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As you all know, this is my first week back in the pulpit since returning from Egypt. One thing that is present everywhere in Egypt is prayer. There is prayer, prayer, prayer everywhere. At 3:30, there is a man calling people to prayer: “God is great, come and pray!” When I went to the fish market, there was a group of men praying together in a little place set aside for that purpose. When Anna and I went to lunch, our guide went to a place to pray several times. Prayer is everywhere in Egypt!
And maybe it’s an experience like that which led the disciples to say, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). I look at John’s disciples, and they are praying. Why am I not praying? Jesus, help me know how to pray.
They made this request to Jesus this when Jesus Himself was praying. You see, Jesus was a man of prayer. He was always seeking His Father. He was always praying. Read through Luke’s account of Jesus’ life. You will find that Luke always notes that Jesus was praying. For example, when Jesus was transfigured or changed on the mountain, Luke tells us that this happened while Jesus was praying! The other accounts do not add this detail. You will see this everywhere in the book of Luke.
So, Jesus’ disciples knew that Jesus prayed. They wanted to become like that. They wanted to be people of prayer! That’s what led them to ask Jesus to make them people of prayer. They wanted to live in communion with the Father like Jesus did. They needed help! Do you need help becoming a person of prayer? Jesus is still ready to teach you! I want you to see this in the text today. We are going to look at it backwards, though, for reasons that I think will become clear. I want you to see the God of prayer, persistence in prayer, and the content of prayer. These are the things that Jesus wants us to understand in order to learn to pray.