If there is one thing we learn from the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11:1, it is that the best ways to think about prayer is to view it as simply having a conversation with God.
If you can talk to a spouse, coworker, friend, or neighbor, they can talk to God in prayer. No special training or vocabulary is needed. No special posture and location are necessary.
Whatever you would talk to a friend about, you can talk to God about. Wherever you might speak to a friend, you can speak to God.
You do not need to be gathered together with others, though sometimes that is helpful for the sake of the conversation. You do not have to be in a certain building or room, though sometimes, that is helpful so you can focus on what is being said.
Even still, some people are uncertain of what to say when they pray, since having a conversation with God seems different than having a conversation with a friend. So it is helpful to give people some ideas of the sorts of things that can be said in conversation with God. In the next few posts, we will look at four places in Scripture some people find helpful as they learn to converse with God.
The Disciples’ Prayer
The passage that many people think of as The Lord’s Prayer might better be called “The Disciples’ Prayer.”
Near the middle of the three years of Jesus’ ministry, His disciples noticed that He spent a lot of time in prayer, and they came to Jesus, asking Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).
They did not ask this because they did not know how to pray, for the Jewish people had many daily and weekly times of prayer. But most of these prayers were memorized and recited, and were formal, ceremonial prayers for particular events and holidays.
The disciples must have noticed that Jesus prayed differently. He seemed to talk with God as a man talks to a friend, or a Father. For Jesus, prayer was natural and normal, and the disciples wanted to pray this way as well.
So Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Luke 11:2-4; Matt 6:9-13).
He lists several things to say to God, and several types of prayer requests. But despite how many use this prayer today as something that should be recited on a regular basis, I don’t think Jesus was telling His disciples exactly what they should pray, but was giving them examples of the sorts of things they could pray for. He wasn’t giving them exact words to pray for, but was giving them broad themes and ideas.
And what are these themes and ideas?
They include giving praise and glory to God, and requests for the rule and reign of God to expand on earth, that God provide for our daily needs, and that He would forgive us for the ways we have failed to keep His will, and protect us from further failures. These are basic requests, and can be prominent themes of any person’s prayer life.
When you pray, you can pray similarly. Don’t worry too much about what you are saying or how to say it. Just talk to God the way you would talk to anyone else about whatever is on your heart and mind. That’s how Jesus prayed, and how He taught us to pray as well!
Now, the Lord’s Prayer contains some dangerous prayer requests, which we will look at next time.
Do you want to pray like never before?
Do you what to talk to God like you talk to a friend? Do you want to see more answers to prayer?
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I’m mostly with you on this Jeremy. Jesus didn’t give the Lord’s prayer as a magic incantation (though many believers use it this way); it is supposed to prod us on to deeper levels of conversational prayer with the Lord as you point out. This is clear in the Matt 6 passage which says, “In this manner, therefore, pray…”. But I don’t think that excludes praying it word for word as well; in the Luke passage, Jesus says, “when you pray say…” If thats not a command to pray it word-for-word, I don’t know what is! There are dangers to praying composed prayers, but there are dangers to always winging it too. God wants us to do both as the different wording in the parallel passages indicate. God bless you and your family this thanksgiving!
Thanks, Joe.
Yes, I think that praying written prayers can help us learn to pray better. I love praying the written prayers of Scripture. But as you say, if that is all we do, we never really learn to communicate with God on a personal level. So both are needed.
Praying to God should not be difficult to anyone who had a similarly imaginary friend as a child. If you can have a conversation with the monster that lives under your bed, you can pray with similar results.
Ha! It’s true, I suppose. But I cringe at comparing God to an imaginary friend or a monster under the bed!
Sorry for not joining in the debate but my iPhone is not letting me access the comments. At present I am driving the young people from Uganda who form the Africa Destiny Childrens Choir from Kampala around England United Kingdom. Will be in my home territory again on Saturday so I may have chance to respond then.
I just want to say that I agree on how should pray and I also understand the reason for these controversial questions, but we need to be careful not to cause offense to those who approach our Dad in a different way. I’m sure God considers all the prayers of the longing. Your brother in Christ Clive .
Great input, Clive.
How we talk with God truly is a touchy subject. Maybe one of the more controversial subjects that exists!