Jesus’ Model for Prayer

January 4, 2015 Background Scripture: Luke 11:1 – 13 Lesson Passage: Luke 11:1 – 13 Prayer is the focus of this month’s Sunday School lessons. What a wonderful way to begin our year of Sunday morning study. I think it is fitting that the series begin with Jesus’ Model prayer found in the Gospel of Luke. On an occasion when Jesus had finished praying, one of his disciples requested that he teach them to pray just as John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. The gospel accounts give many occasions where Jesus prayed. Jesus did not repeat the words of the prayer found in our lesson today on any of those occasions. Therefore, we refer to this as the Model Prayer because Jesus gave it to his disciples in answer to their request. I think it is prudent to understand the context out of which Jesus presented this model to his disciples before we dare attempt to dissect this prayer model. Based on the request of Jesus’ disciple, either Jesus had not previously taught them concerning the nature or method of prayer or it was not clear to the disciple that Jesus had already taught this lesson and perhaps he had missed the point. Nevertheless, this disciple had observed Jesus’ prayer life and at least some of them were familiar with the prayer life of John the Baptist also. The scriptures teach that at least two of the disciples of Jesus had previously followed John the Baptist before they became followers of Jesus. John the Baptist was a man of prayer and apparently he taught his followers to be as well. Jesus was teaching the same thing except he did it by example. I believe that students are most receptive and ready to learn when they come seeking instructions. There are two times when followers make excellent students: first when they have a desire to know and secondly when they feel the need to know. Note that the request is not to be taught “how” to pray but to be taught “to pray”. Of course if you know “how to pray”, situations in life will teach you “to pray”. Now let’s consider some points to be learned from this model prayer. God should be approached reverently and not in a casual or flippant attitude or disposition. God should be respected for His perfect holiness and divine sovereignty. The only completely righteous desire we could ever have is for the manifestation of God’s will in our lives and in our midst. God is the only one who is able to forgive us for our sin and cleanse us of unrighteousness. We should seek divine forgiveness for our sin and offenses towards God. Our will should align with God’s will such that we are willing to extend to others the same thing that we desire of God for ourselves. Regardless of how temptations come in our lives, we should seek God’s deliverance from them. Jesus went on to show his disciples how we expect certain reactions or behavior from people who are limited and we should learn to channel those same types of expectations towards God, who is all-powerful. Therefore, we should ask for what we have need of, seek for the things we desire, and go to the proper source to receive them. God is the only source who is unlimited. Robert C. Hudson December 24, 2014