How Did Jesus Teach Us To Pray?

Did Jesus ever teach how we should pray? If so, what is the way that Jesus wants us to pray?

The Lord’s Prayer?

Most Bibles have the phrase “The Lord’s Prayer” where Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. This was there idea. The must have seen how frequent and intense Jesus’ prayers were and deep, intimate relationship He had with the Father. That came through prayer and the disciples wanted that! Incidentally, Jesus never utters a prayer for us to repeat. There is no record of Him doing this in any of the gospels, in fact, He actually taught against “vain repetitions” saying “when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt 6:7) but He does teach us important things about prayer. Remember it was the disciples that asked Jesus how to pray and so it was when “Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). This is “how to pray” not “what to pray.” It can be prayed, that’s fine, but is it from the heart if it’s repeated day after day? Does it lose any meaning? Some would say, “No” and I respect their right to disagree but the intent of this prayer is to show them a pattern of prayer not a prayer to repeat. The disciples came to Jesus but never did they ask Him, “Lord, teach us how to walk on water, Lord, teach us how to heal” or “Lord teach us how to preach.” They realized that Jesus’ prioritized prayer.

How to Pray, not What to Pray

Jesus did answer the disciples question about how they should pray but before He did, he reminded them that “when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt 6:7-8). Now it seems ridiculous to tell His disciples to not be heaping “up empty phrases” and then tell them to repeat this prayer. Instead, Jesus says “Pray then like this” (Matt 6:9a).

Reverence for the Father

Jesus tells us to pray first and foremost for the Father’s name to be held holy or hallowed so He begins with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matt 6:9b). This means we are to be praying to God the Father and He is “our Father” if we’ve repented and put our trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. That makes us the children of our Father. We pray that His name is regarded as the highest esteemed and held in a holy, deep, and abiding reverence and respect.

God’s Will

Next, Jesus prays for God’s will to be done on earth just as it already is in heaven, thus Jesus says pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). We know God’s will is already being done perfectly in heaven so we must pray for God’s will to also be done here on earth and particularly, in our life. Part of God’s will is for us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2) but it is also to “give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1st Thess 5:18).

Our Daily Bread

Jesus tells us to pray for God to “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt 6:11). This surely means abiding in the Word of God on a daily basis (John 15:1-6) and partaking of the living Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, since He is the Word (John 1:1, 14). How long can you go without a meal? If you’re talking about spiritual food, then surely once a week, like at church, is not enough! There is nothing wrong with praying for God’s provisions either but we should acknowledge that our “daily bread” comes from God, just like the Bread of Life comes from heaven.

Forgiving and Forgiveness

When Jesus said we are to pray for God to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12), it’s almost like it is a conditional statement. That is, we ask for forgiveness just as we have forgiven others (debtors). What amazes me is that so many Christians hold grudges against other believers and refuse to forgiven them. What would they say to Psalm 119:165 that says “Great peace have they that love your law and nothing shall offend them?” There is no allowable “except for” in this verse. If we don’t forgive others then what makes us think God will forgive us? Jesus says “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt 6:14-15).

Deliverance from the Evil One

The final part of Jesus’ template or example of prayer is to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13). This isn’t saying that God leads us into temptation, only that we pray He keep us from it and delivers us from every temptation. One way to do that is to stay in the Word of God because as the psalmist wrote “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11), meaning that if we memorize Scripture and bring these verses to mind when we’re tempted, we “might not sin against” God because ultimately, all sin is against God.

Conclusion

Some translations conclude this pattern for prayer with, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen” (Matt 6:13) and it seems perfectly appropriate but the pattern of prayer is to give God and His name honor and glory and hold it in high regard. Then we should pray for God’s will to be done here on earth and in our lives specifically. Next we should pray for our daily spiritual and physical bread as well as ask for forgiveness while extending it to others and finally, to pray that we might be kept out of areas where we’re tempted and to be delivered from the Evil One and his demons.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.