A Christian Message on Prayer
Prayer is a personal conversation with God, the Creator of all things, who loves you deeply. But are we ever taught how to pray – I wasn’t. But scripture shows that this may have been an issue even in Jesus day.
In Luke 11, the disciples come to Jesus and request, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” At face value, they were asking Jesus for an instruction on the method or words they should use in prayer, and he gave them what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”.
Taking a closer look at the context and Jewish tradition reveals they were seeking much more.
In first-century Jewish culture, rabbis often gave their disciples a framework or “liturgical” approach to prayer that shaped not only their daily practices but also their spiritual identity. By asking for Jesus’s instruction, they wanted a deeper, more authentic connection with God that followed the ways of their own Master—distinct from other rabbinical schools.
The disciples witnessed Jesus’s profound closeness to the Father, frequently retreating alone to pray (Luke 5:16). They recognized that His prayer life wasn’t mere ritual, but a lifeline for strength, guidance, and communion with God. When they said, “Teach us,” they were seeking to learn the heart posture that fostered this level of intimacy and dependence.
John the Baptist had taught his own disciples how to pray, forming a sense of community and shared spiritual practice. Likewise, the disciples of Jesus wanted a unifying “pattern of prayer” that would shape them as a distinct group under the Messiah’s teaching.
Jesus had been revealing deeper truths about God’s Kingdom, mercy, and righteousness. In asking Him to teach them to pray, the disciples were hoping for a prayer life that reflected these new kingdom values—acknowledging God’s holiness, submitting to His will, seeking forgiveness, and depending on Him for daily provision.
It wasn’t just what to pray, but why and how to approach God. Jesus’s eventual answer provided a holistic template that integrated worship, surrender, repentance, and reliance on God’s care and protection.
When the disciples said, “teach us to pray,” they were doing more than asking for a memorized formula. They longed for the kind of deep relationship with the Father they observed in Jesus—a transformative, faith-filled communion with God that went beyond ritual and shaped their very identity as His followers. By teaching them the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave them a concise yet profound framework to engage the Father in a manner that reflected and nurtured the realities of God’s Kingdom.
Ultimately, praying as Jesus taught means approaching God with both reverence and childlike trust, recognizing Him as our loving Father and Lord over all. We worship Him for who He is, confess our sins and receive His forgiveness, and align our hearts with His will and Kingdom purposes. We express our needs and rely on His faithful provision, then listen for His guiding voice. By engaging in this honest, humble, and faith-filled conversation with God, we nurture a deep, transforming relationship—just as the disciples longed for when they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”