The Practice of Prayer

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” Luke 11:1-4

Jesus not only gives us our scriptural pattern for petition in the Sermon on the Mount - He is our pattern. It was as disciples beheld Jesus praying that they beseeched Him to teach them also how to pray.

Before Christ Jesus fed the five thousand, He prayed (Matt. 14:19). Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed as He prepared to be baptized by John (Luke 3:21-22). Christ prayed as He healed the multitude and preached (Mark 1:35). Why would the Son of God need to pray? “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing...” John 5:19

Prayer was the means by which Jesus expressed His dependence upon and devotion to the Father. Even as God’s only begotten Son, He could do nothing except as the Father willed. His example is ours. Prayer is the means by which we too declare our dependence upon and devotion to Christ.

By God’s design we can do nothing apart from Christ’s enabling - nothing that will stand in the day of judgment. We were created to lean on Him. If Jesus did not preach, heal, minister, and work miracles apart from prayer, can we expect to carry on His work apart from a life of prayer?

“God does nothing except as His people pray.” -E.M. Bounds