During the Pandemic when we were all stuck inside the house, some people used the time to develop new skills or take up new hobbies or interests. I, myself, learned one new skill also. I wish I could say that it’s useful and helpful and earns me a lot of money and recognition. It doesn’t. I decided to spend my time during the pandemic learning how to solve a rubik’s cube. 

I’m more of a visual learner. I need you to show me how to do something before I really understand how to go and do it myself. So I played this Youtube video on how to solve a rubik’s cube step by step. I’d have to pause, rewind, replay over and over and over again until I was ready to move on to the next step. But eventually I got it. And I memorized the algorithms to help me solve it at any time. 

WIth any skill, we really need someone to teach us if we are going to learn it properly. In todays passage, we find the disciples asking Jesus to teach them a new skill. 

Luke 11:1-13, “He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,

Father,[a]

your name be honored as holy.

Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves also forgive everyone

in debt to us.

And do not bring us into temptation.”

The Lord’s Prayer is a model for us on how to pray. It can be prayed directly and repeated but actually it serves as a reminder of the different elements of prayer. Here are some of the elements found in The Lord’s Prayer:

ADORATION

When we say, “Hallowed be thy name” we are declaring that God is holy. His name is holy. We are offering up praise and adoration to him. We are worshiping with our prayer.

CONSECRATION

When we ask for “His Kingdom to come and His will to be done” we are consecrating our lives to Him. We are separating ourselves from everything else so that the Lord can do a work in us and through us. This was the same prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane – “Not my will, Lord, but yours.”

SUPPLICATION

“Give us this day our daily bread” includes all of our needs that we bring to Him. The Lord wants to hear our concerns, our requests, and our burdens. The Lord provides us with food and sustenance, breath and life and health, and everything in between. Our prayer list is long, but He can handle all of it. We simply need to give it to Him. 

CONFESSION

“And forgive us our sins” reminds us to confess our sins regularly to our Father. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

INTERCESSION

“As we forgive those who trespass against us.” Forgiveness is a two way street. This is a good barometer to see if you have forgiven someone who has wronged you. Can you pray for them? Have you prayed for them? What does that prayer sound like? Does it sound like, “Lord, smite my enemies. I hope she gets what she deserves.” Or does it sound like, “Forgive her, Lord. Help her see the error of her ways and help her follow you and your ways. Help me to love her and show grace and mercy to her.”

PROTECTION

“And lead us not into temptation.” Pray for protection from the evil one. Pray against sin taking a stronghold in your life. Pray for righteousness to prevail for you, your family, your city, your state, your nation, your world. Pray that morality wins over immorality today. Pray that we walk in truth and in God’s light and not in the darkness.

Jesus was modeling for them what it looked like to talk to God in prayer. This lesson only came about because the disciples were sparked with wonder from watching and listening to Jesus pray. Can you imagine being in Jesus’ presence while he prays to the Father? We have some of his prayers documented in Scripture but He spent a LOT of time in prayer and so there is much we don’t know about those conversations with God. But the disciples got to witness many of them. 

And he taught them by allowing them to watch Him pray. He made it simple for them and it is still simple for us. It was as if Jesus was taking his own children under his wing and instructing them on how to pray. While prayer has supernatural outcomes, it begins with natural discourse. Knowing that prayer is simply talking to God as you would a parent or a friend is an easy place to start. 

Think of your own children if you have any. In the same way Jesus taught his disciples to pray, we should be teaching our own children how to pray. 

Children can be intimidated when it comes to praying, unless they watch you do it and see how easy it can be. Imitation is a powerful tool for leading kids in prayer. After watching you pray, encourage them to pray their own prayers or you may want to start even smaller by having them repeat sentence prayers you say with them, like the Lord’s Prayer. Children will learn quickly and begin to pray their own thoughts and feelings, bringing their personal concerns to the Lord. 

Listening to my children pray is like listening to their hearts. I hear their concerns and come to know them on a deeper level. They can be honest with God in ways they are not always honest with me. So listening to them pray gives me insight into how they are feeling and what they have been thinking about.

And when our children hear US pray, it opens their hearts to the power and possibility of their own prayers. Listening to the prayers of their parents, children can be sparked with wonder. It opens their eyes to the ways God is at work in the world around them. This is a catalyst for deeper spirituality within both us and our kids. As writer Cheri Fuller explains, “Wonder often precedes worship.” 

What I’m saying is this, if you want to learn to pray, get in the presence of powerful pray-ers. If you want your children to be able to pray, get them in the presence of powerful pray-ers as well.

There are several acronyms that help us to remember how to pray. Many of us know and use the acronym – ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. 

A friend of mine broke it down even further to help us and our children pray WITH God: Wow, I’m Sorry, Thanks, Help!. These words are the diving boards for your child to jump into the deep waters of the pool of prayer. All of these elements are found in The Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus continues, Luke 11:5-13, “He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son[h] asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

God gives good gifts to His children. What an encouraging promise. Jesus is teaching us here to be persistent with prayer. Don’t give up. Just because we don’t immediately get an answer does not mean that He will not answer. 

We must ask. We must seek. We must knock.

Let’s do a prayer exercise right now using the Lord’s Prayer as our model.

1. Adoration
   • Spend a few moments adoring God for who he is and all that He has done. Take this time to offer Him your worship.
2. Consecration
   • Now take a moment to consecrate yourself to the Lord. Pray for His will to be done in your life. Surrender to His will. 
3. Supplication
   • What do you want to ask from the Lord? Do you have a need? Ask the Lord at this time.
4. Confession
   • Confess your sins to Him now. Seek forgiveness. Turn your heart back to God and repent. Take a few moments to center your heart on him and away from any idols that may have taken His place in your life.
5. Intercession
   • Who needs your forgiveness? Who needs the power of your prayers right now. Take a moment to lift someone up by name.
6. Protection
   • Let’s finish this prayer exercise seeking the Lord and asking him to keep you from sin. To give direction and wisdom to our leaders. To guide our steps. 

Prayer is sometimes like a puzzle. You need all of the pieces in just the right place before the puzzle is fully complete. Prayer is a skill much more valuable than learning to solve a rubik’s cube. When you learn to pray, you’re not simply filling the time, you’re redeeming it. 

Make the most of your time this week. Spend as much as you can asking, seeking, and knocking.