", we can clearly understand why.
So my second point is that our prayers should be made "in the name of the Son", that is, "in Jesus name". As we grow to know God’s Word and His will for our lives, we learn more and more to pray "in Jesus name".
My third point is that we should pray "in the power of the Holy Spirit". One verse where we are taught to do this is in Eph. 6:18
Eph. 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
It is the control or filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives that gives divine power to our prayers. If we are spiritual, then we are in fellowship with God and He hears us when we talk to Him. When we are carnal, we are out of fellowship with God. Like the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, we are "in the world", separated from our Father through sin, and He is unable to hear us because we have gone away from Him. David teaches us this principle in Psalm 66:18, where he says:
Ps 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; (NAS)
With unconfessed sin in our hearts, we are carnal, not spiritual, and God does not hear us when we pray. In the book of 1 John, the apostle describes this as the difference between "walking in the light" or "walking in darkness". In 1 John 1:6-7, John says:
I Jn 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and {yet} walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
John then goes on to give us the answer to our sin problem in 1 John 1:9:
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NAS)
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of privately confessing our known sins to God every time we pray. Whenever I pray, it’s always the first thing I do. My experience since becoming a Christian is that believers, at best, only do this sometimes. More often than not, it isn’t done at all. But the Bible teaches us that God does not listen to the prayers of believers who "regard wickedness" or sin in their hearts, who "walk in darkness".
The good news in 1 John 1:9 is that when we confess or name our known sins to God:
- He is faithful to forgive us...He forgives us every time;
- He cleanses us from all unrighteousness...He forgives even our unknown or forgotten sins.
So to summarize my first three points, the Bible teaches us that we should pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we learn to pray Biblically, all three members of the Trinity are involved.
Having just looked at the way we should pray, the next aspect of prayer I want to discuss is the content or makeup of the prayer. I’ve been taught that there are generally four types or categories of content to our prayers. These four types are:
Confession - privately naming our known sins to God;
Adoration - praising God, meditating on His character;
Thanksgiving - thanking God for the things in our lives;
Supplication - the requests we make to God for ourselves and others.
We already spoke about the importance of confessing our sins every time we pray. I want to emphasize some important things to remember about confession:
- It should always be private, never public. Sin is against God only, and so confession should be addressed to Him only. The Bible teaches us this in such verses as Psalm 51:4, when King David says:
Ps 51:4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge. (NAS)
- The meaning of confess in the Bible is to name or to cite. While we may be sorry for sins and sometimes want to make amends in some way, God’s forgiveness does not depend upon how we feel or what we do. When we name our sins, He always forgives us, no matter how bad a sin or how often we have committed it. We are clearly taught this in 1 John 1:9.
- The forgiveness that God promises us when we name our sins is not a license or permission for us to keep sinning. Rather, it is a way God gives us of putting our failures behind us and moving on spiritually.
The second type or category of prayer is adoration or praise. In this type of prayer, we praise or adore God for who He is. We meditate upon aspects of God such as His power, His love, His constant presence in our lives, His perfect knowledge, and His provisions for us. This adoration or praise time during prayer can include singing hymns if you enjoy doing that, or maybe just listening to some Christian music that praises God. You can praise God for His word, the Bible, and what it means to you. If you play a musical instrument, you can do this to praise Him during prayer. We see a Biblical example of praise in Psalm 150:1-6:
Ps 150:1-6
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (NAS)
Whatever helps you to show God your adoration, your praise of Him, can be done during this type of prayer.
A third category or type of prayer is thanksgiving. We are told in God’s word always to give thanks to God:
Eph 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; (NAS)
Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, {do} all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (NAS)
There are so many ways in which we can thank God. We can thank Him for our salvation, for the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus made for us. We can thank God for the eternal rewards He has for us when we reach heaven. We can thank Him for providing our needs each day: our job, our home, food, clothing, and our health. We should thank God for our families and friends, for the people who mean the most to us in our lives. The more we think about what God has given to us, the more we realize how much we have for which to give Him thanks.
