Lord Teach Us

"Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples" (Luke 11:1).

Oh, what precious words those are to me, for they show me that prayer is a skill that can be learned. If prayer is a skill, then it is something I can develop with time and practice.

I think we often become absolutely overwhelmed when we hear of the faith and prayer life of others. We think, "I could never attain that." So we become defeated before we ever start. Or we compare ourselves with others. We read of saints who spent hours, days, nights in prayer, and we cannot even pray for ten, twenty, or thirty minutes. How then could we ever pray for hours each day, let alone whole days or nights? We feel we will never make it, so we give up before we ever begin.

But you can attain! Just know that it will only come little by little with knowledge, with application, with time, with experience. The disciples knew this, and so they began where we each must begin if we are ever to learn-- with a hunger to be taught. They had seen Jesus praying (Luke 11:1), and they knew He understood how to pray. They had a hunger to know how to pray, so they went to the Expert.

Lord Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days by Kay Arthur