Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

"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."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
'Father,[a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.'

...
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Luke 11:1-4, 9-13

I read this excerpt from my study bible about this passage: Prayer isn't like giving "the Santa Claus in the sky" a wish list of what you want because you've been good. And, it's not rubbing the bottle, forcing the genie to grant you 3 wishes because he's obligated. Instead, prayer is the humble recognition of your own lack and God's great ability to supply. It's the respectful, persistent pouring out of your heart's desires to the only one who can change or fulfill them. It's your expression of your longing to commune with God. Perhaps your first prayer request needs to be, "Lord, teach me to pray."

Have you ever used the Lord's prayer as a way of shaping your own prayers? I have found it a very powerful way to model my prayer for the day, following His example. If you journal when you pray it can be an excellent tool to follow, putting the prayer into your own words as you write. Try it!

If I'm being totally honest, which can be hard to be transparent and admit my lack of faith sometimes, vs. 9-10 are very hard for me. There was a time, following a tragedy in my life that I just couldn't even believe these words were in the Bible. To me it was saying that if I asked - I would receive what I asked for. So...in light of what had happened, loosing my baby after praying so hard and so much to not loose her, then God wasn't living up to this promise in scripture. But, what I have realized now is that I wasn't reading it correctly. When I now read it more carefully, it says "For everyone who asks receives" - it doesn't say what they receive. It doesn't say that they receive what they ask for OR when they ask for it. It does say that we can seek God and He will reveal Himself to us, and we will begin to know more of Him. He will meet us where we are when we seek Him, and He will open the door for a deeper relationship with Him.

Have you struggled with an understanding of prayer and viewing God as a "wish list granter" in your life? I challenge you to examine your prayer life and model your prayers after Jesus' words today.