One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
-Luke 11:1-4 NIV
If Jesus were physically present today, and you had the opportunity to sit down and receive some free consulting from Him, what would you ask Him about? What would you ask the Son of God to instruct you on? How to make tough life decisions? How to master time management? How to increase productivity? How to captivate an audience? How to recover from burnout? How to build a business? How to raise a family?
I’m sure Jesus would have some profound and practical truths for all these questions, but the disciples didn’t ask these. Instead, the disciples who traveled with Him, ate with Him, and ministered with Him– who knew Him better than most and who saw how Jesus lived both publicly and privately– asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.
The disciples understood something we often forget. There is no greater practice to grow in than that of prayer. Jesus’ prayer life shaped, empowered, and directed His ministry. The strength of Jesus’ ministry was His communion with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Prayer was the bedrock of all the teachings, wonders, and miracles we read about in the Gospels.
Prayer is not simply a spiritual discipline, a Christian habit, or a practice we turn to when in need of help, comfort or strength. Yes, prayer is these things, but it is so much more. It’s the means through which we commune with our Creator and develop and deepen our relationship with Him.
Today, how will you prioritize prayer? Will you, like the disciples, ask Jesus to teach you how to pray? And will you allow prayer to not only change things (and it certainly will), but will you allow prayer to profoundly change you?
*Want to develop the life-changing habit of reading your BIble and praying every day? Or are you looking to create more intentional space to get away from all the noise and hear God speaking to you? Learn more about the Seek First Journal and buy yours here.