"One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1) Jesus lived an exemplary prayer life. He prayed non-stop. He prayed continually. He prayed without ceasing. He didn't waste time holding prayer seminars, conventions and workshops. He didn't waste time writing books on prayer. He just prayed. Most times, we talk about prayer so much that we fail to actually pray. We sing and preach about prayer so much that we neglect to pray....
The disciples of Jesus approached Him one day after one of His prayer sessions. They were absolutely bewildered by the Master's lack of interest in teaching them how to pray. They asked around and found out that other masters were teaching their disciples how to pray - John has taught his disciples how to pray.So armed with their load of evidence they called for a meeting. They fixed the meeting at a time - say 2pm - when they knew that Jesus would be off to pray, and they timed the meeting not to exceed the duration that Jesus would stay away for prayer. While Jesus went off to pray, they started their meeting. I could see Peter trying to summon the attention of his follow disciples.
"Brethren", he could have started, "We all know why we scheduled this meeting. We want to deliberate and take an unanimous decision on what we should do concerning prayer. Our Master has been going out everyday to pray. He never takes us along. He never tells us what He does during those time. Look at John, he has taught his disciples how to pray. Our Master has never even brought up the topic for once. He has never even asked us if we prayed. We need to do something."
There was possibly some noise, and reactions; and more noises and deliberation until minutes or hours later, they reached a consensus and appointed one of them to approach the Master and ask Him - no, demand that He teach them how to pray.
I learn a lot from this scripture. We usually jump into praying without trying to understand what it is all about. Most things we do today in the name of prayer are unacceptable to God. Prayer isn't talking to God. The truth is that God knows everything in your heart. He knows all your problems. Why then does God want us to pray? Prayer is a fellowship. Prayer is a habit. Prayer isn't telling God things He doesn't know, or reminding Him things He has forgotten. Prayer is an avenue for us to be drawn closer into fellowship with God. Prayer allows God to own us.
When God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Bible tells us that He would always come down to visit with them in the evenings. That is what prayer is for us today. Our moments of visiting with God. Prayer is communication, a communication between a Father and His beloved child. It must be based on a relationship. Prayer is not something to be trifled with. That is why God says that some prayers are an abomination to Him (Prov 28:9)
To be continued...