“Lord, teach us to pray!” This was the plea of the disciples in Luke when they asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (11:1, ESV).

I’ve heard it said that the one thing we won’t declare when we get to Heaven is, “I prayed too much.” Prayer is difficult for many people, but we need to understand that King Jesus wants us to be a praying people.

Jesus “told them [His disciples] a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1, ESV). The King James translation of the words “lose heart” is rendered “faint,” which means we are not to become weary in praying.

I know Jesus wants me to pray, which means I can ask Him to teach me to pray. Can I be confident He will answer that prayer? I absolutely can!

The Apostle John tells us, “This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

God has put up some guardrails when it comes to prayer. James 4:3 tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” The King James translates “passions” as “lusts,” or inappropriate desires. We are to ask in faith.

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:22)

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

Sounds simple enough. That is until you dig a little deeper into the words “faith” and “believe.” It’s a lot like the fine print on a prescription medication. It’s not quite that simple.

Faith (Greek word pistis) is a work of God through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, emphasis added).

The words “faith” and “believe” have the same root meaning. Faith is not a balloon you blow up to try to impress God so that He will answer your prayer. Faith will come as a prompting of the Holy Spirit for you to go wage warfare and stop the enemy from doing what he does best: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

In what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

As I look around, I can honestly say I’d like to see God’s Kingdom unfolding a lot more than it is right now. God’s faithfulness in answering prayer has created in me a desire to press in for more of Him and to pray more fervently and effectively.

James 5:16 tells us, “Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” We become that “righteous person” because we are “in Christ” so our prayers will have great power.

I can’t teach you to pray, but the Holy Spirit can and will if you ask Him.

Like anything else we do in life, we learn by doing. My advice to you? Start praying and learn as you do.

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!