We can even thank God for the struggles in our lives, because through those trials, we can grow closer to the Lord. Once we reach eternity, God promises us "no more pain, no more sorrow", so consider something. The struggles we have now are the only opportunities we are ever going to have in all of eternity to see God’s faithfulness to us at such times.
The last category of kind of prayer is supplication. This is the time when we ask God for things, for ourselves and others. We are told to do this in verses such as Hebrews 4:16:
Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. (NAS)
We can pray that God makes wisdom and courage available to the leaders of our country. We can ask Him for chances to share the gospel with unsaved family and friends. We can use such times to pray for the sick, not only for their healing, but for strength and comfort. Pastors and evangelists need us to pray for them, especially for protection for them and their families. There are so many opportunities for us to seek God’s help in our own lives and in the lives of others. God wants us to bring our needs to Him, as a Father wants to help His children, because that’s what we are to Him.
There are a number of things that we should not do when we pray. Many of these are prohibited directly by the Bible, and some indirectly because they would violate the privacy or rights of other believers.
- Do not pray "to be seen" by men, to draw attention to yourself. This may include things such as using a lot of verses in your prayer to impress people, praying a long prayer, and even praying in a special "prayer voice" which is different than your usual voice. Other people may not know if you are doing things to get attention, but God knows your heart, and that’s who you are supposed to be praying to. The Bible says:
Matt 6:5-6
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)
- Do not pray in a babbling or repetitious manner, either publicly or privately. Examples of this might be muttering phrases over and over, such as "Oh yes, Jesus!", "Praise God!", "Hallelujah!", and "Amen!". Muttering such phrases repetitiously doesn’t mean your prayer is spiritual or any more likely to be answered. Your prayers should be to the point, especially public prayers. Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 6:7,
Matt 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (NIV)
- Do not publicly confess sin, either your own nor anyone else’s. Confession of sin is a personal matter between the believer and God only (Psalm 51:4). Publicly confessing sin is a violation of God’s word, and can lead other believers to sin as well (mental attitude sins such as lust, anger, jealousy, judging; sins of the tongue such as gossiping and maligning; overt sins based on bitterness, legalism and self-righteousness). For example, if a church member gets up and publicly confesses sexual sin, this could lead others that are listening to have lustful thoughts, to mentally judge the confessing person, and to later gossip about him.
- Do not publicly gossip about another believer by disguising it as a prayer request for that person. For example, do not say, "I think we should pray for Joe, who is having a problem with drinking right now." Be very careful and discerning about what you share publicly concerning someone else, always safeguarding their privacy. This may mean that only you can intercede for that person’s situation.
- Likewise, do not brag publicly about yourself by disguising it as a thanksgiving. For example, don’t say, "I want to thank God for helping me to win that promotion and award at work," when your real desire is to let everyone know what you’ve done.
- Be quiet while another person is praying, and wait your turn (1 Cor. 14:27, 31, 33, 40). Public prayer depends much on the concentration and the mutual courtesy of all persons present. No believer should do anything that can be distracting to others, out of consideration for the entire gathering. This may include talking or whispering, raising of hands or standing, noisy handling of personal belongings, or exiting or entering in a noisy manner. Many of these things, while a normal part of our own personal prayer time at home, may be distracting to others and therefore inappropriate in public. The issue is one of love and consideration for other believers.
- Don’t put out a fleece (Gideon in Judges 6:17,37,39). Don’t ask God for a sign by saying things like, "God, if you want me to do THIS, then you do THAT so I’ll know"; "God, if you want me to take that new job, then have them phone me sometime tonight." It shows a lack of faith to ask God for signs, and often limits God to only a few of our predetermined choices.
Believers in the Church have a number of false ideas or attitudes about prayer, and I’d like to briefly mention a number of these:
- Prayer is a spiritual gift, and I do not have it. This is not true. Every believer has the privilege, the responsibility, and opportunity to pray for themselves and others.
