Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that prayer was the way to talk to God. My mom would say a quick prayer with me every night, and it became a part of my nighttime routine as a child.
As I grew older, I would still say my nightly prayers, but my prayer life was superficial and basic. It became a routine, and I’d spend most of the prayer asking God for what I wanted, as if he were a genie. My prayer life was self focused and didn’t cultivate a deep, intimate relationship with God.
It wasn’t until I dug deep into the Scriptures that I actually saw how important prayer was and that I actually needed to be taught how to pray like Jesus.
If you’ve read our 5 Bible Verses About Who Jesus Really Is blog post, then you’ll know that Jesus was a man of deep prayer. He prayed a lot. He prayed alone, with others, before making important decisions, after miracles… Jesus was a true prayer warrior!
Jesus’ prayer life was so powerful that it impacted his disciples, who asked him to teach them how to pray:
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
LUKE 11: 1-4
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Most people have heard this prayer before and may even have it memorized. What Jesus is teaching here is not that you have to say these exact words every time you pray, but it should be a template for how you pray.
Just like Jesus’ disciples, we all need to be taught how to pray! So grab your Bible and notebook, and let’s dig deeper into Luke 11:1-4 to learn how to pray like Jesus!
1. Find Your Prayer Spot
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.
We don’t know the specifics of what “certain place” this was that Jesus went off to, but we do see throughout the Gospels that Jesus slipped away to quiet, solitary places in order to pray (Mark 1:35). It was in these solitary moments that Jesus was able to connect intimately and personally with God, because they were distraction free and allowed him to focus his heart and mind on things above (Colossians 3:2).
While we can pray wherever and whenever we want, it’s also important to have that quiet, solitary prayer spot where we can connect with God on a deep, intimate heart level. It’s a place where we can be distraction free from the chaos of life and where we too, can focus our hearts and minds on God.
So whether it’s a closet, a particular room, your car, or maybe a quiet spot by a lake, find a spot where you can be alone with God to pray.
2. Have a Reverent, Humble Heart
1 When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
When Jesus returned from his prayer, his disciples were eager for him to teach them how to pray. The disciples’ reverent, humble hearts are ones that I have always admired when looking at this Scripture.
First, these guys waited for Jesus to be done praying before they asked him to teach them how to pray. It shows that they had a level of respect (a reverent awe) for Jesus.
Second, they were humble enough to admit that they needed to be taught how to pray. These men had grown up in a theocracy, so it’s not like they had never prayed before or didn’t know what prayer was. They knew exactly what prayer was, it’s just that they noticed Jesus’ prayers had depth and intimacy, which were qualities their prayers were probably lacking.
Having a reverent, humble heart can radically transform your prayer life. While we may be familiar with prayer, we can learn greater intimacy and depth in our prayer lives when we learn how to pray from others.
3. Adore God in Your Prayers
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Jesus begins the prayer by calling God his father. This may not seem that revolutionary today, but back then, the idea of calling God “Father” was unheard of! People believed that God’s name was meant to be revered, so calling him “Father” was “blasphemous”.
But this was what made Jesus’ prayer radically different than the prayers the disciples were familiar with. The word that Jesus uses for “Father” here, is a word used within a family, implying a relationship based on love. Jesus started his prayer with God based off his connection to him as a son and the love they had for one another.
Jesus then goes on to say “hallowed be your name”. The word “hallow” means to respect greatly (to venerate).
So even though Jesus viewed God as his loving father, he also respected him greatly.
When we pray to God, we should spend time adoring him as the amazing, perfect father that he is. It’s easy to have prayers that are focused on ourselves and our needs—but God is a Father that we should adore, love, admire, and respect because of who he is. Adoring God first in our prayers can radically transform our hearts to be more like Jesus.
4. Confess Your Sins in Your Prayers and Have a Merciful Heart Towards Others
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Praying through and confessing our sins to God should change our heart towards Him. It’s easy to say “I’m not perfect,” or “God knows my heart,” and use that as an excuse to prevent us from seeing where we’re truly at before God and how our sin can separate us from Him (Isaiah 59:1-2). Confessing sin takes humility and shows us exactly why we need a relationship with God. There is no way to overcome sin if we can’t first overcome temptation, which is exactly what we should be praying about. But we can’t pray to overcome temptations if we can’t first confess the sin within our hearts.
We also see that we should come to God with a forgiving, merciful heart. Jesus’ prayer demonstrates that we should forgive everyone who sins against us, and if you read Matthew 18:21-35, it’s clear that we can’t expect God to forgive us if we haven’t forgiven others.
So in your prayers, be open and vulnerable with God and confess your sins to him. Don’t be afraid to confess the bad and ugly sins! And remember, if God can forgive you of all the sin you commit daily, then you should be able to forgive those who have sinned against you.
5. Ask for What You Need
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
Like any great father, God wants to give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). Whether it’s praying for the health of yourself or a loved one, praying for a friend to become a true Christian, praying for a certain job opportunity, or praying for a better understanding of the Scriptures, God wants to listen to your desires and you should pray about them!
While this verse isn’t the last verse in this prayer, I personally make it the last thing I pray about. I know I can be tempted to spend more time praying about the things I want rather than adoring God, confessing my sin, or praying for others. You don’t have to pray in any particular order, and sometimes you may just want to spend an entire prayer adoring God! These points are meant to help you get closer to God and focus on other areas of your prayer life you may want to grow in.
As we saw through Jesus’ prayer, he had a deep, intimate connection with God that was evident through how he prayed. Throughout Jesus’ time on Earth, he continually prayed to God in all situations. Jesus left us an example that we can imitate, so we too can have deep prayers with God and grow closer in our relationship with Him.
What part of Jesus’ prayer life are you looking to imitate in your prayers?
