Reading: Luke 11:1-4
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And he said unto them, “When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
Briefly, Luke tells us how Jesus responds to the request of His disciples, who ask Him to teach them how to pray.
We have many things to think about while reading these four verses.
The disciples pray because they see Jesus praying: the passage tells us that their question immediately follows Jesus’ prayer. They see Jesus praying all the time. They realize that prayer is not only necessary, it is absolutely essential.
What do we ask of God when we pray? Everything
First, to God Himself: You are so Holy Lord; let you Kingdom come. We need You, Your glory, Your Kingdom in our lives: to know You, to love You, to worship You, to give you glory. When we pray like this, we recognize that our first and greatest need is God Himself.
We ask for sustenance: Asking for the bread, we recognize that our lives are in His hands, and we thank Him for His care.
We ask for grace: We ask our Holy God to look upon us with grace and mercy, and to give us that grace so abundantly that we can extend it to others.
We ask for holiness: We ask the Lord to guard us from our own inclination toward sin.

Meditate: When we pray, we are recognizing our necessity, our insufficiency, our dependence. Let ‘s pray more!

Translation By: Emily Stader