Bible Studies

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....Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased,
that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray...”
Luke 11:1


It strikes me, reflecting upon these words this morning, that an aspect of Jesus’ personal walk with God had a uniquely significant impact upon His followers. So much so that a question was asked of Him that has never been asked of me. Time after time scripture reveals that finding Jesus in prayer was a common occurrence. And it also appears His prayers were not ‘ritual’ prayers, public in expression or attitude, or else there would not be the desire revealed in the disciple’s question. When asked, “Lord, teach us to pray...” I hear a hunger. Surely these men were accustomed to prayer. They were a people of prayer. Seeing it in the synagogue, practicing it in their homes. Yet there was something about watching Jesus pray that stirred up within their own souls a great craving. I can’t help but believe they saw within Jesus’ times of prayer a communing of spirits, an on-going genuineness of relationship so foreign to them that a longing was born. A longing they no longer were able to contain, so they pleaded with Him...Teach us....

Not a formula, but a relationship!

It puts me in mind of my daughter – before the onslaught of high school. I loved to hear her pray. Nothing formalized. Just her unadulterated communion with a special, trusted friend. Open. Anticipation filled. Real. Completely oblivious to listening ears, even when praying in a group. It was like listening to her talk with a friend on the phone. And I was envious. Like the disciples were envious. The focus of my daughter’s life was the Lord. When life intruded more, my daughter lost the ‘freedom’ with God that came so naturally to her heart during those remaining days of childhood. Other ‘suitors’ soon vied for her attention, and a new self-consciousness muddied the sweetness of the waters, and I miss what once was.

I only share what I saw with my daughter’s relationship with her Father, because it’s often easier to discover what happens in our own journey by witnessing another’s. The truth is the same. We hunger for an open-channeled, unhindered relationship with our Creator. Not a formalized, one-sided treatise. But a dialogue of love.

That’s what the disciples saw transpiring between Jesus and His Father, and it fed their own longing. They wanted it. They knew an emptiness, a loneliness in their own times of prayer. So they asked the question.

Volumes have been written about the answer Jesus gave. And I don’t diminish anything that’s been said. But under-girding Jesus’ words, when all is said and done, lies a child fully resting in the love and provision of a trusted Father. A Father of power and truth who holds back no good thing. Whose forgiveness welcomes at all times, and whose protection is unfailing.

I see in Jesus’ answering words a father whose arms can be run to and jumped into at any time, never fearing that he will miss my jump or not want to hold me. I want to wrap my arms around that truth. I long to bury myself in the reality of that relationship called Love. And I hunger for the words between Heaven’s and my own heart to flow so steadily, so unhindered, so real that it becomes the very breath of each moment of my life. For my relationship with my Father to be so heart-poundingly present in my life that others are drawn to implore, Teach me to pray....



© 11 April 2005
DeAnna Brooks

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