Praying Effectively II

"Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1). This was the profound request of Jesus' disciples, and which should be the request of all of us. By ourselves we can do nothing (John 15:5), and so even in prayer, we need to be taught by Him who had the most intimate of prayer relationship with the Father. Jesus did not trivialize the disciple's request, but Luke opens verse 2 with the words: "And he said unto them, When ye pray,say...", and what follows is a prayer that we refer to as The Lord's Prayer. The brevity of this prayer, 58 words recorded by Luke, is a reminder to us that it is not the length of our prayers that matters, but rather the sincerity of our hearts, a belief in God's sovereignty, and a right relationship with Him.

It is important to note the elements of The Prayer. At the very beginning it honors God, it sought the replication of the will of God on earth as it is in heaven, it recognizes God as the source for our daily provisions, it seeks the forgiveness of our sins in direct proportion to the extent we forgive others, and it seeks God's leading in our daily walk. Obviously, the words of Jesus were well chosen because in effect, the essence of His teaching was faith in God and purity of heart. We cannot hope to pray effectively if we have unforgiveness in our hearts. The Psalmist David wrote: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart..." (Psalm 23:3,4). It is interesting that Jesus did not simply teach asking for forgiveness, but He made it conditional upon our forgiving those who had wronged us. The spirit of unforgiveness is the padlock that chains our prayers to the ground. Whenever Jesus taught on prayer and faith, He made the effectiveness of those prayers conditional on our forgiving those who have wronged us. In Mark 11:25, 26 we read: "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Heavy words indeed, but there is certainly no ambiguity to them.

As we enter our respective times of prayer, may we come to God with an openness that reflects all Jesus taught. Of course, we cannot hide who we are from our Him. Whether we choose to be transparent or not, He is fully aware of the condition of our hearts, and lest we forget, it is He who has set the terms and conditions on which He will answer our prayers. Who better to know what pleased God than God's Son? The words of Mary, Jesus' mother, was never more profound: "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5). I submit that is advice worth following.