Teach us to pray

Andrew Dickson writes about the importance of corporate prayer.

They marvelled at how he could calm howling winds and crashing waves with a whisper. They stood in awe as people with all kinds of ailments returned to their homes as good as new. They looked at each other with wondrous confusion as a little boy’s lunch suddenly became an all-you-can-eat buffet, satisfying the appetite of thousands of hungry people. But more than the mighty acts and the miracles, there was something else about Jesus which captured their attention.

It was something they had watched and heard him do throughout the whole time they had been following him. It was something they desperately wanted to do for themselves. And so, plucking up the courage, they humbly approached their Master with a simple request: “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1).

What happened next on that mountainside has gone down in history. With his disciples and an eager crowd hanging on his every word, Jesus taught them a radical new way to pray:

“Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:2–4)

As followers of Jesus, prayer is as vital to our existence as eating, drinking, sleeping, and even breathing.

Jesus’ words are among the most famous and familiar ever spoken. In just a few short sentences, Jesus provides a model for all our prayers. He teaches us how to pray, what to pray for, and who we are to pray to.

Throughout time, and all over the world, billions of Christians have repeated these well-known words which invite us to talk to God as our loving heavenly Father, worship God for who he is and what he is like, say sorry for our sin and all the ways we mess up, receive his life-changing forgiveness, ask for our everyday needs to be provided, and pray boldly that the beauty and reality of the kingdom of God would be known all over the world.

Praying together

But there’s another important aspect of the Lord’s Prayer we can’t ignore. While the disciples approach Jesus, likely wanting to know how they can pray just like him in their own everyday lives, Jesus responds instead by inviting and teaching them how to pray together.

There’s no ‘I’, or ‘me’ in Jesus’ prayer. Rather, Jesus uses plurals like ‘us’, ‘our’, and ‘we’ to show his disciples – both then and today – that praying with others should be an essential part of the life of every believer and every local church.

It seems obvious to say that regular corporate prayer ought to be a vital part of a congregation’s life and rhythm. Prayer is a big deal. As followers of Jesus, prayer is as vital to our existence as eating, drinking, sleeping, and even breathing. Prayer should be the fuel in the engine of everything that happens in our churches.

So much good

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “It is in fact the most normal thing in the common Christian life to pray together.”

So much good comes from God’s children praying together, whether we do so in the Sunday service, at the corporate prayer meeting, or in another ministry setting, like small groups. Worshipping God together with our prayers of adoration provides us with the space to slow down and linger on the glories of God, his attributes and his character.

Saying ‘thank you’ together in prayer is more than just good manners or showing how nice we are. It is an act of worship which helps to deepen our love and appreciation for God, and enables us to celebrate all the wonderful works of God in our lives.

Saying ‘sorry’ together in prayer allows members to study their own hearts, confess their sins before God, and hear an assurance of forgiveness. What a joy for us to know that: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us” (1 John 1:9).

Prayer should be the fuel in the engine of everything that happens in our churches.

To publicly pray prayers asking God for his ‘help’ reminds us that we’re not in control and that we need God to do what only he can do: save the lost, feed the hungry, liberate captives, give wisdom to world leaders, fix broken institutions, and sustain persecuted Christians.

The glory of God, the history of the church, and the encouragement of believers, mandate that we take prayer as seriously as other elements of corporate worship, like singing and preaching. Where prayer is present, it’s saying to the church that we really need the Lord. When we gather to pray together, we encourage one another by our faith, we teach one another by our theology and example, we love one another by our concern, and we point one another to the God who tenderly receives the cries of his beloved children.

Finding your voice in prayer

We know we need to pray. And yet for many of us, prayer feels difficult. All kinds of insecurities can hinder our individual and corporate prayer lives: ‘I don’t know what to say’; ‘I’m not an expert’; ‘I’m not eloquent’; ‘I’m not confident’; ‘I could never pray like them’.

Reassuringly, God knows that we don’t find it easy to string a sentence together in his presence or in the presence of others. He remembers, “that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). He understands that we sometimes get tongue-tied, distracted and confused. Thankfully, God isn’t looking for polished or perfect prayers. We don’t need to try to sound more holy or pure or spiritual than we are. Instead, he simply wants to spend time with us. He wants to hear our voices.

So, how can we discover the joy of prayer in our lives? How can we make coming together to pray with others normal?

Teach Us to Pray

‘Teach Us to Pray’ is a practical, step-by-step guide created by PCI to help you and others in your church family find and gain confidence in using your voice in prayer.

Through six, beautifully illustrated and interactive sessions, this small-groupfriendly guide will help you to find joy – and overcome fear – as you see how the Bible invites us to say ‘Wow!’; ‘Thank you’; ‘Sorry’; ‘Please’; and ‘Help’ in our everyday prayers.

Each ‘Teach Us to Pray’ session will take approximately one hour to work through, and will follow the same simple pattern:

Enter in – A simple introduction to set the scene and stimulate discussion, e.g. ‘What is prayer?’ or ‘Why do we pray?’

Encounter – A short reading and reflection on a Bible passage which addresses a specific type of prayer, e.g. Luke 17:11–19 and the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to God.

Explore – Discussion questions designed to help you react, reflect, and respond to what you are learning about prayer from the Bible.

Engage – One specific practice you can try together as a group to help you and others grow in confidence in using your voice in prayer, e.g. as a group read the Lord’s Prayer out loud together.

Every day – Some additional ways and activities that will help you keep going and growing in prayer, e.g. creating a daily prayer routine and learning how to craft your own ‘Wow!’ prayer of worship.

‘Teach Us to Pray’ will be available from the Council for Congregational Life and Witness office from mid-August 2024.

‘Wow’; ‘thank you’; ‘sorry’; ‘please’ and ‘help’. They are wonderful words for us all to pray. The mature believers and the new followers. The weak and the strong. The old and the young. The happy and the sad, the sick and the healthy.

Everyone together, come. Let’s pray.

Andrew Dickson is PCI’s congregational life development officer.