Teach Us to Pray

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1

There is a funny story Ravi Zacharias likes to tell of a little boy who wanted a bicycle. After watching a high church service on TV, the boy prayed: “Lord, if it is in Your Sovereign will and in Your Eternal plan that I can get myself a bicycle – in Your time and according to Your will – would you please get me a bicycle In Jesus name I pray. Amen.”

After no bicycle arrived for him, the next day he watched a prosperity gospel preacher, and decided to pray: “Lord, I declare my need for a bicycle! And I declare that it will be a nice blue-colored bicycle and delivered to my home within 24 hours. I lay claim to it, Amen!”

Again he waited in vain for a bicycle to arrive so he decided to do things his own way. He walked off into the woods with a statue of the Virgin Mary. He then prayed,

“Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again…”

Is there a formula for prayer? The disciples observed Jesus praying often. He needed that connection with His Father. We must need it even more. The most important part of what Jesus taught the disciples about prayer was that the Father is not distant. He was ‘Abba’ not only to Jesus but to us. We are His beloved children, and we do not have to resort to formula prayers or to bribe Him. We just have to speak what is in our heart.