Prayer is What we need to be Taught

In his book Teach Me to Pray (Bethany House, 2002; ISBN: 0-7642-2596-0), Andrew Murray writes, “Prayer is what we need to be taught. Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that even a small child can pray, it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which anyone can rise. It is fellowship with the unseen and most holy One” (12).

Indeed, in John 17:3 Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God. Eternal life is not merely life, and it's not merely life that goes on and on, rather eternal life is living in intimate connection to him who is life. Prayer is one of the primary means by which we make this connection, by which we fellowship with and draw from the living God. This is why the Bible makes such outlandish statements as, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Human beings breathe; Christians pray. For Christians, prayer is not as much an activity for which we set aside time each day as a way of being that characterizes our entire day. We do set aside specific times to be with God and really focus on his Word, the Bible, and talk with him about what we see there. But this is a beginning, a tone-setter, and not an end.

Christians seek to talk to God at all times about all things, and this is why we need to ask Jesus along with the disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray.” Prayer is a privilege and a gift, but it does take work and it does call on us to learn. So may we call upon the Master-Teacher and ask his help until like him we learn to pray without ceasing (Hebrews 7:25).

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