1 Tim. 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. (NAS)
- Prayer is personal and should not be done with other believers. This contradicts the principle of team prayer taught by Jesus (Matt. 18:20).
Matt 18:19-20
19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst." (NAS)
- Prayer is optional for a believer. No. Prayer is commanded of believers by God. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17,
1 Thes 5:17 pray without ceasing; (NAS)
- I don’t have time to pray. This is just an excuse. If you have no time for prayer, then you have no true relationship with God, and are a slave to the details of life.
- I don’t know how to pray. While this may be true, it is still just another poor excuse. We learn from God’s word how to pray, and while we are learning, the Holy Spirit is helping us.
- My mind wanders while I pray. Prayer does require concentration. Often this problem can be solved by praying shorter prayers more often.
- I don’t know the right words to pray as in the Bible. There is no sacred language to use in praying. Simply express your desires in your own words.
- Prayer is more effective if done in the church. There are no sacred buildings in the present Church Age. Every believer is a temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
1 Cor. 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and {that} the Spirit of God dwells in you? (NAS)
1 Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (NAS)
- I never see any answers to my prayers. You may not recognize the answers because you do not know enough of God’s word to do so. Maybe circumstances in your life do not allow God to answer, such as unconfessed sin or a prayer in opposition to God’s will.
Many born-again believers abuse prayer, that is, they use prayer in ways for which it was not designed by God. There are several ways to abuse prayer, such as:
- Using prayer as a way for you to direct God to fulfill your plans for gaining material things. Rather, prayer should prepare you to receive His solution to your needs.
- Using prayer as a means of controlling other people’s lives. For example, a believer might pray that God will make someone love him, or that God will somehow make a person believe in Christ. God will not violate the free will of others to answer your request.
- Using prayer as a substitute to replace the consistent study of the word of God. Prayer is not designed to take the place of learning God’s word (John 15:7-10). Many people pray for things that the Bible tells us are acquired in some other way. For example, many pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit, when the Bible teaches that this results from confessing sin. People may also pray for wisdom, but wisdom can only come from learning God’s word.
- Using prayer as a substitute for exercising our spiritual gift. Every believer receives at least one spiritual gift at the moment of salvation to be used for God (1 Cor. 12:11). Prayer is not a substitute for a believer learning what that spiritual gift is, and using it in the way God desires.
- Using prayer to replace showing forth the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). These include virtues such as love, patience, and kindness towards others.
- Using prayer as a replacement for witnessing for Christ. Instead of sharing the gospel with someone when we have a chance to do so, we pray for them to be saved instead.
In conclusion, the Bible tells us in James 5:16,
James 5:16 ...the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (NAS)
This verse can be claimed by any believer who knows what the Bible says about prayer. Our prayers are effective when we direct them to the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers are righteous when they come from a believer who has confessed any known sin and is therefore in fellowship with God. Lastly, our prayers will accomplish much when they are in Jesus name, when we pray wanting God’s will in answering them, and when we are not trying to impose our own will upon God.
Let’s close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the opportunity to gather as a body of believers to worship you in song, music, study of your Word, and in prayer. Be with each of us this week and Lord, teach us to pray as Jesus taught His disciples 2000 years ago. We want to grow closer to you and be more like Jesus, and in His name we pray, amen.
Copyright © 2000, Frank J. Gallagher,
Abiding In The Word,
http://members.aol.com/abidingitw
All materials are written by me and are copyrighted. These materials may be freely copied and distributed for the purpose of study and teaching, so long as they are made available to others free of charge, and my copyright is included. These materials may not, in any manner, be sold nor used to solicit "donations" from others, nor may they be included in anything you intend to copyright, sell, or offer for a fee. God the Holy Spirit freely provides this knowledge in grace, and so do I. My copyright is exercised to keep these materials freely available to all.
