“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.’” – Luke 11:1

My son recently started playing basketball for the local parks and rec league. He has never played basketball before and ended up getting put on a team of kids who had played not only basketball, but football together in the past. At first, I could tell he was a little frustrated. It seemed like all the other kids naturally knew what to do. They knew each other’s strengths, they knew the vocabulary specific to the sport, and they knew where to be and what to do on the court. My son felt like everyone else was just naturally good at basketball except him. However, as we explained to him that the other kids have played before and we expressed how important it is to listen and work hard at practice, he has found himself quickly catching up to the others. He is beginning to really enjoy the game, and he is beginning to play very well.

When we go to church or sit in a Bible study and hear someone offer an effortless and meaningful prayer to God, we make the mistake of thinking, “some people are just naturally better at praying.” But contrary to popular belief, prayer does not come naturally. The Lord’s Prayer appears in the book of Luke as a response to the disciples’ request for Jesus to teach them to pray. They understood that, if they were ever going to pray like Jesus, then they needed to learn it from Jesus. Prayer is a discipline that only becomes natural after it is put into practice on a regular basis. When you hear someone beautifully express their gratitude, requests, or struggles to God, it is not just their natural talent. It is because they are having that conversation with him on a regular basis every day of the year. Do you want to pray like the great men or women of God around you? Then start doing it. Day in and day out. Let your very first prayer be, “Lord, teach me to pray.”

Heavenly Father, teach us to pray. Let us first look at the example of Jesus and then convict us of the need to make this an important discipline in our lives. And then through that discipline, make our conversation with You become as common and natural as breathing.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon