Read | Luke 11:1–4
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.”
He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,Father,
your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone
in debt to us.
And do not bring us into temptation.”
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
Focus
In preparation for today’s sermon, read this devotional from Kraig McNutt, M.Div.
Teach Us to Pray
based on Luke 11:1–4
“Whenever you pray, say, Father..." —Luke 11:1–4
Does it strike you as odd that Jesus' disciples are asking this question of their teacher-rabbi, "Teach us to pray"?
These are the same disciples who had just watched demons submit (Luke 10:17) to their word (command), after being given power and authority (Luke 9:1–6) by their teacher—Jesus!
The disciples already knew how to pray. These men prayed every day—several times a day. At fixed hours, with fixed words—like the Shema of Deuteronomy 6. Blessings over every meal. Blessings before they lay down for bed.
So, what were they really asking?
The answer is hinted in the opening verse, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples."
Did you see it? "Just as John also taught his disciples."
John, himself a teacher-rabbi, had taught his disciples how to pray. Of course he would've. That's what a rabbi does.
Twenty-first-century moderns can easily miss it. But first century disciples (also called talmidim) of Jewish rabbis wanted to do everything like their teacher so they could be like him.
These same disciples had already gotten the earlier lesson (see Luke 6:40) that "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” In chapter nine the disciples had healed the sick and cast out demons.
Wasn't that being like Jesus?
Yes, it was. But the real badge for a follower—a disciple—of Jesus is this: do you pray to the same Father as Jesus did?
In Luke 10:21 and 22, Jesus prays out loud, "I praise you, Father….No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him."
Now there is instruction in Luke 11:2, "Whenever you pray, say, Father…." When we pray, we are praying to our Father. Not to the man upstairs, or the Big Guy in the skies, or to some higher power.
Rubbish.
He is your Father. Prayer doesn’t boil down to a technique to master or the perfect words to recite, over and over. It’s about a name you’re allowed to use because it’s built on a relationship.
We wear the name proudly, like a badge. Start every prayer with that name—Father!
Pray
Ask God to connect you with a spiritual mentor, learning from their wisdom so you can understand what lifelong obedience to God looks like in practice.
Going Deeper
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.