The Lord's Prayer: The PatternSample

Why We Pray

Jesus’ friends could have asked Him to teach them to walk on water (while turning it into wine). Yet a conversation is recorded in which the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. And their plea came right after Jesus finished praying. They were obviously impressed, recognizing Him as the prayer expert. They must have seen in His life something of the power and peace that prayer yielded. Jesus consistently prioritized prayer, and throughout the Gospels we see His followers growing in their expression of, and their passion for, prayer.

And yet, despite Jesus teaching His disciples about prayer and asking them to pray for Him, they still fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was betrayed. From time to time, we may have forgotten what we’ve learned about prayer. Or maybe our enthusiasm for prayer ebbs and flows. The disciples may have fallen asleep in the garden, but a few weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection, they were intrepidly praying, praising God, and beginning to change the known world. Something significant happened when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray–and we can ask Him too.

Fascinatingly, in ancient Jewish teaching, a synonym for "living soul" (used in Genesis 2) is derived from the verb meaning "to ask, request, or pray." Humanity was created to be "the creature that prays"–the one in communion and intimate relationship with the creator. We’re made to connect conversationally with God.

In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." The phrase "Let Us make" points to God’s power and sovereignty, and the phrase "let them have" reminds us that our only responsibility in prayer is to receive whatever joy, authority, opportunity, peace, or other provision God makes for us. That means you’re not responsible to be the answer to your own prayers. Ask yourself what it might look like for you to change your heart’s posture in prayer so that you’re receiving the divine breath of God into your natural circumstances, surrendering to Him, and then becoming an expression of His will and way on Earth.

Prayer isn’t optional. It’s the mandate by which God has created you and the mandate He’s given you to live by. Prayer will center you and teach you to rest, reminding you to let God do the doing, while you position yourself to receive. The prayer Jesus modelled isn’t something to be learned by heart and repeated dutifully. It’s a pattern you can lay over every conversation with your Heavenly Father. No matter your age or stage of life, you can unlock the presence, power, and purposes of God in your life as you turn to your Savior and say, "Jesus, teach me to pray."