This request is at least twofold. It is a call to God that is both a request for the ability to pray, and for a willing attitude to pray.
• THE ABILITY TO PRAY.
“Teach us to pray.”
We need to be taught how to pray. We often lack the ability to pray in the right way. As an example, we do not know what to pray for, and when to pray for it. We are not skilled in praying. We need great skill in our prayer life to make it more effective and honoring to God.
Also, by continually talking with God, even if it’s just a few sentences at a time, we learn that God can be intimate and personal. And through this constant communication, by continual prayer, the relationship and intimacy between us and our heavenly Father grows.
Prayer is not just something that you do in the morning or once a day. Make prayer an every minute activity. Make the choice to continually talk to God, and tap into the power of that choice.
• THE ATTITUDE TO PRAY.
“Teach us to pray.”
Not only do we need to know how to pray but we need to be taught to simply pray. Our attitude toward prayer isn’t the greatest. We do not pray enough. Honestly, that is why the prayer meetings at church are so poorly attended: people do not care to pray. Few spiritual attitudes are as poor as the lack of desire to pray.
That is why we need to be instructed and inspired to pray more. Teach us simply “to pray” is a fundamental need of each one of us. In other words; we can know all about prayer, but the only way to develop unceasing prayer is to constantly practice it. Every chance we get, for any reason our natural bent should be to go to God in prayer. And not just when we need Him to do or fix or provide something, but as a way we spend time and invite Him into our lives. When we accepted the gift of salvation, we gave our lives to Jesus to be His witnesses and a reflection of His love to this world. That’s hard to do when we only go to Him when we need something. The more time we spend with Him, spend in the Word and in prayer the better we can reflect who He is.
by Corville Peters
