Luke 11:1…

“When you pray…”

The operative phrase in the beginning of Luke 11 is, “When.”

Not so much how or why you pray, but when. There is an expectation that you will.

We learn, (I think,) an interesting fact here in that John the Baptist also taught his disciples to pray. We have no recorded information telling us how or what John taught his disciples to pray, but it must have been in similar fashion as Jesus makes no correction of John’s teaching about prayer, and the listeners do not say, “Wow, that’s different than what John said.”

Something else…perhaps the reason Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray is because John taught his disciples to pray. While that may be the case, their prompting presently comes from the fact Jesus IS praying. Jesus set the example for us to pray by praying Himself.

Once Jesus has taught His disciples what pray the emphasis becomes continuing in it.

The words Jesus taught His disciples to pray are so infamous even unbelievers and atheists know them by heart. We do too. Was that the point? Was Jesus teaching His disciples to literally pray these words?

Well, we have the obvious answer, since the words here in Luke 10 are not the exact words contained in Matthew 6. One of those examples is a paraphrase of the other. The point is the exact words do not matter, but to focus on the substance contained in those words does.

WHO we are praying to becomes of primary importance, especially when we hear so many ‘teaching prayers’ where people in prayer meetings seem to be praying in to instruct other people about things rather than talking to God. Our EXAMPLE is to talk to Our Father, Who is in heaven, and then to keep talking to Him as often as we can.

Jesus teaches His disciples to keep praying, and to keep praying, and to keep praying. Never stop praying. Part of the lesson here is God is moved by our continuing prayer.

-Pastor Bill