“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.’
Jesus said to them, ‘When you pray…'” (Luke 11:1-2).
The disciples had seen others pray. Seeing someone pray was nothing new.
But the way Jesus prayed was different.
What was different? Well, Jesus was different. Jesus would pray, and after prayer he was different. After Jesus spent time with God in prayer, Jesus was changed.
The disciples had never seen such a thing.
So they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray the way Jesus does. So Jesus does. He teaches them how to pray.
In his instruction to the disciples regarding prayer, there’s no instruction about the posture of one who prays, or the location of the one who prays, or the length of prayer, nor the time of prayer. Jesus simply tells the disciples, “When you pray…”
There is no magic formula for how one prays. The thing that matters is that we pray. When we pray, it’s not so much to get our way. The purpose of prayer is to seek God and God’s will.
That’s what made Jesus’ prayer so different. That’s why Jesus was different after he prayed compared to who he was before Jesus prayed. Jesus encountered God.
It’s not how long, or using the right words, or about when or where to pray.
Pray. Seek God. Always. Throughout the day. Seek God. Seek God’s will.
Pray.
Praxis: Faith in Action 