LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY
BY THOMAS M. WINGER
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esus’ three-year earthly ministry was saturated with prayer. He regularly escaped from the crowds to commune with His Father in prayer. It seems quite remarkable to us that one who fully knew the mind of God, as the second Person of the Trinity, nevertheless dedicated copious amounts of time to praying. For God’s Son, such speaking with His Father was only natural. And for one who took on the form of a slave, prayer was an act of submission to the will of the one who sent Him (Hebrews. 5:7-8). Jesus’ praying teaches us that prayer is not fundamentally about “getting stuff,” but is a personal act that exercises one’s relationship with God.
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Jesus also prayed with His disciples gathered closely around Him. As they watched they were led to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). This, too, is remarkable, as these are bornand-bred Jews who have attended synagogue and Temple their whole lives, and prayed with their parents from the cradle. But in Jesus they see something they have never seen before. It makes them think they need to start all over again. And thank God for their question, for it leads Jesus to give the greatest prayer of all: the “Our Father” (Luke 11:3-4; Matthew 6:9-13). What’s so new about the Lord’s Prayer? There is a refreshing
THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN March/April 2020
directness and warmth about it. It was uncommon for Jews to address God in prayer as “Father”; but Jesus calls Him “Abba” (“Daddy”) and invites us into the same intimate address as fellow sons of God (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15). But what was truly new was that they were learning to pray in Jesus. “Our Father” means not just “yours and mine” but “ours and His.” By praying Jesus’ own words we learn that our prayers are His prayers. We never approach God’s throne directly, but always through and in Jesus (Ephesians 2:18). The Father hears us not because we use the right formula or speak many words
