Pray 4 Prayer-Ability

Pop-quiz. [Groans all around.]

Close your books. Take out a sheet of paper and a pencil.

It’s time to answer just one question. Are you ready? Here’s the question:

If you could ask Jesus to teach you one thing, and only one thing, what would it be? [Music from the TV game show, Jeopardy!, plays in the background.]

Time’s up. Pencils down. How did you do? Don’t worry there are no wrong answers.

Now, open your Bible to Luke 11:1. Here is how one of the disciples of Jesus answered the question: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Wow!

He didn’t ask Jesus to teach him how to walk on water. He didn’t ask Jesus to teach him how to heal people or raise them from the dead. He didn’t ask Jesus to teach him how to perform other miracles like feeding 5,000 people. He just wanted Jesus to teach him to pray.

And, Jesus said to pray like this:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Short. Sweet. To the point. Not pompous, or long-winded. A masterpiece of simplicity.

And, here is the best part. Just like the Lord’s Prayer, there are only 3 short, sweet and simple rules for “prayer-ability.” They are:

1. Just Pray
2. Pray Often
3. Keep Praying

Since prayer is merely a conversation with God, it is really easy. Just talk to him about all the things on your heart. But, if you run out of things to talk about, I am sure that Jesus wouldn’t mind if you borrowed His.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank-you for teaching me how to pray. Thank-you for letting me share with you all the things on my heart. Thank-you for helping me improve my “prayer-ability.” In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Wikipedia: Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Lord’s Prayer, and Sermon on the Mount

Look-It Up:

A longer, more familiar version of the Lord’s Prayer is found in the Sermon on the Mount in the 6th Chapter of Matthew (the first book of the New Testament).

This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one,
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
(New International Version)

Free Bonus:

Busted. Okay, I didn’t know what to call it, so I just made up the word “Prayer-Ability.” Please, don’t tell my high school English teacher.

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As you can well imagine, prayer is a popular topic. Here is a short list of some of my favorite books on prayer:

• With Christ In The School Of Prayer by Andrew Murray
• Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
• Prayer: The Ultimate Conversation by Charles F. Stanley
• My Search for Prayers Satan Hates by Steve Hemphill (published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC)

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The recent movie War Room has spawned several books on prayer. They are:

• The Battle Plan for Prayer: From Basic Training to Targeted Strategies by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick
• Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer

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